MC Steppa Profile / Interview 1995

The North-West of England has a spare sprinkling of good hardcore clubs and an even sparser sprinkling of notable hardcore talent. MC Steppa (aka Ron Pye) from Southport falls into this elite band who have the burden of geographical location placed heavily on their shoulders. We kidnapped him and took him on a journey down a disused railway track to discover just how much light there is at the end of his tunnel.

“I do think I’ve been held back by being based in the North-West. There’s nothing going on up here at all whenever anything’s gone on, it’s just been downplayed. People just haven’t turned up for any kind of music except house, which is something I’ve never grasped. The only thing that’s going off up north at the minute is Asylum in Manchester, which apparently has taken off quite well”.

So if the North-West scene is so poor, it must have been hard for Ron to break into the world of MCing as we know it. “Very much so. In 1992-1993, I was just MCing at parties and friends were doing local events – Floral Hall in Southport… stuff like that. Basically, one night I thought, ‘I’ll have a go at that’ and it’s progressed from there really. I was MCing under a different name at the time, I took a year out, basically didn’t do much and I came back about two years ago”.

It was Murray and Dreamscape that gave Steppa his first real break. Ron already knew Murray through Mastervibe and through running coaches to events. One night, when a couple of MCs didn’t turn up, Steppa offered to stand in. “Murray gave me a chance and he was buzzing at the end of the night. He came up to me and he was saying ‘yeah, that was wicked, I’ll put you on the next flyer’, which he did. So Murray gave me my first break and Dave from Helter Skelter backed him up”.

Ron has played at some of the best clubs and events across the country, including Dreamscape, Helter Skelter, Kinetic, Pandemonium (Andromeda X) and Hysteria, as well as loads of local nights. There’s still events that he would love to conquer. “My optimum event that I would like to play at is World Dance. That, to me, would be a major challenge. To provoke a reaction off every one of the 12,000 people in there would be the ultimate buzz for me. Also, Dance Paradise, Blue Note in London, United Dance – they’re a shit hot promoter. The production level is excellent. They’ve been through good and bad and come back and proved that they can do it. I’d like to MC at Rezerection… I’d like to MC anywhere really!”

He rates all the above, particularly Kinetic, “cause they’ve been going so long and they’ve had so many problems. They were there at the beginning and they’ll be there at the end as far as I’m concerned”. Hardcore Heaven is another favourite because of its top class production and sound system and on the jungle tip, Quest. “Quest in Wolverhampton probably had the best sound system I’ve ever heard. The quality of the bass and quality of the music – you could hear everything crystal clear. Unfortunately, that’s closed down now which is another bad thing for the scene”.

As you can see, Steppa has a passion for both happy and jungle and so he MCs to both types of music. “I class myself as diverse and I’m going to stick to that. I’m not going to pigeonhole myself and I won’t let anyone pigeonhole me”. Ron was equally non-committal when asked about his musical preference. “I wouldn’t really say I prefer one or the other. I prefer a reaction from the crowd and if I’m getting that reaction, regardless of the music that’s on, that makes me happy. That’s what I’m there for. I’m not there to shout over the music and make the DJ take a back slot. At the end of the day, if there was no DJ playing music, I wouldn’t be able to do my job. He’s the man in control, I’m there just to hype the crowd, get them going… just make them party harder”.

As Ron says, he’s not there to drown out the music, which is the most common complaint people make about the men on the mics. So what does make a good MC? “I like to hear an MC telling me about something or speaking to me. If I was on the dancefloor, I’d like to feel as though I was having a personal conversation with the MC, not just hear him babbling on in his own world, saying nothing no-one can understand. I like to get a personal link between each and every body in that crowd and that’s what I attempt to do. That’s what I envisage as being a good MC”.

Steppa is pretty definite about what he likes, so how about who he likes? Who gets the Steppa seal of approval? “Definitely MC Conrad. Regardless of what type of music he MCs to, the way he structures his lyrics, the way he rhymes his lyrics, he’s telling a story. I know it’s a very cliched thing to say, but he’s like a poet. For promoting a reaction, GQ and MC MC. Everytime they go on stage, people know what’s going to happen. They get the reaction. For the hardcore, I’d say Magika for his professionalism and Stixman for his originality – there’s no other MC in the scene like him. I quite like Marley as well; he’s got some good lyrics”.

Lyrics are regarded as sacred by many MCs. When you’re bombarded with countless people’s lines, and you see how well they work with the crowd, it must be hard to fight the influence and not nick someone else’s words. Steppa agrees. “You don’t lift other MCs’ lyrics, you shouldn’t do that. Not many MCs will say that to you. I’ve had a chat to other MCs and they’re really not bothered if you lift their lyrics. It’s a boost for them.

If somebody lifted my lyrics, or I lifted someone else’s, people would just go, ‘oh he says that, so why’s he saying it?’ It just makes yourself look bad. You should be original. It’s hard. When I first started, I sometimes got blank spots, probably through nerves. You’re stood there with all these lyrics flowing through your head, thinking ‘I’ll say this at that certain point and see if this happens and I’ll say that’. You try to structure yourself. At the end of the day, you get on the mic and it’s all about being freestyle. You may have a few thought up lyrics that you want to do, but you’ve got to be freestyle. Everyone’s got certain lyrics that they like saying, but it’s all about what’s happening at the time. It’s too easy in this scene to become stale. It’s been proved so many times. You’ve got to be original”.

Originality has always been the key to success and even more so nowadays, as more and more talented people are trying to break into the scene. Steppa recognises this. “Unfortunately, at the minute, I think the scene is about who you know, not what you know. There’s a lot of bedroom DJs out there that are very very good in their music ability. So as for breaking into the scene, it is very difficult. You can send X amount of tapes off and never hear anything. If you want to become an MC, the best advice I can give you is to try and get booked at a local event and get yourself on a tape, which you can send to promoters.

Be persistent. Get on the phone and push yourself. If you’re professional enough and good enough, you’ll get there. It’s all about persistence, definitely. If you believe in yourself that you can do it, then you will do it. You have to be optimistic. You’ve just got to keep moving with the times”. Which brings us back to the need for that unique little touch that will make you stand out. “People I respect on the happy side of things, who I think are wicked, absolutely wicked, are Force & Styles. They use original vocals, they don’t use many sampled things – the music they play and the way they DJ… I’ve never heard them do a bad mix. They really are true to the word. They are professional, really, really professional”. Having a personal liking for the DJ must make an MC enjoy playing alongside them. Steppa rates Doc Scott and Fabio on the Drum ‘n’ Bass side and for Hardcore, Slipmatt. “He is due X amount of respect, simply for his mixing ability. I like MC’ing to him. I like MC’ing to someone who is a challenge. You don’t know what they’re doing. If you’re facing a challenge, regardless of what level of MC’ing you’re at, it means you’re going to have to better yourself. It’s only plus points. Who else do I like MC’ing to… c’mon give us some names? Dj Dance – I really rate him, he’s one of the most underrated MC’s in the scene. DJ Kraze – my man, Randall and Grooverider definitely, for the reaction he can provoke off a crowd”.

His only real gripe lies with promoters promising things on the flyers that never materialise at the event. “If you ain’t got it, don’t put it on flyers, it’s as simple as that”. Music journalists were also in for it. “I’m sick to the back teeth of being booked at events, being on the flyer and reviewers not mentioning my name. I’m not being a glory grabber – if you think I’m crap, then say I’m crap. I’m not bothered if people think I’m crap, just tell me. It’s all personal opinion”.

Few people in the scene restrict themselves to just one niche. Although he doesn’t play out, Steppa enjoys DJ’ing as a hobby and keeps well up to date with the music hitting the streets. He’s also recently started making tunes with DJ Kraze and a few other people, under the name of Selsyn, After Hours and Absolute Zero. “We’re really just getting a few ideas together. We’re concentrating on the Drum ‘n’ Bass side but in the future, hopefully we can sign artists and be diverse”.

Diversity was the word when the scene split into Happy and Jungle a couple of years ago. It’s difficult to predict what will happen next and what our stereos will be pumping out this time next year. “At the minute, I don’t really know where the scenes going. It seems so broad and wide, it doesn’t seem to be able to get any better. I’d say the main thing for the promoters to try and do is to try and get more venues. There’s not enough venues at all. As for where the musics headed…. it’s not always been headed towards the future, because it’s always been about developing itself and mutating into a different form of Hardcore”.

Whatever happens musicwise, the future looks far from grim for this 22 year old Northern lad. Steppa is on the brink of his explosion into the big time. He’s at the start of a not so long or dark tunnel, that has a very, very bright light at the end, so brilliant, it is even more brilliant than the sun.