Gold alliance of hip-hop
A Scots music legend and a French rapper team up to pay tribute to a football hero
ONE of Scottish hip-hop’s strongest pillars, Damaged Goodz, is back and this time he’s resurrecting the Auld Alliance.
The rapper, real name Brian Jamieson, has teamed up with French rapper and producer Onra for a new EP, Gallus Alliance, which includes the new anthem Cantona.
As a Manchester United fan was it always an aim to write a song about the French footballer Eric Cantona?
I just really run off vibes when I hear a beat.
When Onra sent the beat over it sounded like a ballet to me and I always thought Cantona was ridiculously graceful on the pitch (karate kicks aside), so the idea came quite quick as I just always thought of him like an orchestra conductor in the middle of the pitch.
The song also doubles as a metaphor for my standing in hip-hop in Scotland, where I’m trying to constantly push the envelope and be remembered for someone who brought something fresh to the table.
As a boy from Castlemilk in Glasgow how did you end up following following Man United?
I’m actually a Clyde supporter as my dad was the groundsman at Shawfield Stadium and I was a ballboy.
But my old man had great football memorabilia and he knew my favourite player was Bryan Robson so he used to get me match programmes sent up from England and from then on I fell in love with the club.
I started supporting them when they were struggling so the “glory hunter” mince doesn’t apply with me.
Are you hoping Eric Cantona will hear it?
Of course. Onra is good friends with NBA Hall Of Famer Boris Diaw, the French basketball player who played with San Antonio Spurs, who in turn is friends with Eric Cantona. So you never know.
Then again he might just laugh at me for not being able to trap a sandbag.
The video for the song shows off your footie skills. Was it fun to do?
I’m lucky as one of my best friends, Hunter, does all my videos and he has known me for over 30 years so we work really well together.
We filmed it at Fort William’s ground Claggan Park, getting eaten alive with midges whilst trying to recreate iconic Cantona moments.
I drafted in my brother-inlaw Liam to play the abusive fan getting kicked in the chops and farted on. He’s always up for a laugh.
How did you and Onra get together?
We have a mutual friend in Robbie Davidson, the guitarist from The Exploited, and we both front crossover metal bands – Onra with Black
Bomb A and me previously with Skeleton Verse.
Talking to him a lot of our hip-hop tastes are identical as well as a love of hardcore underground acts like Slaine and La Coka Nostra.
Onra contacted me out of the blue saying he’d made beats and asked if I’d be interested. He sent a couple over and they were screamers. I asked for more.
With the historical strong links between Scotland and France it was relatively easy to find common ground and the Gallus Alliance EP was made.
Becca Starr features on two songs L’amour Or Less and a Glasgow Kiss/French Kiss. Her contribution to the project is massive.
You also have so many projects on the go – what’s next?
After Gallus Alliance me and Butterscotch will drop the Brothers From Another Planet
Vol II EP hopefully on New Year’s Day. Then it’s full steam ahead with a self-titled Damaged Goodz LP which I’m hoping will be ready by summer/autumn next year.
I’m determined to make the record of my life with this one. I’m also back playing live and will play the Crofter Bar in Fort William on September 18.
The hypocrisy between the arts and football is frightening. They are allowing 60,000 people in stadiums now and still holding back on letting small venues and pubs host 100+ people.
The arts got well and truly shafted during the Covid pandemic but hopefully we’ll all be back to normal soon. ● Damaged Goodz and Onra’s Gallus Alliance EP is out now.