Doc Brown interview

Tom Burrows talks to Doc Brown, who has left behind the over-serious world of hip-hop to become a respected stand-up comedian and comic rapper...

Rewind six years, Doc Brown had just released an album and was embarking on a successful hip-hop career. Today, having left the rapping behind, he's making a name for himself in UK stand-up. There are regrets however and, just like his namesake, he sometimes wishes he could go back in time.

As I start my interview with the rapper-turned-comedian, my nerves set in. When Doc talks it's impossible not to listen, there's a mesmerising cockney bravado in his voice, not dissimilar to many a rapper hailing from the capital.

It suddenly occurs to me - 'should I refer to him as his alias, or his lesser known real name - Ben Smith?'.

"I really don't mind, Doc is fine" is the response - "a lot of people only know me as that. My wife calls me Ben though; she'd never call me Doc!"

The nerves soon dissipate. Brown may have a strong background in hip-hop, but now he's very much the comedian. He light-heartedly references Back to the Future as the inspiration for the name 'Doc Brown' - one of the film's famous characters. "I was always a big fan of that movie, and I think it comes down to the fact that I was something of a nerd at school."

"When you start rapping as a teenager it's kind of frowned upon to give yourself a 'name', so I forced it to stick really - I definitely have to take partial blame."

Growing up, Doc was dubbed a nerd because of his love of reading and writing. It's then no surprise that his sister, whom he describes as a 'massive influence', is successful author Zadie Smith. "With writing, my sister was always doing it, but it was something that I was always quietly confident about."

"It was never a forced thing from my parents, but we were both just really into it. I would always read the books that my sister discarded. She could read like a novel a day, she was so far ahead. She used to get through the Roald Dahl books and I really loved those, man! I think it really sparked my imagination as a youngster."

As Doc continues, it is obvious just how close he is to his sister Zadie. Filled with admiration he reflects about growing up with her, emphasising just how much of an affect she has had on his life and career, both in music and comedy. "I loved performing. My sister and I would memorise sketches from TV, like A Bit of Fry and Laurie or Monty Python and we'd act them out - not for anyone in particular, it was just an early appreciation of words and using them for humorous effect."

"It was my sister who got me into hip-hop too. We got £1 pocket money each and used it to get cassette singles. She played me the first hip-hop I'd ever heard. From the beginning there was something about it that spoke to me. I found it funny and entertaining but also it felt like a straightforward way of saying what you felt."

As Brown immersed himself in hip-hop, he gradually started to become a regular visitor to the underground rapping scene in London. Ultimately entering b-boy battles, where he would write his own material to earn money.

"I was always writing little rhymes and stuff, but I was shit scared of actually going to these rap shows to perform. The more I went to battles to watch, the more I thought 'these guys are average at best' - I really felt like I could do better and eventually my friends pushed me into battling. I got to the quarter finals and that was all I needed really, that bitterness of defeat but knowing I'd done ok just spurred me on and I went back for more."

As Doc Brown's reputation as a rapper grew, he became a member of the group Poisonous Poets, a crew which started to create a real underground buzz in the mid 00s, even gaining airplay on Radio 1. During this time Doc supported the likes of Busta Rhymes and De La Soul as well as being invited to MC for producer Mark Ronson.

It is perhaps not surprising then, that there was much hype and controversy surrounding Brown's move from high-profile rapper to the 'less glamorous' life of a stand-up...

"I didn't just leave; it wasn't as straightforward as that. Whether you're a sketch group or a rock and roll band, a group is a difficult thing to keep together, everybody works at different levels. I think within that setup I always worked the most, I wrote the most and I was always the one trying to bring things together and it was hard."

"We had opportunities, some which we took and some that didn't work out for us, it just sort of petered out. No one said 'I'm leaving!!' and we're all still mates now."

"I have a million and one regrets about my rap career, don't get me started we'll be here all day!", he says laughing - "I really think I was just around at the wrong time. I listen back to my music and think 'you know what, some of it was pretty bloody good!'"

"If we were still around, in these days of rap superstars like Tinie Tempah and Wiley, I think we would be massive."

Since making the transition from rap to comedy, Doc explains how the change of career has also made a massive difference to himself as an individual. "I'm still the same person, but when you're so deeply immersed in street culture, as I was, I don't think I was able to be myself all the time. I don't want to say I was putting up a front, but smiling was a weakness."

"Comedy is a much more chilled out world to be in frankly; striving to be cool every two seconds was tiresome." Now smiling much more, Doc is enjoying his new life as a comedian, but he still attributes much of his success to his rap career, which has a huge influence on his stand-up. Brown's comedy includes sketches rapping about comedic scenarios, such as teaching kids equestrian dressage as opposed to football...

"I recognise that the 99% of the guys that I work with wanted to be stand-ups their whole life whereas I have sort of popped up in it. Stand-up is a billion times harder than being a rapper, I'm not a parody or a character, it's just me - there's nowhere to hide and when people don't like my stuff it fucking hurts."

"But battling in comedy, I realised early on that it was just like the rap game - you battle your way up and have competitions where you can win money going up against other comics."

"It's something in my past that would be churlish to deny, any comic will tell you that - if you've got a special skill pull it out when you can. It's quite a dangerous thing to do in the mainstream circuit, but in comedy it's all about how you present. Ultimately there is certain universality to my performances. The rap is underpinned as something people can recognise, it's not just me going 'brap brap!!'"

Still only 32, Doc Brown is obviously a man of many talents. As well as a successful rapper and comedian he has also had recent TV appearances as an actor, playing a drug dealer in The Inbetweeners for example. I asked Doc what we can expect to see from him in the future...

"Obviously I am a Stand-up but I don't know if that's my future, it was never something in my past, it was never something I planned to do. It's the most immediate way to find out if your ideas are good enough, but I don't know if I want to be doing it every day of the year."

"Comedy is hard, hard work, and I'd love to take a break from it and do some more acting, or do the two concurrently. The main thing for me is don't disrespect the art form, a lot of people do it for a year just to become a presenter, reading autocue for ten years and going to celebrity parties. I didn't become a comedian for that, I started doing it because once I'd had a taste for it, I realised intellectually and creatively you can really take people on a journey. I thought, 'Jesus, stand-up is actually an incredible thing'."