Eerder dit jaar namen de heren van Hacktivist afscheid van de voormalige zanger Ben Marvin, en dus viel er een gat dat opgevuld moest worden. Enkele maanden later stappen de Britse rap-djent pioniers met trots terug de wereld in, met grime-artiest Jot Maxi als nieuwe zanger. De zanger was eerder al te horen op de track “Rotten”, van het debuutalbum Outside The Box, en als welkomstcadeautje brengt de band nu “2 Rotten” uit.

We spraken met Jot Maxi om te vragen hoe hij tegen deze nieuwe tijd aankijkt.

DS: Hey there! It’s exciting to have you as a new vocalist in Hacktivist. I want to take you back for a while and ask if you can remember when you heard about Hacktivist for the very first time, and what were your first thoughts?

Jot Maxi: “Yo! Yep it’s a very exciting time… I heard about the band before I heard how they sounded ‘cause I knew a few of the guys to party with, so I was just hyped to hear it. Then when I heard the mix of styles Hacktivist brings I just thought yeah that’s dope, pure fire!”

What was your first reaction when you got the invitation to become the new vocalist?

“Actually it wasn’t so much an invitation, …It was more a unanimous mutual feeling between us all! But yeah, I just thought this is the perfect outlet for my growling rap style, just perfect.”

You’ve had a career on your own for a while now, how does this big move fit in your personal career? Did you ever expect something like this to happen?

“I knew my musical path would continue to grow and advance with time, but to join a band?! No, no way. If any other group had asked I would probably have said no… I’m a lone wolf by nature… but Hacktivist has a sound and a message that hits me deep. I had to do this.”

What are you going to do to make Hacktivist a better band?

“I have a lot of respect for former vocalist Ben Marvin – I mean he helped pave the way for H to get to where they are now, so I don’t like to say I’ll make it better. But my vicious vocal style definitely compliments the H sound and visa versa. Let’s just say things are about to blow up!”

It seems that most of your roots lie in the grime and hip-hop cultures, do you think your inclusion will help Hacktivist evolve their sound to something new?

“I used to sing for metal bands in my early teens and then the rap side of things took over. So H are actually taking me back to my roots just as much as I feel I can now bring more street recognition to a movement that’s already well established in the metal world.”

What are your biggest influences and sources of inspiration music-wise?

“I love everything that has power and passion, from Björk or Moby, to Korn & Slipknot, to crazy styles like Die Antwoord… and of course I’m heavily inspired by the grime movement that emerged from my home city of London early this millennium.”

Can you tell us more about “2 Rotten”, what it means lyrically and what it means as a whole?

“Wow, well the idea behind the original “Rotten” track was that we are fighting against a system that has taken our freedom and threatens our world with even more war. It’s a rebellion against capitalism, war & the invasion of our privacy. We are basically already in a state of world war at the moment, with a massive list of countries bombing Syria and the surrounding areas. We are just sheltered from it behind our TV’s and in our shopping centres. So in “2 Rotten” when we speak of the future we say World War 4. In this version, you’ll hear the outro saying “earth’s on fire but the core’s not rotten – some of us were born survivors”. It’s a call for you to wake up and see what’s really going on.”

What can we expect from Hacktivist in the future?

“More darkness, more light, more heart-racing riffs and intense flows that tackle the subjects nobody wants to talk about! Watch out!”

Thanks!

“Haha, thanks to you guys too, respect.”

Check de nieuwe track “2 Rotten” hieronder.