Monthly newspaper and online publication targeting 18 to 35 year olds. The ultimate guide to the hottest parties, going out and having fun. Music, fashion, film, travel, festivals, technology, comedy, and parties! London, Barcelona, Miami and Ibiza.
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/586287
I have to say one of the things that gets lost in the music industry nowadays is people who do their groundwork before; everybody wants to get success overnight, get popular on Twitter, get popular on Facebook, get popular on Instagram, but you just made the music speak before the success, that's the impression I get. Was that a deliberate thing from you? I think for me, I'm not the most extroverted character, so for me the idea of being famous, that's not what I'm trying to be. I don't really like attention in the sense of I don't like to be the centre of attention but I love making music so for example, performing I used to find really hard because I just didn't wanna do it, so I've kinda grown into that, just to be a performer and embrace all the aspects of what being an artist is nowadays. But naturally I'm the type of person, I don't really like the focus to be on me, so like you said I just tried to make the music do the talking and show who I am and what I'm about. Excellent. I do like it, call me old school but that's how I like it, cut through all the social media and give me the product! It's interesting because it's good in a way that you can use these things to promote yourself because they weren't about before, but like you say they shouldn't be the main thing, music has to be the thing that's first and foremost. Of course. Let's rewind the clock a little bit, you're from Essex, it's not exactly a hotbed for hip-hop music and rappers, why did you choose to do that kind of music and how did the music find you? Well I actually grew up in East London. Where I grew up everyone listened to rap music, especially when I was growing up, ages of 11, 12, 13, grime music was sort of being born and it had a huge presence in East London. There were just a lot of people I knew who were MCs and making tunes, and I just loved it all. I got into DJing, that was kinda the first thing I did, I just loved it and for whatever reason connected with it. But yeah I moved to Essex when I was about 15, to be honest it's still pretty close to East London, I stayed at the same school and stayed around the same people, and I always liked English and creative writing, so it felt like it was the same sort of sphere. Mad skills man. That's one of the things I like about you, you pay a lot of attention to your articulation and also the lyrical content and how it's delivered and the flow, it's very central to what you do, is it fair to say that? I just think the unique thing about rap music is it's just people talking, so it's like what else can I talk about other than who I am and what makes me me, and I take a lot of time in the flow and the rhyme scheme and all the stuff because it's like anything, I have to put in my all otherwise what's the point. Yeah rhyming and flow but overall content, they're the things that are so important to me because I don't wanna be chatting rubbish. I remember being young and listening to certain rappers and proper idolising them, repeating what they say until my mum was like "yo you need to stop saying that, what's that rubbish coming out of your mouth?" So yeah, I kind of take it as it's my responsibility to say something of substance in a way that hopefully sounds good. Indeed, and you certainly do that. Your signed to Island Records, how did you get that attention? I was putting out quite a lot of videos and music in 2012, 2013 and I had contact from a couple of labels here and there but it just didn't really feel right, I didn't think I was ready, or that I'd established myself and the kind of artist I want to be. Island Records got in touch, I met up with the guys, and I'd had relationships with some of them and knew that they were good people so it just felt like the right fit, going down to the offices and meeting everyone, they're just cool people that like music. What I actually did as well, I guess for any upcoming artists, I had PR at the time, and my PR got me a slot in The Guardian, they do a New Band of the Day everyday and I did that, and that got me a lot of attention. PR was a good investment. The song for me that displays the lyrical ability is 'Nikes On My Feet', that's real hip-hop. Tell me about the making of that song. Those times I'd been making a lot of music but I'd got to a point of I'd been making a song that sounded like grime and a song that sounded like rap and a song that sounded more pop-y, and I was just doing loads of stuff. It also just reflected the stage I was at in life, like "what am I doing with myself? Who am I?" So I'd just taken to YouTube and I just used to YouTube beats and find stuff, and I found Mac Miller - 'Nikes On My Feet', which was the original, and I was like "this is sick", found the instrumental and then I just started writing, like whatever comes out. I've always written from a place that's just try to be as honest as possible, and obviously it's got a Nas sample, Nas is my favourite rapper, and I just connected with it and tried to make it so if I played it to another rapper they'd be like "yo, you went in" [laughs]. 'Fall From Here' featuring Naomi Scott, you got like 118,000 views on YouTube with that one, she's a Disney actress as well, I mean that's like a turning point, a milestone in your career. What's the creative history behind getting her on the track and the video itself? Well Naomi's actually one of my best friends and she's married to one of my best friends, so she's like family, I've known her for ages, and she's sick. She's been doing music, she's an actor, she just got so many talents, she's one of those people that can do a little bit of everything. I always play her my music, she plays me her music and we're just friends. So we had that song and I wanted her to sing on it, I love her voice and I just knew that it would be perfect, so that was one of the most natural collaborations, that was like ringing my sister like "get down here now, I need you". So the video itself, what was the creative history behind that? Were you involved with the treatment for that? Yeah my record label always give me the opportunity to put forward my ideas, they let me decide whether we go with a video idea or not, so that was directed by a really talented director called Matt Walker, who's done quite a few of my videos, he's done 'Miss Online Superstar' and 'Jet Li' as well. We just built up a good relationship so he kinda told me his idea and what his vision was for it, and I was like "that sounds perfect, that's exactly the vibe I want", and then I just trusted him because I'm not a director, so as much as I was given the opportunity to be involved, which I took up, it's like "this is what I want but you're the director, you know what to do" and he smashed it. So 'Jet Li', that's a strange name for a tune! But one of the things I like in that tune is where you mention that your dad looked at you all baffed because you're doing rap, is that a real experience? Did you face those obstacles coming up? That lyric is somewhat jovial, my dad has been very supportive of me from the get go, especially with music. But I think it would be fair to say he's from a different generation, he plays the guitar, he was in rock bands when he was younger, he was a roadie for different bands, so some of this rap stuff that I played him, he thought it was quite funny, but he bought me my first rap CD before I really knew what rap was. You know the Now CDs, he must have bought Now 28 or something and it had Coolio – 'Gangsta's Paradise' on it, I was like five and I learned all the lyrics to it, my mum filmed me rapping along to it, front teeth missing and all that [laughs]. He then bought me, when I was eight or nine, Puff Daddy – 'I'll Be Missing You', he liked it because it had the Sting sample, but he knew I liked it. He's always been very encouraging of my rap music but some things he just don't get, but he's super supportive. Most artists are judged by a full body of work, an album. I know you've released a few EPs, but is an album in the pipeline? What can we expect in terms of any collaborations? So I'm working on my debut album at the moment, which I'm really enjoying. It feels daunting to even say that I'm working on an album, but yeah I'm loving it. In terms of collaborations, it's kinda early days for that, I've got a load of songs and a few people that I'd like but I couldn't give any names at this point in time. Who's on the wish list? Wiley is on the wish list because he's a huge influence. That's East London man, all the way. Exactly, yeah it would be special for me if I got Wiley on the album, that's who I'd hope to get. Ok we've got the current single, that's 'Talk To Me' featuring Bibi Bourelly, that's a good look as well getting Bibi Bourelly, she's getting a lot of attention right now in the music indusrty. Even 'Talk To Me' seems to be a departure to a degree from some of your earlier stuff, do you wanna talk me through the creative history of that, getting Bibi Bourelly on there? So 'Talk To Me' I actually started making it around this time last year and I was just working with my producers and they were like "we've got this idea, what do you think?" I loved it just because I loved the sample, it sounded fun, I loved the vibe of the whole thing. Bibi Bourelly, she's sick, proper talented, she was able just to add a whole new vibe to it. I don't think it's a departure as such, it's just another element of my character, my personality. 7 39 Issue 80 / 2015 HIPHOP / RNB guestlist.net This Essex native has built up a solid following from the success of his songs 'Jet Li', 'Nikes On My Feet', 'So Good', 'I'm A Pro' and the runaway hit single 'Fall From Here'. He has collaborated with artists like Bibi Bourelly, Naomi Scott and the supremely talented Shakka and his music is being championed by 1Xtra, Radio 1, and Channel AKA. Now signed to Island Records, we're joined by Nick Brewer " I kind of take it as it's my responsibility to say something of substance in a way that hopefully sounds good "