Quotes from Kano

Jermaine Defoe was from my area. Rio Ferdinand used to come into my barbershop.

Initially we were spitting lyrics over garage beats, in that eight-bar gap where there wasn't a vocal. But we were rebellious towards garage because they were rebellious towards us; a lot of their gatekeepers said grime was too violent.

I'm just trying to humanise situations and represent voices that aren't being represented.

We're always going for it and trying to raise the bar and achieve more and more and just be as creative as we can.

My first bars were about wrestling! That was basically all I knew back then.

We grew up and I feel like we're achieving a level of success through music that's allowing us to see the world. I want that for people where I come from. I want them to achieve that same thing through their passions. It's important that when we reach these places, that we still are who we are, and we never forget where we come from.

People think I can't go shopping - that's their perception of how famous I am.

The key to acting well is to allow yourself to be vulnerable.

There's so much talent around here, east London in particular is full of talent. Whether that be boxing or football or music.

I don't agree with any form of butler, so definitely not a robot one. It's lazy, so a bad idea.

David Cameron? He's not my guy.

You may think it's weird working with a cartoon band but there are a lot of characters in grime, especially since the early days.

Starting out, when I was on pirate radio, or even around 2005 when I was supporting Mike Skinner at Brixton Academy, I never really saw myself being able to play my own show there.

I would be extremely surprised if David Cameron watched 'Top Boy.' But maybe he should. Maybe he should.

Music changes every year, but some people are great at riding waves and then they're doing something different next year.

The first time I ever played Glastonbury I would have never have thought that a grime artist would have ever headlined it.

I started writing lyrics to clash with other people in the playground. Now I've developed my own voice and my own style. There's no one out there that does the same thing as me.

I would go to college and people would know me from the rave they went to at the weekend. So I would get a bit of respect. But I would always go to class and do my work. My mother made sure of that.

I need to make the album that deserves attention. Everyone's busy. I need to really be saying something.

Both are about telling stories and bringing truth to those stories. In most of my music it's firsthand experience, and some of the same rules apply in TV. The difference in music is the control, whereas doing this, it's someone else's words that you can play in your own way.

In most of my music it's firsthand experience, and some of the same rules apply in TV. The difference in music is the control, whereas doing this, it's someone else's words that you can play in your own way.

I'm just used to having so much control in music and in acting you have to give that up a bit. Sure, our voices are heard on set, but at the end of the day you can lose an argument. Whereas in music, if I feel the second verse needs to be changed I can change it. I find it really hard as an artist to give up some of that control.

I would continue to try to make songs how I did at the start. Wherever that be, like in your bedroom or coming up with ideas on the bus, as you grow that's gonna change. Sometimes it can get forced.

My mum and dad weren't together when I was born. When I was a teenager, dad brought this girl round: here's your sister. She was only two years old, and I never saw her again from that day.