interview perpetrated by the awesome Bela Nagy…egan.

Sicknature is one of the most respected hip-hop producers in Denmark and the underground music world. His music is hardcore and raw, heavily influenced by all styles of metal music. He’s got the knowledge how to translate that energy into hip-hop, and metal’s raw power comes through in his intense beats, sharp hooks and gut wrenching prose.

Metal Israel: It is mostly a metal-based magazine, but I’m interviewing you because you are known as a fan of the style and someone that represents it in your music. When you grew up, what part did metal and rock play in your life?  Which bands did you listen to?

Sicknature: Well, I grew up listening to metal, because my brother was a huge fan of it. The more he heard it, the more I grew to love it. I listened to Pantera, Metallica, Dio, Manowar, Invocator (a Danish band), Iron Maiden, Sepultura, Massacre and many other incredible metal names. I always liked the energy and roughness. And that is something that metal has in common with hardcore hip-hop, which is why it can be dope to mash these two genres.

MI:   Some of your beats are so heavy (like the Vinnie Paz remix), that it sounds like a metal song. Do you try to push the heaviness in the hiphop songs?

SN: When I produce beats, I just do what feels right at that moment. Raw & hard pounding energy is something that I grew up with, so I think its natural for me to make hard hip-hop. But at the end of the day its important to be versatile.

MI: Nowadays which metal/rock bands do you like, take as an influence?

SN: I don’t listen to as much metal as I would like to. I don’t have the time to explore the metal universe like when I was younger. But I like Madball, Primordial, Kataklysm, Hatesphere (shout out to my man Mixen, crazy bass player!), … there are many dope bands out there! I like Rammstein too.

MI: Recently you joined the production team Snowgoons. How did that all come together?

SN: Well, me & DJ Illegal have been working together for a minute. And we´ve become very good friends. So it made sense to make a production team.

MI: It’s a full time membership for you in the group now?  What will this new situation look like artistically?

SN: We still have our individual projects. But with a production team, we can help each other out and move faster. So this would mean that we get more beats out there by joining forces.

MI: The ”Banished From Home” mixtape is out for a while, describe that material a bit …

SN: Obviously we do a lot of music with a lot of different artists. This was a way to put out some of the songs we had done, that people might not get a chance to hear elsewhere. This is good promotion for both the artists and us as producers. And on top of that we added some exclusives.

MI: You produced 3 songs on the new album of the legendary Canibus called “Melatonin Magik”. How did you hook up with him and what was it like to work with him?

SN: I had done some beats for a rapper called DZK. Somehow he and Canibus hooked up. They asked me for beats… and the rest is history.

MI:  Your new song on the upcoming solo record of Jedi Mind Tricks’s Vinnie Paz named “End Of Days” is spreading all over the Internet like crazy. Tell us something important about that track…

SN: I’m glad it turned out the way it did. Vinnie Paz speaks on a lot of important issues that are being held secret to the society. Listen to the song and you´ll know what I’m talking about. Ill Bill said it: “Society Is Brainwashed!”

MI: It really seems that you step up this music thing day after day. Once you mentioned in an interview that you’ve got 3 jobs, and you have only time to do music at nights. What do you think you will do to change this in the near future?

SN: I don’t work 3 jobs anymore. Now I only work 2 – so I have a little more time to work on music now. You gotta love it!

MI: Let’s get back to metal for a minute. Are you into sampling metal songs for your beats?

SN: I haven’t done it that much yet. But who knows what will happen in the future.

MI: Is there any chance to make songs with live instruments or a possible album?

SN: Some of my music is already made with live instruments. But I haven’t thought about making a rap/metal album. For now, I think I will continue in my lane and see where it takes me.

MI: What are your next future plans?

SN: We´re working on the new Snowgoons, Savage Brothers and Lord Lhus album called “Iron Fist”. Lord Lhus has a solo project that we´re working on as well. I did some beats for the new Ill Bill & Vinnie Paz “Heavy Metal Kings” album and for Slaine´s solo album which will be called “A World With No Skies”. After this summer we will start working on the next Snowgoons album and my next solo album!

MI: Any last messages to the readers of Metal Israel?

SN: Keep banging your heads and keep it hardcore!!