Producer Kill Miami on his route into music, his work with 67 crew and his Inner City Waves live set

While still in the early stages of his career, Manchester-based producer and DJ Kill Miami has produced for an eye-watering number of artists: from Manchester’s IAMDDB and Abnormal Sleepz to London-based MC Reece West, Trinidad and Tobago’s Jay Nahge and most recently drill crew 67. His versatility in the studio sees him comfortable in a number of styles and his forthcoming set at Inner City Waves looks set to announce him as a serious player in the live arena too. We spoke to Kill Miami shortly after his return from a trip to France, discussing his experiences there, his production for 67, tracks in the pipeline and artists to watch over the coming 12 months. Sign-up to catch his live set at the free entry Inner City Waves showcase on Thursday 31st January, here.

What piqued your interest in music and music production? Was music a big part of your life growing up, or was it something that entered the frame as you gained your independence?

Kill Miami: ‘I was really into dance before music, I danced professionally in hip hop till I was about 17. I started DJ’ing about that time but was mainly like 140’s, dubstep stuff (around the time dubstep blew up) and then gradually got into production from there. I was always into music heavily though, my older brother was a rapper from an early age and I’d even dabbled in MC’ing myself at like 13/14.’

67’s 4 Of Da Gang, dropped via GRM daily recently. Can you tell us how that track came together and what you and 67 envisioned for the beat?

KM: ‘So with that track I didn’t actually know it existed until a week before the release. I’d been working with Liquez (67) on some stuff for the Jay Nahge EP I’m producing and I think I’d sent a beat pack over for him and Dimzy. The original beat for 4 of The Gang I made for P Money. It was way different, the end switch up part came in much earlier at like 55 seconds, but they had looped the intro to fit the full duration of the song. I then saw Dimzy had posted a preview of the track on Instagram and it had comments from like Skepta & Blade Brown and that was my first introduction into the track.’

You were in France recently – did you have time to explore and if so, what have you seen?

KM: ‘Yeah I did the usual tourist attractions like Eiffel Tower, Moulin Rouge etc. I also played on Hotel Radio Paris which is a huge achievement for me, being a massive fan of Ed Banger Records who co-run the station. I am also working toward a release on Ed Banger and a remix for them. I got some studio time in too with a French rapper called ThaHomey who’s sick!!’

You’ve got tunes forthcoming with The Mouse Outfit and Tempa T. What can you tell us about the new material?

KM: ‘So the track with The Mouse Outfit was actually scheduled to come out in October, but due to one thing or another, it’s been delayed up until now, which has been quite a frustrating process. It’s now dropping Feb 1st. The release is very different to my latest with 67, much more of a laid back hip-hop vibe. Which again is completely different to my stuff with Tempa T, aha, we have 4/5 tracks together that I think are gonna be on his EP/album.’

It’s around this time of year that broadcasters and publications name the artists they’re tipping for success in the next 12 months. From an artistic standpoint, who do you feel is poised for a big year in 2019?

KM: ‘From Manchester: OneDa, Just Banco, K Don, Tunde, Kin Kai, Robin Knightz, Ayo Britain. Other than that I can see Flohio, Che Lingo, Miraa May, L3, Earth Gang, Flipp Dinero all doing very well this year.’

What do you have in store for the headline set at Inner City Waves this month? Any new material or guest appearances we can look forward to?

KM: ‘So this set will actually be my first time playing live with a full band, previously I have had musicians and vocalists but this time I have a 4 piece band and 4 vocalists. So it’s quite exciting and nerve racking at the same time. I’d say expect to hear some classic hip hop vibes with a touch of bass and trap.’

Keep up with Kill Miami on Instagram and Facebook, and stream new music via his Spotify, YouTube and SoundCloud pages.