Zay Mason

How would you describe your music to people who have never heard it before?

I would have to call it honest raw lyricism . Its gonna take you to a different place in Hip Hop people don't normally want to go. I represent the lost and forgotten and the people that are angry for no Damn reason.

Do  you think that hip hop is still as powerful and influential as it was say 5 or even 10 years ago? Why?

I think Hip Hop is even more influential now than it was back then. Popular culture takes a lot from one genre , from one lifestyle and I think that shows how important Hip Hop has become and how profitable it has grown to be. As far as influential in a positive way... that's in question there aren't many artists with big things to say or stories to tell, atleast in that mainstream bracket.

Would you say that your environment has an effect on your music?

Yes, definitely. Not to be a cliche- but personally I'm like a sponge I observe and take in everything and turn it into my own energy its one of the fun things about being artist you can draw inspiration from almost anywhere or anybody especially your own natural habit on a daily basis.

Where do you hope to be professionally in five years?

Hopefully by then I would like to put the talented people I work with in a better position to eat off the artistic visions we have as individuals. It would be cool to be able to give back as much as you've been given or give more.

Where can people find your music and connect with you?

thesentinelsmusic.com/

My personal Ig/twitter is @whoiszaymason and my teams handle is @sentinels_  

Sophie Jill's 'Cocaine Love'

Cocaine Love is a pretty bold title. What is the story behind it and the song?
The story behind the song is all about having an addiction for something, so its a metaphor really. The song is about me and my passion for music, how it makes me feel to sing, and songwriting. 'The drug that i need' Music is my drug. I've gone times in my life where I haven't been able to make music and singing a focus, but its never lasted long, I'm drawn to it. Its part of who i am, its like I can't live without it. So that's the story behind it, and it seemed only fitting it would be the title track of the album too.

What was the process of creating the songs for this project? 
The process began when i met up with who is now my songwriting partner, David Nevard. I was working with him on a project for another band, and we had a couple of spontaneous songwriting sessions and just clicked on a musical level. We both had the same ambition to write and found we were writing song after song, and it was working so well we decided to create a Solo album for me. I took the natural lead surrounding the vocal, lyrics and ,melody, and he took the lead on the music and instruments. We went with the natural flow of creativity and sometimes worked on more than one song at a time, or i would have melodies and lyrics and id send them to David and vice-versa through soundcloud, or when we'd have jam sessions, etc. 

Were the songs spontaneous, scripted, or a little bit of both?
Many of the songs are spontaneous and plucked from an idea that could stem from a great guitar or vocal hook, or an interesting title even..each tells a different story so it is like a fictional script, and not always about the same thing or same someone, but they all compliment each other in their styles. There are elements of my real life in there, songs like 'come my way' and 'social network' are very much written from my perception of the said scenarios. And of course Cocaine Love is the most personal track on the album. 

Is there a song on Cocaine Love that is your favorite?
I don't think i could pick an absolute favorite because I love them all for different reasons. For example the production of 'Social Network', 'C'mon Darlin' and 'Fell for the Badman' and 'easy option' really represents the grittier, fiestier, pop, rnb, reggae side of my music taste and influences, and then tracks like 'springtime love affair' show the softer side, and its special because its the first song I wrote for the album, and the first song I think I'd written where I kind of took a step back and thought, 'yeah this is possible, we have the ability to make a really great album here'.

Where can people find Cocaine Love & keep up to date with your music?
Cocaine Love will be available the beginning of September Itunes, amazon, and many online stores, as well as hard copies. I will also be doing a Free Download of one of the tracks July 2nd, and also a teaser mix prior to its release. People can keep up to date with everything surrounding my music on all of my networking pages listed below.
www.sophiejill.co.uk
www.facebook.com/aspiringsophie
www.soundcloud.com/sophiejill
www.youtube.com/lovehurtslovescars
Twitter @aspiring_sophie 
Insta @sophiejill