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Dean Blunt Discusses Racial Discrimination and the Death of London, in a Rare Interview With Gaika

The London-based producer also talks Trump, and reveals he is working on an opera.
Photo credit: Joshua Gordon.

London-based producer and experimental artist Dean Blunt—also known as Babyfather—has given a rare interview for Crack Magazine, in conversation with Brixton-born producer Gaika. Their dialogue is wide-ranging, but largely evokes the lived experiences and ideological struggles of being black in modern Britain. The interview coincides with the pair's collaboration, Hackney Vs Brixton.

On the subject of London, Blunt's feelings are apocalyptic, stating, "Before the Olympics, we were leading up to Armageddon and after the Olympics the world ended…The riots happened – that was a battle. The Olympics happened – that was the big parade. The world is over now. And London, it's like, it's done." He also has some specific words regarding racial discrimination in clubland—recalling his own experiences putting on nights, and being asked not to play hip hop because "it brings in the wrong kind of people."

Elsewhere in the far-reaching conversation, the producers discuss the "pantomime" of Donald Trump—likening his election to WWE—and Blunt's personal frustrations with being considered a satirical artist.

Blunt also tells Gaika he is currently working on a feature film and is "writing an opera with a friend also."

Read the full interview here.