Bryony Shaw

One of my strengths is my explosive power. Especially at the start line, where you have to accelerate faster than your competitor. I train for that by lifting barbells. It helps your hips thrust and your muscles twitch faster, and it builds strength. But I don't do too much gym work because I don't want to bulk up.

It is only when you watch the dense mass of thousands of ants, crowded together around the Hill, blackening the ground, that you begin to see the whole beast, and now you observe it thinking, planning, calculating. It is an intelligence, a kind of live computer, with crawling bits for its wits.

You make your first album, you make some money, and you feel like you still have to show face, like 'I still go to the projects.' I'm like, why? Your job is to inspire people from your neighborhood to get out. You grew up there. What makes you think it's so cool?