Scorcher

“I’ve got something to lose now” “There’s no room for error and being a tough guy is not gonna feed my daughter.” With the birth of his first child, Tayo ‘Scorcher’ Jarrett has found a new focus, and is ready to harness his talent for making music. Already a firm favourite on the underground grime scene, with the release of his album Concrete Jungle, and new promo mixtape Jungle Book, the north London resident is primed for a bigger audience. “I make music for people who appreciate good music and have no care for a genre, people who like what they like.” Music was instilled in Scorcher from a very young age. Refining his abilities as he grew, Scorcher released his first CD; Simply the Best in 2006. Drawing on his experiences and environment, the mixtape for the most part was a harsh insight into inner city London living. Showcasing a variety of musical influences, the underground release combined grime, hip hop, dancehall and even 80’s pop to a fast growing fanbase. Though Scorcher himself, admits that other influences in his life still took precedence, the CD was produced purely because he liked doing it and not for commercial gain. Pitfalls resulted in his second CD Leader of the New School - being sandwiched by stretches at her Majesty’s pleasure, thus resulting in a lack of attention that the disc deserved. “My life was crazy at that point. I was on the radio one day, court cases the next… so everything you hear on that mixtape was real.” With high-profile appearances on commercial radio stations such as BBC 1Xtra and Kiss FM, as well as taking part in a promotional campaign for MTV Base, Scorcher’s marketable stock was up, however he was not around to capitalise on it. LOTNS meanwhile built on the quick-fire freestyles of his first disc, and boasted well rounded songs and intelligent concepts which until then were relatively unheard of in the fledgling genre. Scorcher followed this up with a sequel to Simply the Best and a compilation entitled Thunder Power which included a collection of tracks produced by himself for other artists such as Bashy, Devlin and Griminal. The title was in reference to his trademark hard, gritty, guitar lead productions. Scorcher was also a member of The Movement; a collective of likeminded MCs consisting of Wretch 32, Ghetts and Mercston, with whom he had released a CD entitled Tempo Specialists. Despite a growing catalogue of music, it was still what Scorcher describes as a glorified hobby for the MC. That was until the birth of his daughter, an event he missed due to being incarcerated. Scorcher acknowledges this as his biggest regret. Although highly unfortunate, this gave Scorcher the drive and purpose to set about crafting his first full length album, putting in a solid two years work in the studio, perfecting his sound. The resulting product, Concrete Jungle heralded a new direction for the artist. With a disc that combined the raw realities of growing up in a deprived neighborhood, the universal experiences of love and life, as well as documenting the relationship between him and his daughter. The first single I Know, featuring and produced by Wiley is a bona fide up tempo party song. She Don’t Know My Name, Grownard and the video favourite, Lipsin Ting caters for Scorcher’s female fanbase, cementing his position as an urban heartthrob. Space Invader is classic head-nod hip hop and Getaway is story-telling, worthy of Dan Brown’s latest best selling thriller. The banned from TV Gangsta, We Don’t Care and new single Dark Knight are firmly rooted in grime’s foundation of hard beats and rhymes. Turbulence on the other hand, is an emotive song which details Scorcher’s relationship with daughter Sienna. Signaling a new era for the MC, Concrete Jungle was just the tip of the iceberg for how far he can go as an artist with the electro-pop of Lights On, perhaps being the most prominent highlight of what he is capable of in a more commercial realm and an indicator of the music currently being crafted in his studio. Continuing his success and treading hard into 2010, Scorcher surprised fans with the release of a free promo CD entitled Jungle Book. The CD present’s music followers with a taste of what’s expected from this fast growing artist. With almost 10,000 downloads in less than 2 weeks, this definitely shows the ability and craft, this young artist has to offer the UK music scene. Not just an MC – with the success of his clothing line Skywalker, constantly selling out of t-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies, a video production company Staple House which has directed promos for Wiley, Boy Better Know and his own recent videos, Scorcher has got his entrepreneurial cap on as well as being an amazing artist. A forward thinking individual who is progressing at a frightening speed, Scorcher is certain to set whatever he touches alight. “You’re not supposed to be living the same way year after year. In life you’re supposed to progress.”