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VICTIMIZED?: MC Harvey

BRITISH MC Harvey believes that he is demonized by the UK press because he is black.

The 32-year-old, who was one of the founding members of the UK garage collective, So Solid Crew has said that newspapers in England do not embrace black artists and only focus on negative aspects of their personal lives, and not the good work they do for their communities.

“In this country, the media builds you up to destroy you,” Harvey tells The Voice. He continued: “I feel like I’ve been a target for the last four years. The majority of the media think that we are just violent black boys. They don’t know that we work hard, pay our taxes or do the school run.”

Speaking to The Voice, along with former footballer-turned-singer Leon McKenzie about their new track, Finally, the 21 Seconds hitmaker acknowledged that has had his fare share of bad press in the past.

He also said that he regrets doing the infamous interview with Now magazine, in which he reportedly claimed to have had a relationship with former X-Factor judge Cheryl Cole.

“I definitely regret the interview that I did a couple of weeks ago. Now, I practically trust only one magazine. I don’t like to do interviews anymore; I would rather just remain silent.”

PASSIONATE: Leon McKenzie says he and Harvey don’t need publicity stunts to promote their single

Many questioned the timing of Harvey’s explosive interview with Now magazine, suggesting it was a publicity stunt to promote the new track. Both Harvey and McKenzie vehemently denied this claim.

“Some people say to him [Harvey] ‘Did you sell the story to promote your single?’,” says 33-year-old McKenzie, who wrote, sang and co-produced the song. “But it’s not just him on the song.”

Continuing, the former Norwich City footballer added: “He has helped me and brought me into the music industry. Why would one of my best friends do that to do me? It doesn’t make sense. I don’t need Cheryl Cole to promote my single. It’s got nothing to do with her.”

Look out for the full interview coming soon in The Voice. Leon and Harvey’s single Finally will be out on March 19 on M and L Recordings/Absolute Marketing.