In 2017 London emcee Da Flyy Hooligan released an EP called FYLPM which stands for “Fucc Ya Life Praise Mine.” Hooligan’s grandiose disposition was not only evident in the project’s title, but also in his lyrics. Earlier this year Da Flyy Hooligan added on to the extravagance with a full-length sequel titled, “FLYPM II.”
FYLPM II is produced by Micall Parknsun, DJ Flash, Sonnyjim, Agor, Wavy Bagels, Ded Tebiase, NCL-TM, and Beressi. The ten-track album features guest appearances by Planet Asia and Montage One.
The Real Hip-Hop spoke to Da Flyy Hooligan about why he’s become more business-minded over the course of his Hip-Hop career, England’s racial powder keg, and his new album, FLYPM II.
TRHH: How have you grown as an artist since the first FYLPM?
Da Flyy Hooligan: I’m a lot more business-minded now. I’m a lot more tactful, that’s for sure. As an artist I know what I want with every project that I do. I’m a lot more aware now.
TRHH: What prompted the change to make you more business-minded?
Da Flyy Hooligan: The demand. With that demand it called for me to know exactly what I’m doing. It went from me concentrating on my own shit to a bunch of other artists getting in touch with myself and Gourmet Deluxxx asking for our help to put out their stuff. It made me a lot more business-minded and it forced me into this place where if I take a step I have to think about how much that step benefits the brand and our pockets.
TRHH: On part II you have a few sequels to songs on the first project, but ‘Weed Smoke II’ is a sequel to a song from ‘Ray Winstone.’ Why did you revisit that song?
Da Flyy Hooligan: I just wanted to mix it up a bit. The plan is to have Maserati Dreamin’ 2 on Ray Winstone. It’s just me being me [laughs].
TRHH: You have some of the most ill titles I’ve ever heard, like, ‘Daniel Kaluya’. How do you come up with the titles for your songs?
Da Flyy Hooligan: It’s just the vibe I get, man. I remember when I heard the Daniel Kaluya track, I think I was watching Sicario at the time, I heard that beat and it reminded me of Daniel Kaluuya. I kind of got into this thing with myself where I wondered if I should make it about him or dedicate the track to him. I decided against that because I haven’t done that yet. The title is a shout out to the homie. I know him quite well, so I wanted to big him up.
TRHH: How do you know him?
Da Flyy Hooligan: Through the whole acting thing. I’ve got a good friend of mine who pretty much grew up with him. His name is Anthony Welsh, he’s an actor as well. He introduced us almost ten years and we’ve been cool ever since.
TRHH: That’s cool. Another ill title is ‘Helly Hansen’. How did that song come together?
Da Flyy Hooligan: Yeah, man. That beat took me back to the 90s. In the 90s one of the most prominent fashion gears was Helly Hansen. I remember seeing Redman rocking that shit, Big L, Method Man, Mobb Deep. It was a 90s accessory. No one was talking about that shit. No one tried to bring that shit back and I was like, “Yo, that’s another void in the game. I’m jumping on that quick!” I’ve got a huge Helly Hansen collection as well.
TRHH: You recently performed in the States. How would you compare crowds in the States to UK crowds?
Da Flyy Hooligan: I was just in L.A. That’s a good one. They’re actually quite the same. In L.A. it seems like they listen out for the lyrics. You’ll think they’re not vibing with you but they’re actually listening out for the lyrics to make sure you’re just not chanting shit over a dope beat. Once they realize, “This nigga is about this shit,” they come up to you and introduce themselves and big you up. In London it’s pretty much the same. In London they aren’t expecting that from someone from London. London is a city that’s been driven by dance music for eons now. To come with the content and the beats that are true to the art form, they seem quite taken aback by that. But once they get into the groove of it they go nuts for the shit. They listen out for the lyrics too, so it’s quite similar.
TRHH: When I interview most emcees that perform in Europe they say there is a greater appreciation for Hip-Hop over there. Wu-Tang, Public Enemy, De La Soul and Premier toured over there on the Gods of Rap tour, but they aren’t touring here. It’s pretty sad that, that package can’t tour in the States.
Da Flyy Hooligan: This is what’s happening to every local artist across the world. We’re underappreciated in our own zone. It takes for us to go somewhere else, for them to react to what we’re doing, and our hometown notices that and they’re like, “Alright, cool. Let’s back this artist.” Wu is loved in America because of what they’ve done and the opportunities they’ve brought to the game for up and coming artists, but it’s still a case of, “I can walk down the road and I’d probably bump into one of them.” It’s something that they can grasp. It’s in their hood. It’s not like us when you’re flying all the way over here to do a show – that’s a big deal.
It’s kind of the same. Me going to L.A., I’ve only done two shows in L.A. and one in New York. People are quite receptive to this guy who has left his comfort zone and is in the hood amongst Crips and just performing his shit unfazed. I think they respect that a lot. Until they become more familiar with me and my catalog, that’s going to be their initial reaction. “What’s he about? What’s he saying? Alright, I fuck with that. Dude can perform as well. Now let’s get to know him.” A relationship builds and before you know it, it’s going to be a sold-out show. It’s something that needs building.
TRHH: I was listening to Questlove’s podcast and he had Desus and Mero on. Desus was saying he has family in London. He was talking about the stabbings that go on in London. Are stabbings really a big thing out there?
Da Flyy Hooligan: Yeah, hell yeah. A bunch of people got stabbed yesterday.
TRHH: Why? What the fuck is going on?
Da Flyy Hooligan: It’s like the Chi a little bit. It’s a bit like Chi-raq, the difference is we’re wielding knives and swords out here. Guns are easy to get to, but for someone who is 15 or 16 years old it’s a lot easier to get a hold of a knife. It’s at arm’s length.
TRHH: But why? Is it drug related? Is it personal beefs? Is it random? Why are there stabbings?
Da Flyy Hooligan: Nothing is random. It’s a systematic thing. It’s the effects of the government taking away certain schemes and programs for the younger generation and then on top of that you have the police constantly putting pressure on them. The same thing that brother’s out your way get pressured by. We get the same thing too out here. And society just treating you like shit. I don’t want to say it’s because you’re black, because actually the fact of the matter is there are more white stabbings than black. It’s based on the demographic. I don’t know the exact ins and outs of out. It’s actually outside of London.
The demographic is poverty, isn’t it? When you have a place of poverty the people of that community who are poverty stricken, be they black, white, Hispanic, or whatever it is or whoever is in that vicinity are surrounded by crime. I think what the media has done very well, as usual, they highlight just the black stabbings and make it look like it’s just black people stabbing each other senselessly. White people are stabbing each other just as much or even more. They’re not going to put no coverage on that. I don’t really want to get political about it, that’s just a fact.
TRHH: I have a political question. I don’t know if we talked about this when we last spoke, but when I was in London in three years ago it was my first time leaving North America. It was my first time not feeling like everyone hated me. I didn’t feel the same racism and hatred that I feel in America. People were nice to me. My homegirl there said, “Don’t be fooled by that, they just like your accent.” What’s the real deal?
Da Flyy Hooligan: Two-faced. They smile in your face and stab you in the back. Funny enough, there is a guy called Danny Baker, anyone from the 70s or 80s would have grown up with this guy as a radio presenter – he’s a white guy. This whole situation with Prince Harry and Meghan has stirred up a lot of shit with white folk. White people in England seem to think that the royal family are straight Anglo-Saxon motherfuckers when they’re not. Prince Charles and his brother were actually brought up in Ghana for some time. The media don’t share that kind of information. They don’t want to taint the perfect, white, angelic image. Back to Danny Baker, Prince Harry and Meghan had their son. It’s a mixed-race child named Archie. This guy Danny Baker puts up a tweet with a meme that was shot in the 50s or 60s or something. It was two white people stepping out of a hospital with a monkey dressed up as an old person with a raincoat and a baller hat. On top of that picture it said, “The Royal baby has left the hospital” or something like that.
So, he basically has compared a child to a monkey. That’s how much it’s got these white people riled up. I don’t want to say I blame anyone, but I feel Trump has a big part to play in it because ever since Trump became president white folks have come out of their shells. They make it very clear how they feel about black people right now and any other ethnic minority. They’ve made it quite clear. Even the police have made it clear more than ever. You can film all you want or whatever, but they’ll straight kill you and they know they’re going to get away with it. That’s where we’re at. Ultimately, the point I’m making is English people are the type that will smile and be very polite. You will walk away feeling like that’s a nice person, but chances are they’re thinking, “You black bastard.”
TRHH: That’s disappointing. I had thoughts of moving there.
Da Flyy Hooligan: At least you know. The folks out here are decpticons, B. Like I said, this guy has been on our TV screens and radio stations for forty or fifty years. Now you want to put out a meme of a monkey leaving the hospital? It’s pushed them over the edge. They can’t hold it anymore. They can’t contain it. It has to come out.
TRHH: I think Trump helped, but this really started in Europe. I think there is a sense with white people that they’re losing their whiteness. They’re losing their hold on their civilization. There’s too many immigrants and too many Muslims and they’re scared. Here it’s Mexican’s, so they want to build a wall to keep them out. Why? Mexican’s are growing and white people aren’t reproducing like Mexican’s are. Soon they’ll be the dominant minority in the country and white people are horrified. That’s why they want that wall.
Da Flyy Hooligan: I remember reading a book as a kid by Anthony T. Browder called “Survival Strategies for Africans in America” and he touches on that same subject that you touched on in regards to the Caucasian. They saw that everywhere they turned it was brown people. If they slept with a brown person, whether male or female, the brown and black gene is so dominant that my baby will come out brown as well, which means I’m going to get wiped out, hence why they’ve had this long battle of population control. That’s why we have AIDS, that’s why we have cancer, that’s why we have pneumonia, that’s why we have hepatitis, STD’s, and all of that shit. It’s all part of population control and they chose us as the motherfucker’s they need to get off Earth real quick. That’s why systematic racism is still prevalent in the world we live in now, because really and truly if it really wasn’t that, one, we would have had reparations a long time ago, and 2, an officer would not feel brave enough to even raise his voice on a person of color. If you look at it, he wouldn’t raise his voice to a Jewish person or a white person, but he would a black person.
I always forget her name, she’s such a queen, but she’s a white woman who is an activist. I love this woman. She was at a forum and said to a crowd of white people, “Put your hands up if you want to be treated how black people are being treated,” not one fucking hand went up. She asked the question again and still, no one put their hand up. She said, “This proves that you know what’s going on with black people and yet you’re saying nothing about it.” Whether it’s subconsciously or consciously, the collective have made this decision that when it comes to trash, this is the trash and that’s how the trash is going to get treated. Whenever we say we feel there is still racism in the world the first thing that someone who is racist will say is, “There is no racism. What are you talking about?” They will always deny that shit and come with some reverse psychology shit.
TRHH: And it’s the most racist person who says that. It’s mind boggling.
Da Flyy Hooligan: No, it’s not. Being in an abusive relationship, that person who is constantly giving out the abuse, he or she doesn’t know what they’re doing until that get a taste of their own medicine and then it’s victim syndrome. “How could you do this to me?” and all of a sudden you’re the bad person. That comedian on Vlad said it brilliantly. He said, “I just want to shout out the white people because you guys have pulled the greatest trick. You’ve gotten the world to believe you’re good, clean, and wholesome when you’re the ones who have caused the most wars, the most atrocities, and the most genocides.” If there are 300 countries on Earth, there’s only 32 countries that you guys haven’t touched yet [laughs].
TRHH: He’s right. They like to twist history and say, “They were savages. We were civilizing them! We brought them Western Civilization!” No, you stole, you raped, and you murdered.
Da Flyy Hooligan: You can’t civilize the person that gave you civilization. It doesn’t make sense. What I’m saying ultimately is they got scared and terrified that their race is dwindling, so the only way to persevere and keep their race alive is by systematically eradicating those that aren’t Caucasian. That’s enough politics.
TRHH: We got real political! I noticed that the songs on FYLPM II have drums on them. Why did you decide to switch things up on this project?
Da Flyy Hooligan: ‘Cause I can. No one said there were rules to this shit. This is art, B [laughs]. I’m very particular about the drums anyway. To me everything I jumped on I felt it was knocking. I enjoyed making it. I did put a couple tracks on there with no drums. I think it was Romero Bryan II where I said, “I promised them drums, but I can’t stick to that.” I love my drum-less shit, man. I love spitting over drum-less beats. It’s no harm in having something that’s slightly the opposite of what you would normally do. I had to do it, man.
TRHH: What’s the meaning behind Fucc Ya Life Praise Mine?
Da Flyy Hooligan: That’s a very interesting question. It’s for no one in particular. It’s just a bold statement that I get when I look at Instagram and go through the timeline that’s the kind of statement I’m getting from people. It makes sense, everyone is selfish to a degree. When it’s your account, clearly, your account is going to be about yourself. When you look at some accounts it’s just so perfect that there is no way, shape or form it’s real. I just get that vibe off of it like, “Fuck your life. Praise mine. It doesn’t matter about your life, it only matters about mine. You need to keep coming to my timeline and feel like shit about your life and wish that your life was like my life.” I feel like you could take it as, “We’re kings and queens and all you racist motherfuckers, fuck your life. You’ve got to praise us because we are kings and queens.”
That’s why it’s art. It’s there for the consumer to take whatever they want from it. No one is right or wrong unless it’s some outlandish shit or some stupid ass conspiracy theory. If you look at it in terms of art or something that’s on display for you to have a critique about it, you’re more than welcome to come up with anything you want. I just want to add as well that my eldest son is on the front over. It’s dedicated to him. That art piece is dedicated to him. It’s a reminder to him that whenever you come across some people that make you feel like shit, here’s a reminder, take a look at this image, that’s who you really are. With me there’s never just one thing. There’s always layers to that shit and that’s what art is – it’s multi-layered.
Purchase: Da Flyy Hooligan – FYLPM II