Harry Shotta - Twelve Months: Love and Pain in the Fast Lane

Title Page

TWELVE MONTHS

Love and Pain in the Fast Lane

Harry Shotta

Publisher Information

This edition published in 2014 by

Acorn Books

www.acornbooks.co.uk

Converted and distributed by

Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

First published in 2014

Copyright 2014 Harry Shotta

Front Cover Photograph by Chelone Wolf Photography

The right of Harry Shotta to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Preface

Hip Hop is the voice of the voiceless, its the CNN or World Service of the youth, stories are spoken in tongues in intricate ways that defy scientifical studies.

The concept of the MC is actually an enigma when you consider that the human brain can correlate syllables and synonyms in time, on beat with frequently changing erratic rhythmic patterns. The lyrics make sense, stories are told, souls are touched. This kind of artistic ability isnt going to be streamed, downloaded, or replicated by any kind of artificial intelligence any time soon.

A lot of rappers rap, its nothing new, but Harry Shotta is very different to everyone else.

I have had the fortunate experience of spinning for him live on air, and its baffling to see how he manipulates words. Its actually hard to comprehend the speed of the thought processes that takes place when he freestyles, how he effortlessly slips between rapid fire flows, veraciously tearing apart the traditional use of the English language. No mistakes allowed, constantly moving the crowd, constantly ahead of the beat, calculating, constructing rhymes that decimate any style or tempo of track placed before him.

Whether you manage to see him perform live within a Hip Hop, D&B, or studio environment just appreciate that moment. Be glad you got to witness that moment because there isnt anyone else like him. He is a living enigma, a truly unique artist, an ever evolving work in progress.

A lot of Rappers rap, but very few can stand next to him in the booth, and those very few are constantly on their toes whilst in that booth.

A lot of Rappers rap, but no one else can do what Harry Shotta does.

DJ Semtex 1xtra

Foreword

When I first sat down to write this book I didnt know if I could pull it off. The challenge of writing eighteen chapters not only giving insights into the background of my recent mixtape Twelve Months but deeper glimpses into my life would be a tough task. I didnt think detailing how the tracks were made, inspiration for beats and how the studio sessions went down would be hard to detail. It was more of a case of if I really wanted to share the more emotional side of my last year with the public. It had been a hectic time, full of love and pain in the fast lane.

Sitting down and writing the first chapter was a wakeup call. If I was really going to write this book and take it seriously I had to unearth memories from times when I wasnt as stable and level headed as I am now. I had to revisit parts of my childhood that I would rather forget. I would have to go back to connect with feelings that I had let go of to give readers a real insight into my reasons for writing some of the tracks on the mixtape. I would also have to be openly honest about my current relationship and not be afraid to express all of my emotions. It wasnt going to be easy but as I wrote the first chapter which details a lot of the hardships of a certain part of my childhood, I found that it felt good to get the words down onto the page. Much in the same way I used the writing of the songs in the first place in a therapeutic sense, I found explaining how the songs came about and the background story of why I wrote them helpful to me as an individual.

Some people would ask why write a book? Im a man who likes challenges. If they say it cant be done I actively go out to prove the non-believers wrong. At first it was a good idea that turned into so much more. I found I enjoyed writing the chapters much in the same way I enjoyed writing bars. It wasnt a chore or something that was forced. I felt inspired to get all my feelings onto the pages and share them with my audience. I wanted to show the general public and the media all the thought and hard work that goes into writing a mixtape. I sometimes feel that the art of what we do as rappers isnt respected so I wanted to give people the keys to our world, invite them in the house for a while and let them kick back and take in the complexities of what we do.

Of course the content of this particular mixtape is what gives the book that emotional substance and a deeper look at me as a person. I decided to embrace this and not only tell you how tracks were made but more importantly why they were made. I havent held back in terms of detail or kept any aspects of the good and bad parts of my hectic year a secret. Its all here, an open book for you to decipher and enjoy.

Much love to all my supporters, friends and family...

This is my Twelve Months...

Shotz

Month One

My Story (F64)

Once bitten forever smitten this one was written before it was written

Ive always loved autobiographical raps that insight into a rappers life, their pain, their hopes, dreams and regrets all wrapped into one incredible poetic piece. It often becomes more of a statement than a song and you feel that one bit closer to the individual. You dont get this same kind of affinity with singers especially those in the pop market. Usually talented songwriters will write very catchy hits aimed at daytime radio and pitch them to publishers and labels with the hope of whoever is selling the most at the time fronting that record. Its true that some songwriters write with a particular vocalist in mind, but whether this is because they love that artists work or because they are selling a truckload of records at the time is debatable.

No one else but Jay Z could have written the verse on You Must Love Me when he talks about shooting his brother for stealing from him. Running straight to Jazs house and being shocked and humbled that his brother asked to see him in the hospital the next day. No one but Eminem could have put the emotional depth into records he made about the complex relationship between himself and his on/off wife Kim and his unconditional love for his daughter Halie. And no one else but me could have written My Story...

Ive had a good relationship with Jamal Edwards the mastermind and founder of SBTV for a while now. I fully respect the media force he built from nothing, his sharp business sense and have actually been inspired by how far he has come from the estate he grew up in in Acton to where he is now. I never wanted to beg to be on SBTV though; I wanted Jamal to holler at me. I remember where I was when I got the direct message on Twitter simply saying Warm Up Session? I was sitting in the Parrocks Street Dentist in Gravesend where I was just about to go and have some bloody painful treatment we all know and hate as root canal surgery. The idea of being hollered to record a warm up session with the You Tube channel I was glued to day and night made the surgery that bit sweeter. I immediately went home and pulled up a Z Dot track and wrote some of the maddest double time verbal acrobatics that I could think of at the time, practiced it over and over and shot it with Jamal a couple weeks after. If you get a good reaction on your Warm Up Session your normally asked to shoot an F64 with the channel, this is where the idea of My Story was born.