From music to film, London-hailed Milli Major is making sure all creative avenues are covered with the release of his independently curated short film Major Paper. The groundbreaking new project sees features from some of the UK’s biggest names such as Nines, Tion Wayne and Big Narstie. Major Paper takes us through the gritty harsh realities of inner-city London life, with sticky situations and how gang culture can not only harm the people involved, but the other around them.

Speaking on the release, Milli said, “These are situations that many of us live through on a daily basis and more often than not, there isn’t a happy ending. I have independently created the film and curated the music to accompany it, in order to put my energy into something bigger than me, something positive and something progressive. My message with Major Paper is to highlight some of the incredible talent – actors, directors, musicians and crew that are within our communities in hope that film and arts councils start to invest further in us and we don’t have to continue to hustle to do everything ourselves. I hope my work inspires someone else from the streets to focus on their art and culture as, without this inspiration, hope and support, there will never be any happy endings.”

Having not only created the film but he soundtrack as well, Milli Major is making huge steps to becoming a multifaceted talent to be reckoned with. We caught up with the rapper talking the creation of the film and the soundtrack, working with incredible talent and what we can expect next.

Check out the interview below…

Hi Milli, how has lockdown been for you?
I’m still trying to get my head around certain things but all my friends and family still have their health so I can’t complain.

Has it changed your outlook on your life, music and creativity?
Yeah, most definitely certain things like tourism I never saw as a business that could never be affected like this and even with live shows, I never thought something like this could happen but it has so as a captain of my own ship I’ve had to adapt to the current climate.

You came up in the early grime scene in London – how do you think being around this melting pot influenced your sound?
I think it’s helped with my creativity… Growing up back then, I never had much to work with, so we had to always be on the ball. So it definitely put that musical survival instinct in me. On top of that, I would say the garage sound is something I still play, either till today. Songs like the “Mr Lover” remix is a perfect example.

Congrats on Major Paper – how did you come up with the idea?
Thanks I really appreciate it, It’s crazy I never thought about doing film before and one day I just had an idea for a movie but I had two characters in mind, Lippy and Paper Pabs so I kind of started building around them. It was meant to be a promo for my music but it ended up having a snowball effect and taking a life or its own.

What was it influenced and inspired by?
I would say Nines influenced the project, he’s the only other UK rapper to do this and I’m a fan of all his work so it makes sense as to why he would of been so influential to this project. That’s why it feels perfect to have him involved and I’m grateful for that. Also, I would say JME inspired it, when I first saw what he had done with Grime MC, I asked myself how I could do something for the culture not just me.

What did you want to achieve with it?
That’s a good question. I wanted it to be the biggest project I’ve ever done but the main thing I wanted to do was bring everyone I know that’s talented within the entertainment industry together and build a new platform for not just myself or my community, but for everyone.

You curated the soundtrack too – Tion Wayne, Big Narstie, Paper Pabs, Bossman Birdie, Nines, Flirta D, Deepee, Armz Korleone, Tempa T, Scrufizzer and Bushkin – you’ve got amazing names connected to it, how did you decide who you wanted to work with?
When you listen to my EP you gotta be ready to be taken on a musical journey from drill to grime to trap and garage so when I’m working on records if I can hear one of my friends on a record and it makes sense I’ll make the call.

It’s an amazing showcase of incredible talent – was it important for you to showcase and bring up everyone with you?
Yes definitely! that’s part of the dream it’s not complete for me, if I’m not with my people and I can’t create opportunities for people that could contribute towards building something better for all of us.

Your latest single “Madness” has had so much buzz – what did you want to achieve with the music video?
Thank you very much. I just wanted to really bring the energy and mood of the song to a visual but also felt it was important to incorporate some real-life products like my Rizla to show that we’re out here legally progressing.

How do you want fans to feel when they listen to your music?
I want them to feel like they know me and I know them. Sometimes I want my music to take them away, like if they’ve had a bad day they can get lost in my music and put their problems to the back of their mind or on the other hand a different song might do the opposite it might want to motivate you to face your problems head-on and get things done.

Who is your dream collaboration?
The Weekend or Drizzy.

What’s next for you? What are you excited about in 2020?
Next up I have got my “Major Paper” EP with my new single “Pre Work Out” ft Armz Korleone & Tempa T Plus I’m working on new singles, a new project and Major Paper Part 2.