A part-time shoe shop assistant from Seven Sisters is hoping to firmly wedge his foot in the door of the mainstream music industry by releasing his latest musical offering independently, writes Elizabeth Pears.

Hip hop artist Pyrelli has lived in Haringey all his life, and has worked in Clarks shoe shop for the past three years while running his record label, Judgment Ent.

Juggling a part-time job with long hours in the studio, Pyrelli released his second album Vitamin A: A Twist of Fate on Monday.

The 24-year-old said: "When people learn that I work, the reaction is always one of disbelief. They can't imagine why a person so heavily involved in the music industry would actually have to work, but the reality is the bills need to be paid.

"It's not cheap putting out an album on your own. It requires a lot of funding, so I have no choice, though I only work part-time because I need time to be in the studio or performing.

"It means having to stay focused whether that means in the stock room at Clarks, making sure the shoes are in the right place, or whether it's on stage putting the rhymes in the right place.

"These are both parts of my life, so I give them both my all, at all times.

"At some point, I'm going to have to make a choice but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."

Pyrelli is already well-known on the underground hip hop scene for his vigorous performances and larger-than-life character, but now - with the help of business partner Dat G Gav - he hopes to take his music to a wider audience.

He said: "I'm going for the jugular.

"The people who already know me will expect high quality, a compilation of the best of Pyrelli. And those who are yet to hear my music, will find an original artist in its purest form.

"I want to be an ambassador for good music and I hope people will take a listen. It's an album of two halves: a street' side, a view of the world through my eyes, and a more commercial side - to get people dancing.

"I'm a big performer.

I give 150 per cent on stage. The way I see it, fans have paid to see me do my thing. It's my job to perform, so I work hard at it.

"I want to sweat on stage, it means I'm working hard."

Pyrelli, who likes to keep his real name a mystery, is proud of his north London roots and credits the area with kickstarting his career as an MC.

He said: "I've lived all my life in Haringey. I went to the school now known as Greig City Academy. It had a bit of a reputation then, I wouldn't like to say what, and some of the things that happened there you'd had to have been there to believe.

"That said, I made life-long friends who still support me and it was some of the best years of my life.

"We used to spend a lot of time in Chestnut's Park, which is just opposite. I started rapping there with my friends. When I think of it, that's where this all started."

"I especially hope people from around the way listen to the album and say, we're proud of him. He represents me. He's from where I'm from'."