The melding of rock and rap is nothing new, albeit some collaborations are bound to pique interest more than others. UK based artist Kid Bookie recently made a hefty base of new fans — and haters — when he released his biggest single to date “Stuck In My Ways” featuring Corey Taylor, lead singer of the multi-platinum band Slipknot.
“I always try to fuse the best of those worlds in a lot of my music,” Kid Bookie tells HipHopDX. Though it isn’t his first major feature (he’s worked with names like Crooked I and toured with the likes of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony), it’s undoubtedly the most satisfying of his career.
As he explains, it all came together via Twitter.
“I was coming home from a shitty day listening to ‘Wait And Bleed‘ by Slipknot … if you know me you know what SlipKnot means to me,” he explains, adding that to him the band reflects a definitive plateau of individualism.
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Bookie himself began his musical journey in a band — later being introduced to Hip Hop by his father who was a rapper and MC back in the 80s and early 90s.
“I just picked my phone up and tweeted Corey like ‘We gotta work before we both aren’t on this earth no more.’ Then I get the fucking message back like ‘Yo let’s talk,’ and I’m losing my shit.
“I learned so much from [Taylor] as an entity, so to share some sonic energy together is fucking insane to me,” he says. “It’s contributed to a change in my life and I’m so eternally grateful … I’m sure he’s bored of me telling him.”
The song features Taylor rapping his second verse, which Bookie says was important to him. “I didn’t want to do some ‘cross over’ shit because as much as I love metal, Corey has been SPAZZING on verses for years, literally … his style of rapping is unprecedented.”
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“I guess every artist’s goal is to expand their voice globally … start local then expand. I feel the USA has taken me in way more than my home does, Bookie admits. “I love my home, but when I look at the support range, it’s crazy.”
He adds, “Sometimes, I’m kinda fighting for people to just understand me. It’s a lot of monkey-see-monkey-do [in the UK]. I don’t really understand a lot of it … and it’s not naivety. Even A&R’s that look after artists producing a prominent sound here have messaged me fucking bad mouthing the sound of the country saying ‘it’s gonna be over soon.’ I’m like wow, but you’re pushing it.”
According to Bookie, it’s a mindset he can’t wrap his mind around, especially with a sound that is more organic as opposed to reheated retreads. The experiences he had touring with artists he grew up idolizing has given him a bit of an artistic existential crisis.
“What the fuck is my sound and why doesn’t my country get behind where I’m trying to take it? I don’t wanna sound pretentious but believe me, there is a much bigger vision than mechanical beats and bull shit verses,” he says.
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“Going against the grain can make you a seem like a hater, but I’m cool with that,” Bookie notes, playfully adding “Suck my dick with love, from the UK.”
Check out Kid Bookie & Corey Taylor’s “Stuck In My Ways” above.
