D Gritty, who formally rolled under the forename Humurak, is a Leeds born, Bradford raised MC with something to say about what’s lacking in the current hip-hop climate and why repping the UK is personally proper but musically irrelevant. Having toured the UK & Europe three times, with dates at both Glastonbury and Glade on his resume, Gritty’s not new to the game.

He was handpicked as a support artist for two Goldie Lookin’ Chain tours and has appeared in guest spots on albums for artists such as Skitz, Blade, Secondson and Micall Parknsun. With two heavyweight EPs (Rags 2 Rags, They Aint Read) and a successful mix tape (Kinggritty.com Vol1) under his low-slung belt, the time is ripe for a full length debut.

Parlaying directly from the studio where he is currently holed up with long time tour DJ and producer First Aid, Gritty took a break from the mixing booth to talk to London Tour Dates about his upcoming album No Struggle, No Progress and his plans for the future.

Despite forays into spitting during teenage years, it was until his early twenties that Gritty started taking the rhyming thing seriously. Professionally and personally, the MC was driven by a patriotic pride; “I guess my real aim when I first started out was to show that British music is as good as anything else. I was born in Leeds, my mum is English and my Dad is Jamaican. I’m proud to be English so I maintain that identity”. Despite this loyalty, he’s adamant about having his music viewed within a global hip-hop perspective rather then being squarely placed in the UK scene. “I feel like too many people like to call their music ‘UK hip-hop’, like its only special because it came from here. I think if its good hip-hop, its good hip-hop – regardless of where it’s from. And I don’t want really want to be pigeonholed; I’m not a ‘UK rapper’, I’m an artist who also happens to be from the UK”.

Though his earlier material seems honest and undoubtedly dark in an autobiographical sense, Gritty is intent on championing positive thinking, in both his material and the hip-hop community itself. “I like to rap about positive issues, and try to influence my audience in a good way. I feel like there is a lack of truth in music nowadays, its all about how many ring tones you can sell; I’m not into all that. I grew up listening to reggae, people like Dennis Brown, so I always try to bring something positive to the table”.

He certainly elucidates this in current single ‘Real Talk’, which encourages self and social awareness. The early demise of his biggest musical inspirations undoubtedly helped to implement this attitude; “I’d have to say either Big L or Tupac. They’ve had a lasting effect on me”. Taking affirmative cues from respected, canonical legends who didn’t get to live out their legacies is certainly the best way of turning the struggle into something rewarding.

Though crime and unemployment are clearly not paths he condones, Gritty is candid about his own experiences. “I had one part time job when I left school, but that was it. I’ve just been focused on the music. I haven’t been successfully financially” he admits humbly, but even signed, established artists have to fight for their bread during the first few years. With such ambition and his own label Rags Records slowly gaining momentum, the payoff shouldn’t be too far away, especially considering his high profile friends and supporters.

He mentions Dizzee Rascal reaching out to him a few years back; “He phoned me up about three years ago to tell me that he was a fan. He said if I was ever in London I should holla at him. It was cool”, whilst his initial steps into the business were guided by none other then Skinnyman. “Yeah, Skinny’s like my big brother. He’s a good person who likes to help everybody. We met in Leeds. He was an established guy in the game, so he had a lot of advice for me. We’ve been close ever since.”

Should we expect to find either Dizzee or Skinny on the upcoming album then? “Skinny is on there, for sure. I’ve also got Million Dan from the Demon Boyz showing up too”, he says with pride. When pressed about the musical direction on No Struggle, No Gain, Gritty is blunt about his designs.

“Musically, it’s a straight-up hip-hop album. I feel like a lot of people have been jumping on the dubstep bandwagon lately, which is something I wanted to avoid here. Production wise, I’ve got First Aid handling the majority, with Jehst, Baby J and Metabeats contribute”. Though crossovers between urban artists and more leftfield genres are now de rigueur, Gritty is more then decided on what he will and won’t do.

“Outside my material, I’m up for experimenting, but on this album, I wanted to keep things strictly hip-hop because there hasn’t been a ‘straight’ album like that for awhile. I like dubstep and I don’t mind grime, so yeah - I would experiment”. He’s clearly happy with his circle of collaborators, but when pressed, he throws up a name or two he’d like to work with in the future. “UK wise, I like Retch 32, he’s big. Skream is also cool, and internationally, I’d love to do something with Cappleton or Sizzla”.

Big names, for sure, but then Gritty is all about aiming high. He’s also about progression; “My album is hip-hop, but its not old school” he clarifies. So it’s fresh-sounding then? “Yeah. I’m trying to broaden my horizons but keep true to what hip hop should be; it won’t sound like a 90’s throwback, for sure” he replies with a chuckle.

Not that there’d be anything wrong with that, surely? This was, after all, the era that gave us his aforementioned heroes; “Nah, it wouldn’t a bad thing. But I’m trying to move forward rather then backward” he says, a commendable ethic indeed. No Progress, No Struggle should be dropping in early 2010, but in the mean time, this politely frank MC will be greasing the wheels with a slew of UK tour dates, most notably his upcoming support slot Kyza on the 14 Nov at The Rhythm Factory, which will also feature J2K, Ramson Badbones, Rahel, Sarah Love and DJ MK; get on it.