Scroobius Pip Artistfacts

August 3, 1981
Scroobius PipVocals, lyrics2006-
Scroobius Pip (real name David Meads) is a solo performer from Stanford-le-Hope in Essex, UK. He spans multiple genres, from spoken word poetry to hip-hop, and took his stage name from the Edward Lear poem The Scroobious Pip. In a chat with Beatdom, he explained his stage name: "I loved the story. It's about a creature that doesn't know what it is. By the end of the poem he realizes that he is simply The Scroobious Pip. He doesn't fit into any one category and can just be his own creature."
Pip is perhaps best known for being one half of the musical duo Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, formed in 2006 and ceasing in 2014 and famed for the hits "Thou Shalt Always Kill," "Stunner" and "You Will See Me." The duo split in 2014 having played their last show at Bestival in September, both stating that no acrimony was involved in the decision and the door was open for future collaborations.
Pip is an avid fan of sports, in particular MMA and football - he has made no secret of his love of Millwall Football Club, quoting one of their fans' chants in his song "Let 'Em Come" as well as writing several spoken-word pieces for the club. He is a huge MMA enthusiast and very open about his love for UFC, and has in fact been contacted directly by the UFC to promote their events in the UK.
Inspired initially by punk music (many of his favorite punk bands are directly quoted in the lyrics to "Thou Shalt Always Kill," including The Clash, Sex Pistols, Crass and Minor Threat), Pip formed several bands as a teenager, but his music tastes quickly branched out to incorporate hip-hop and jazz, with the likes of Saul Williams, Gill Scott-Heron and Sage Francis becoming early inspirations. Eventually Pip decided to go solo with his work, believing it to be better suited than being in a band.
Pip went into great detail about his early career in a 2014 interview with the London Real podcast. He was initially working in HMV (a British music store) and performing/writing on the side whilst saving money to record his first album with. Finally, when he was offered an assistant manager position, he decided to instead quit his job and pursue music for a year. He spent £1000 recording a solo album, No Commercial Breaks (even going as far as making fake catalogue numbers!), and then used the remaining £4000 he had saved up to tour the country in his 1987 Toyota Space Cruiser, showering in service stations, performing on street corners (but not busking) and playing to the queues of hip-hop shows.

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