Let there be no mistake, Master Shortie – rapper, entrepreneur - samplemeister - indie/rap pioneer and musical
trail-blazer - is a man who always gets what he wants.
This, after all, is a self-made 19-year-old artist who simply doesn’t play by anyone’s rules but his own. A man who
has been recording raps off his own back and without any major label backing since he was 12 and is totally in
charge of all of his own promotion, record releases, styling and marketing. As a result he’s become the poster boy
of a DIY underground scene that represents everything that’s exciting and unique about UK music today, and all the
while making the kind of vibrant, nail-you-to-the-groove 80s tinged electro-hop that puts him alongside Black Kids,
Cool Kids and any other kind of kids that are redefining what 21st Century, post-industry music can be.
Born Theo Kerlin he moved South London (with his mum and sister at the age of six), Shortie was already something of
a music aficionado – his dad ran an East London jazz bar throughout his childhood and he grew up listening to
everything from Prince to Aerosmith to Run DMC. After a short stint at the Brit School at the age of 14 (he soon
dropped out, claiming “it wasn’t me, it didn’t suit me”), he started recording and producing his own adolescent
hip-hop songs with producers and an underground reggae singer called Sparky. He’d rap about his experiences with
girls and his hatred of being stereotyped, indulging his love of electronica, hip-hop and indie to create a brand of
alternative hip-hop all his own. The two songs he recorded in his early teens took influence from the neo-soul
underground New York Backpack rappers, Mos Def, Andre 3000, Prince, Paul Simon, Terence Trent Darby and Tracy
Chapman, and certainly weren’t what the average rap toe-dipper might call ‘grime’.
Nabbing support slots with American urban acts such as ATL at the Hackney Empire, the Scala and Shepherd’s Bush
Empire from the age of 16, Master Shortie honed his art writing and recording with all manner of dance, rap and rock
acts. As something of a genre-hopping pioneer, Shortie was writing songs with guitar bands long before urban acts
collaborating with indie bands or pop producers became the chart-topping norm.
Ironically, it’s Shortie’s charm, energy and individual style – the iris-scorching baseball caps, cuddly crunk
accoutrements and the jeans of a Kings Of Leon – that set him apart from the crowd. But the ever-changing parade of
wannabe svengalis swirling around him and several industry buzzes which came to nothing left Shortie distrustful of
the music industry (as the spite-fuelled ‘Merry Go Round’ attests) and so he decided, with his trademark
determination, to do it all himself.
Which, with the help of intense Myspace plugging (Shortie was on the site every day, interacting with his fans) and
a home-made video for ‘Rope Chain’ on YouTube, turned Shortie from a child star of the commercial West End into the
hottest underground alternative hip-hop act in the country. Hence he was asked to support fellow rock/rap
rabble-rousers Hadouken! on their recent UK tour and is set to self-release indie rap thumper ‘Dead End’ as his
first major single later this year.
Master Shortie’s fresh, enthusiastic self-made-man approach to making and releasing his music is an inspiration in
an age when so many supposedly ‘underground’ acts are busy chasing major label deals and shrouding themselves in
designer hype to mask their essential lack of talent. Here, however, is the Real Deal, and he’s ready to unleash his
molten mix of The Rapture, Outkast, DMX, Usher, Klaxons, Prince, Axel F and drum’n’bass on the world. The question
is, is the world ready for such an unquantifiable boy genius as MS?
“The albums called ADHD, standing for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,” he says, “it’s like when someone’s
different, people just don’t know what to do or how to take it, and as a child, if your different, they classify you
as having ADHD. Same as my music, it’s very different, and the fact that it appeals to everyone, and it hasn’t been
done before.”
dropping some love on your page be sure to check out my page,music and, videos add my songs on your profile if you like what you hear..... thanks for the support god bless hope you enjoy my page jayson
hi theo. voted for you in the mobos, hopefully you'll win it. before you know it, you'll be bringing grammies home and putting them above your toilet. up for any brits? x
wos gd juss passin fru ur page showin love as usual
u bn gd doe?
if u asked me 4 a abeat mail me ur contact details prefferably a number
if not ur email and da type of beat ur after. ur info will b properly
reecorded and il get back 2 u. i dont produce 4 3my beats r 25 pounds
each but the quality will b amazin as u know and da beat will b
exclusive 2 u.
hit me back
DAZELER
yo master shortie i appreciated the add i've got real diehard fans of urz wanting too know if they could get a free copie you're album will be bumped hard we support ya around here and if u could do a jingle for my dad dj smalley at lightningfm 90.8 peace 1
