Dig out your Reebok classics and prepare for some ‘sick’ garage tunes, because Brentford’s most notorious pirate radio station, Kurupt FM, is back on the air!
We met Steve Stamp AKA DJ Steves to chat about how Bafta-winning BBC3 comedy People Just Do Nothing has changed his life (or not)...
Has People Just Do Nothing changed your life? "I don’t think so. To be honest I’ve got a pretty bad memory so I don’t really remember what my life was like before the show. It’s been going on for ages now, hasn’t it? I'm not sure why they're still interested in anything we’re doing."
What's it like to be recognised when you're out and about? "It’s like having loads of new, really safe mates. Except I don’t know any of them. And they normally don’t want to hang out after the first 10 minutes cos they start finding me intense and wondering why I’m still walking with them."
Do you think you'd be as good a DJ as you are without the drugs? "We’ll never know to be honest. Drugs are a part of me now. It’s like water. Some people have to have three litres of water a day or whatever, I have to smoke weed… I don’t really like water to be honest, it just tastes really plain. I prefer a Capri Sun or something."
What's it like working for someone like Grindah? What makes him such a great MC? "Grindah’s a born leader. He’s the only man who would be able to run Kurupt FM. Without him it’s just a bunch of mates blazing and playing music. But with Grindah involved it’s… well, it’s still a bunch of mates blazing and playing music… but also there’s a guy shouting at us all to do stuff and making sure that we pay our subs. And that's good to have."
https://youtu.be/weNlxo09Tjw
Grindah's a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to Kurupt, does that inspire you and everyone else? "I’m actually a bit of a perfectionist as well. I’ve got this thing called OCD where I have to wash my hands six times every time I do a p*ss. What I’ve started doing is not going for p*sses any more, cos then I don’t have to wash my hands. If you hold in a p*ss for long enough your body basically ends up just absorbing it back into your blood stream I think. My blood probably stinks... haha."
Do you think People Just Do Nothing has brought Kurupt Radio to the brink of greatness? "Are we? Should I be doing something? I don't know. When you say it like that it sounds sort of intense… I don’t even really know what a brink is. Is it like a cliff? I don’t know if I like brinks."
What are you guys up to this year? Are you playing any gigs? "Yeah loads of festivals and that, we already did Glastonbury. I was there for a full week afterwards. I always volunteer to help clean up, I find it really rewarding. It’s like a treasure hunt of lost drugs. If you went this year and lost a baggy at any point, don’t worry, I’ve made sure it found a happy home."
Are you still working at Chabuddy's restaurant? What's he like as a boss? "Chabuds is a sick boss. He's the first boss I've ever had who hasn't fired me within a week for doing drugs. He actually encourages it cos he says it’s good to be chatty with the customers. He also pays me this thing called London living wage which is a tenner a day cash in hand. Can't say fairer than that."
Chabuddy is a great manager for Kurupt, where would you be without him? "Technically I reckon I’d be in more or less the same place. My Nan’s flat. And I’d probably spend less time in the back of his van going to shows. Or getting left at petrol stations… Thinking about it, I’m not sure how good he actually is as a manager. But it sounds good when you say 'I've got a manager' innit? More professional. Even if they're blatantly scam artists."
Do you admire the way Grindah and Beats juggle the station with their family life? "Yeah, seeing Beats with his new baby has made me realise that having kids is actually a lot of work. You basically just spend most of your day trying to work out what might stop them from crying for a little bit. There’s also something quite weird about the amount of times per day that a baby shits itself. I mean, we’ve all been there, but babies do it more than anyone I’ve ever known."
Have you ever considered finding someone and settling down, like the rest of the guys? "I'm not really into all that romantic love stuff. I think it’s a concept invented by the government as a marketing tool. I’m into love as a binding force that connects us all, especially when I'm in a rave. I just think the whole idea of finding a person who looks after you and is your companion for life is a bit mental. Get a dog. Their lives are shorter than humans as well so you can go through a few of them in your lifetime without everyone judging you."
When did you first realise you wanted to be a DJ? "The moment I realised I could be a DJ was when Beats and Grindah came over with decks and all the equipment and started setting it up in my Nan’s living room cos they said there was nowhere else to put it. I said I wasn’t sure if my Nan would be up for us playing loud music constantly and Grindah said 'If you let us set up Kurupt FM here I will let you DJ'… And it all just went from there really."
How important is it for famous DJs to keep their feet on the ground and stay true to the music? "I don't think DJs should keep their feet on the floor. They need to be the ones that supply the vibe, the ones that have the power to control the whole party."
The fourth series of People Just Do Nothing is available on BBC3 iPlayer from Tuesday August 15 and will screen on BBC2 from Saturday 19 August.
