WITNESSING THE REBIRTH OF RICH BRIAN

The 18 year old arrives to perform two sold-out shows at Islington’s o2 Academy in London.

Rated

Shots

By Sunjay Kohli

Photography by Zekaria Al-Bostani

Mar 05, 2018

Indonesia’s own 18-year-old, now bygone burlesque and renamed rapper, Rich Brian (previously known as Rich Chigga) has docked his ship in hip hop’s highbrow harbour. After making history as the first Asian artist in history, to ever reach #1 on the ITunes Hip Hop Chart, Brian embarked on his 28-date U.S Come To My Party Tour, before bringing himself and members of the eccentric 88Rising team to an anticipating European audience. With two sold-out shows at Islington’s o2 Academy in London, it was finally time to witness the reborn Brian.

Succeeding the viral breakout with the musically entrenched buffoonery that was 2016’s ‘Dat $tick’, it’s fair to say audiences were left perplexed by the then Rich Chigga. Two things were clear however; firstly, wearing a fanny-pack with a pink buttoned up polo, pouring liquor onto the street, was gangster as f*ck. Dreary are those who weren’t tickled by the, at the time, 16-year-old East Asian’s derisive content. Secondly, the production and lyrical delivery were flawless. It worked. The track, to date, has garnered an impressive 88 million views, charted on Billboard’s Bubbling Under HipHop/R&B Chart at No. 4, and drawn co-signs of hip hop icons including one Ghostface Killah, who jumped on a remix with Pouya. Not bad for a once timid, internet-addict, home-schooled rapper.

So when the newly anointed, Rich Brian first took to the stage to a jam-packed sold-out main room at the o2 Academy in London, the air of confidence and authority he carried was unexpected, yet far from surprising. Opening with his verse from the aggressive, bouncy, ‘Gospel’, a 2017 collaboration with XXXTentacion, and fellow 88Rising label-mate, Keith Ape, the reception was as equally energetic as his performance. Following the opener with another ‘pre-Brain baptized’ single, ‘Seventeen’, Brian earned huge exuberant applause from the already sweaty hoard of supporters, during his double-time inner-verse rapping.

The expeditious 2017 rise of 88Rising, bringing East music to West audiences, came off the heals of another viral smash, Keith Ape’s 2015, ‘It G Ma’. Since then, the label, headed by Brian’s manager and “father-figure” as he so put it, Sean Miyashiro, has taken huge leaps forward over the past year or so. Leaning on his expertise of creative strategy, Rich Brian has scaled up globally, and his growth is symbiotic with that of 88. His debut album, ‘Amen’, released in February of this year, showcased his growth, whilst the project exhibited his comedic whit to it’s fullest. It’s this potential for epic artistry that is yet to be entirely fulfilled, but you wouldn’t be able to tell when at a click of his fingers he drops the ‘Cold’ beat off the lead single from his album to a crowd listening intently to this forlorn, alluring track.

Performing a few more album cuts, Brian flaunted his melodic verses constructing the majority of what has been a strong first project. Before drawing his relatively short set to a close, Brian dropped his final cuts ‘Glow Like Dat’ and ‘Dat $tick’, the latter being run through twice of course. If ever in doubt, Rich Brain’s artistic existence should no longer be in question, but perhaps further examined. With his energy reciprocated to it’s highest potential, London is a wrap, and as he heads off to complete several more dates across Europe, it’s not unlikely that the man will be returning to tour bigger venues within the year.

WHY BAKA NOT NICE LIVES UP TO HIS NAME

“I’m new to… even accepting the fact that people are calling me an artist. It’s new to me.”

Shots

By Sunjay Kohli

Photography by Ray Fiasco

Nov 13, 2018

On July 23rd 2010, Drake and his crew were out at dinner in Saskatoon, Canada. Deep into the rappers first ever headline tour, Away From Home, his first studio album, ‘Thank Me Later ‘was certified platinum that day. Baka, long-time confidant and security detail received a call before returning and relaying the news to Drake and long-time OVO fixture, Niko, that his son was just born. The boy’s response was one of jubilation, before telling Baka he should name his son Milli, after a million records sold. Little did we know that 8 years later, Milli would be the inspiration behind OVO artist Baka Not Nice’s debut project, ‘4Milli’, hosting one of the most jarring rap-hits this year has heard, ‘Live Up To My Name’.

Whilst tact may be seemingly forgone in the smash single, energy is most certainly not. Such could be said for the project as a whole, although remnants of sentimental storytelling and piercingly stirring vocals remain throughout. The project, as Baka later explained to me, is one of intent. It’s an introduction, a documentation of his first step into the ever sought after real estate of hip hop. Yes his artistry maybe still in it’s adolescence, but his story, his persona, his name, is not.

We take our seats in the end suite of the 4thfloor at Nobu Hotel, Shoreditch. Baka is wearing a silky navy blue OVO tracksuit, with two thick golden chains around his neck, a B for Baka, and the iconic OVO owl. I receive a warm welcome, as he places down his Hennessey and puts out the blunt, sun glasses still in place. “I come from a music background, my father plays guitar, he’s a musician and also sings. Music has always been in my household” he begins. “Did I know I’d be an artist, did I know I was going to rap? No. Was it the plan? No. I knew that I wanted to do something with music, I wish I could sing, I think it’s amazing, because you can touch so many people with it, not saying that rap can’t do so either. I don’t know, but it’s just a different vibe. I never knew what I was going to do. I thought maybe I was going to open up a label one time, I didn’t know what, I just knew something was going to happen.”

Baka made his own musical debut on Drake’s 2013 ‘Nothing Was The Same’, appearing on the outro of ‘From Time’, as well as making further appearances on 2017’s ‘More Life’, with the ‘Free Smoke’ outro and adlibs on ‘Gyalchester’. With mention to the iconic “I might declare it a holiday as soon as Baka get back on the road” drop on ‘IYRTITL’s ‘Know Yourself’ in addition to countless other shouts in between, it’s clear to hear, Baka’s presence is one of stature in the OVO camp. “I got that little, you know, bug from back then, but even then I didn’t know…” he emphasises speaking on his journey towards becoming a fully fledged artist. “I was definitely in the environment because I was always with him [Drake], but when things like that happened; it was basically just a phone call like ‘yo I need you to do something for me’. Cus maybe he was just somewhere and like ‘Baka would sound crazy doing…you know.’ And then it just worked, every time we did something together it just worked, and it sounds crazy.”

I enquire as to whether his lack of defined direction in music at this point in his life affected his comfort in such an environment, he removes his glasses momentarily, “for some weird reason man…” thoughtfully, “I’ve always been comfortable. I’m not gonna’ lie to you, obviously before you hit any stage you’re going to have a bit of butterflies, but you’re supposed to…if you don’t, I think something’s wrong [chuckles].”

Baka’s official singing to OVO as an artist in June 2017 marked the culmination of several years of hardship and grit. The infamous video of the contract signing between Baka and Drake occurred at a night club in New York City. “It was a very defining moment in my life, my career,” he calmly explains. I continue to ask if he had expected the moment to ever arrive. “There were speculations… and I’m gonna say it like that because you know, things don’t happen right away all the time. Things don’t happen as fast as you might want it to happen all the time. So you know, I was a little sceptical, not towards my brother or anything like that, just sceptical towards the business. I was told something…” his pitch heightens, “…and I was waiting for it to come to fruition.”

Just three days after singing to OVO, ‘Live Up To My Name’ was released. The track, which was the first of three to precede ‘4Milli’, landed Baka his first hit, infiltrating the Canadian Hot 100 chart whilst amassing over 70 million collective streams. “We were in London and I was at the studio, Giggs was there as well…” he says, setting down his glass as he begins to tell the story of how the track came about. “Beats were just being played, and the ‘Live Up To My name’ beat, that beat was played. I had listened to maybe like 15 before that, just vibing you know, trying something here and there, I was all over the place. Then I heard that beat, I was like ‘Yo, stop it! Wind that up, put it on the thing right now, and let’s go. Then I left London and we went back to Canada, and I was in the studio one night, at 40’s studio, Drake was as well, in the other room. At one point he came in there and was like ‘What is this?’. I was like ‘Yeah listen to this,’ he energetically recalls. “He was like ‘Yo this is crazy’.

I’m a student to Drake. He’s my teacher…and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Whilst there was speculation later that year of the song being co-written by Drake amongst others, this is not something Baka shied away from as he later explains. “Basically in a nutshell, there’s always gonna be a teacher, and there’s always a student. I’m a student to Drake. He’s my teacher…and there’s nothing wrong with that. So, we basically sat down in the studio that night, and he showed me, helped me, to create and build this song. We made that song together. I’m putting that on record, now. And why wouldn’t I want to learn from my teacher how to create such a powerful song that’s going to touch so many people. I learnt so much from that.” 

I commend him on his honesty, before asking if his expectations for the track were exceeded. “I knew within myself that the song was a really crazy powerful song, you know. But for me to sit here in front of you and say ‘oh yeah I knew it was gonna’ do these numbers and…no I didn’t know’. I’m new to… even accepting the fact that people are calling me an artist.  It’s new to me.”

It is clear Baka’s focus is to document his journey and progression as an artist. The fact that his first project as an OVO artist, has no features also speaks volumes. Whilst he affirms there is undoubtedly opportunity for them, the temptation never surpasses the humility of those around him. “I want people to like my music for me. Yeah, I was tempted, but then I was brought back to earth by people around me, people in my camp. Every song I make, I always go to them, and if they don’t approve, you guys will never hear it,” his boys sit at the back table nodding silently.

I ask where the energy in his records comes from, the silence in the room is penetrating. His tone lowers, ‘”You’re the first person that’s asked me that question and I’m gonna give you an honest answer. I have a lot of built up aggression hmm…like you know, I don’t hide the fact that I did time. I’m not… mad anymore, at any one person or any one individual, I just have an anger inside of me, like a fire… that I had to deal with for all those years, as an innocent man, and now I have an outlet. That’s why I guess it comes across like that.”

Progression is an amazing thing if you can watch it and see it grow. That’s what I want with my music.

Animatedly he explains, “I’ve managed to channel it, because I can control it now, before I couldn’t control it… I was just sporadic, I was all over the place. That’s why I would end up in and out of prison, because there was no control. Now I have a grip on it.”

Our conversation draws to a close shortly before Baka and his crew head out to link up with UK Rap legend Giggs in the studio, a place where Baka is now all too familiar with. His parting words are somewhat not only of fundamental importance to his journey so far, but also of his yet to be trodden path. “The energy on stage is priceless, but… if I don’t be in the studio, I can’t get on that stage. A lot of people do it. They hit the stage, and forget about the studio. You gotta’ stay here. That’s what I learnt from the big dog, Drake. You gotta’ stay there. You gotta’.” 

WHY A.CHAL IS THE NEXT SUPERSTAR-TO-BE

“As I move forward, I take the role of being a voice a lot more serious than before.”

Shots

Next Up

By Sunjay Kohli

Photography by Ray Fiasco

Dec 07, 2018

Known as the ‘cradle of liberty’ and the first independent city of Peru, Trujillo lays on the north-western coast of the country, riddled with religious and colonial architecture, standing as somewhat of a cultural icon. Consciously or not, the contemporary embodiment of such a proud heritage is channelled through the art of Peruvian-born, Trujillo-raised singer/songwriter, Alejandro Chal.

Though the profound impact his identity would later have on his musical expression was perhaps anonymous, his interest and talent were not. After moving to the US at a young age, A.CHAL developed a relationship with music as a result of his inability to relate with others. Citing DMX, Ma$e, Foo Fighters and Aliyah as just some of his early influences, it’s clear to see the divergent cultural exposure that would prove to be fundamental to his own development.

Now, with a third project under his belt, ‘EXOTIGAZ’, the Peruvian superstar-to-be is about to elevate to his highest level yet. “Even though I made music, I never saw it as like… I wanna be a famous artist, I just made music because I loved it, I can’t live without it…” A.CHAL begins, as we reflect on the initial steps into his musical journey. “I was working with a lot a people, trying to write and produce, and by my sophomore year, I had three artists I was working with. I’m a very lowkey dude, so I wasn’t necessarily all in the mix like that, but after a while, my talent would take me to different places. Every time it was the obvious thing for me to do. Even now, I still appreciate where I’m at and what I do, I don’t take it for granted. It just came to me, and I just pretty much took on the role. I still manage to live my life and be an artist at the same time, because I don’t ever wanna be too consumed by keeping up with this facade of someone you’re not, you know.”

Whilst 2016 played host to his soul-stirring R&B infused debut project, ‘Welcome To Gazi’, home to the industry-rousing single ‘Round Whippin’, it was the release of his previous work, 2017’s ‘On Gaz’, that portrayed his growth and artistic maturity. The project hosts a more established, entrenched voice of A.CHAL, cavorting his way through a sense of elevated debauchery whilst indulging deeper into his heritage. Moreover, the commercial success of the single, ‘Love N Hennessy’ was there for all to witness.

“As I move forward, I take the role of being a voice a lot more serious than before…” A.CHAL explains with a relaxed, near-nonchalant tone. “Before it was not just a voice, it was like, you know, making sure the production has to be this way, making sure it looks cool… but now all that stuff just comes natural. After releasing ‘Love N Hennessy’, I got to travel a lot, especially to Spanish communities, and going to clubs out there. So I got inspired to make music that could play there, but also… that was me though, without me trying to be a Reggaeton artist, but something rhythmically that could live there. That was what inspired this project.”

Thus, our conversation swiftly progresses to the project at hand, ‘EXOTIGAZ’. A sonically versatile 6-track EP, showcasing A.CHAL’s malleable presence, from the soulfully-radiant melodic vocals and bi-lingual charm on the self-produced ‘000000’, to the inky Hispanic-infused ‘TYPE’. It’s sexy, it’s serious, it’s spiritual and it’s tropical. “My main focus now is like, giving people something they can keep playing, giving them honesty, and also try and do something I haven’t done before. On this project, unlike the other ones, my main focus was…women. It’s all about girls. On the other ones, it was more so about me. The first one was more so about me as a person, more introverted, the second was more so about me as Alejandro, trying to get my career up and going through the obstacles, more extroverted. And then three, this one, this is more so about the girls, because there’s been a lot of girls in my life in this past year so, it’s the main thing I really talk about.”

Though still digesting ‘EXOTIGAZ’, it’s evident where A.CHAL’s focuses lie as our conversation switches to the topic of a studio album. “I made about 50 songs in the last year and a half. We’re putting together the album…” his excitement is no longer contained in his tone. “The album isn’t that far from being done. I gave people three sides of me, like I said, with these three projects but as far as the music, for the album, it’s definitely pushing the needle. Like, I’ve been wanting to make an album that really pushes the needle, and I feel like that’s what the album will be. I don’t feel like people are ready for that yet, but this project will get people ready for that.”

With all generation-defining artists, barriers were broken in the pursuit of greatness, and as someone citing Kanye West, Bob Marley and Prince as his main inspirations; A.CHAL is of no exception. Both his ambition and passion are made clear during our conversation, as is his understanding and respect for those most innovative of our time. “Kanye to me, regardless of where he’s at now, he’s probably the most innovative artist of our time…” A.CHAL explains. “He just did things that you didn’t see before. It was risky, but he got to the point that he could do it. But before he got there he had to do a lot of shit, like ‘Gold Digger’, you know stuff that pleased everybody. And I think that’s where I’m at in my career, but I wanna’ get to the place where I can really push the needle. I happen to be someone that’s Spanish, someone that was born in Peru but grew up in the US, and I understand both sides. Not only do I understand the culture difference but I also understand the difference in people from different classes, people from different sort of tastes of things. I have a good diverse group of people that I’m cool with, that I’m friends with, that I share and that I talk to. It’s given me the outlook that I need in life to be the kind of artist that I want to be, where I can talk to everybody.”

I wanna be someone who talks to all of them, and to talk to all of them I kinda have to understand all of them, you know what I mean?

Take the recent infiltration of latin-infleunced music over the past few years. Paying homage to the path that the still relatively juvenile trap music wave paved out, A.CHAL considers this newly concerted Hispanic inspiration to be a natural progression. “It makes sense. It’s good because there’s a whole lot of more exciting stuff going on now, and I think because of the internet, its accessible, and it doesn’t feel as foreign as before. Like before it would feel like super foreign compared to now. Now you feel as though you could relate to the song, the only thing you don’t know is exactly what they’re saying.” 

A.CHAL expands, as we began to discuss the contrasting cultural experiences that construct our generation’s experiences. A global generation, birthed from an ever-shrinking geographical world, with access to more cultural influence than ever before. “It’s not easy because you know, a lot of heritage is very old school, very traditional. In my traditional cultures, respect is a big thing… I have a strong relationship with my parents and heritage. I was brought up strictly and I can’t sit here and pretend like, even though I was raised in an environment where there was a lot of street culture shit going on, I still had to respect that. I never want to let go of that. And I feel like there’s a lot of people that can relate to that. It’s hard for them to see someone they can relate to in that sense.”

Whilst ‘EXOTIGAZ’ maybe somewhat of a stepping-stone towards the album, it’s a milestone for A.CHAL’s extremely potent artistry. With his talent, taste and understanding, its simply matter of time and consistency for A.CHAL to reach a pinnacle and define himself as a generational star, or perhaps even, a cultural icon.

WELCOME TO THE TRAPWAVE: M HUNCHO

“I didn’t really expect to get this far this quick but it is what it is.”

Shots

Next Up

By Sunjay Kohli

Photography by Zekaria Al-Bostani

May 29, 2018

If 2017 was thus far the pinnacle for the newly concerted UK urban music’s infiltration of mainstream, then 2018 is flooding the trenches with the most vigorous, versatile and menacing armed recruits yet. It’s set to be a record-breaking year for the scene, with countless emerging talents popping up. One of the most promising and prominent figures dotted on the radar however, is, how he describes it, trap-wave artist, M Huncho.

Following a string of YouTube releases collectively racking up millions of views over 2017 into the start of 2018, I met with the masked man himself down in Kensington, days before the lead single ‘Elevation’, of his new project, ’48 Hours’, crossed 1 million. Both the man and his music seem to neutralise this constant state of urgency engulfing a scene so impatient, and, provokingly though decreasingly, so short-term minded.

M Huncho’s strong and present demeanour portrayed through his new music is met with a sense of omniscient serenity, as is his persona. “In terms of expectations, I didn’t really expect anything it’s just about actually putting in the work and seeing where it takes you,” Huncho humbly states, diving straight in as we take our seats in a small, busy side-street café.“…But in terms of the vibe, it’s going good man, I feel positive. But this is just the start, so, there’s a bigger milestone to reach after this. We got bigger things to do. I didn’t really expect to get this far this quick but it is what it is. We let the music do the talking.”

What is actually M Huncho’s second project, ’48 Hours’, follows 2017’s ‘Get Out’ a flowful, though seemingly adolescent project in comparison to the sharper new effort. His assertiveness and focused energy have been clear from the offset, with the concise, passionate and yet somewhat charged responses that ensues as our conversation about the game begins. I can tell we’re in for a gripping conversation. “I’ve only been making music for like a year and a half. Yeah, literally and year and a half. That’s only because I studied the game, I studied the industry first. I done my research on everyone. Who’s who, who does what, how things work in terms of streaming, album sales, how to push your consistently videos consistently with good marketing and a team,” he continues to unravel. “It was just a thing where I just prepared myself before getting into the scene then got into the scene, innit. That’s all it was. Literally. Attentions on me and let’s keep it going.

Whilst siphoned through a sense of calm, his words carry a state of assertiveness, somewhat reminiscent of the powerful masked image that has emerged to the forefront of this new trap-wave movement that M Huncho has created. Undoubtedly a prominent topic of discussion has been the man behind the mask, and what it represents, which we get into shortly after our initial exchange.  “Obviously I like the attention when it comes to the music, but when it comes to general life, I don’t really like all the other stuff that comes with it, like fame, autographs and all that. I got family, I got stuff to deal with in my personal life innit, I don’t need an extra burden on my back, like I’m not into all of that stuff. I just wanna mind my own business, I already find it hard enough to make friends so…” and his reasoning is impressive to say the least. It seems as though the exact reason so many ‘artists’ jump into the game like nobodies business is in fact the unappealing factor fuelling Huncho’s decision to not show his face. Whilst he makes it clear, his decision, ironically, has gauged more attention and interest, he’s gearing up to pull the game onto his shoulders in the coming months. I can’t help but feel the significance was deeper, so we persist on.

“Look right now we’re sitting in a café. Everyone here puts on a mask, whether it’s to go to work… not a physical one, in theory. They put on a mask when they meet certain people, they don’t like being so open. They put on a mask when they go to work, the ‘haha’ fake jokes all of that with their boss. Everyone has a mask that they wear at a certain point in their life, or when they do certain things. When I say everyone wears a mask, our ones just more obvious you know what I’m tryna say? That’s what it is man.”

’48 Hours’, is a mellisonat 8-track project, riddled with contemplation, conflict and self-sufficiency, delivered through extremely potent piercing lyricism and vocals. Conceived in a two-day straight studio session, it contains a host of producers, yet maintains a consistent sound, and only one feature, Young Bush, also a collaborator on Huncho’s previous project with the track ‘Wish Me Well’. “48 Hours… because I like working like that, I like being relaxed, having time to make as many things as I can before I quit”, he begins to explain.“I called my engineer and was like yeah I need 48 hours man lets do this. We didn’t even plan to make a tape, but it just fell in place. It was all natural so it felt good man.”

Kicking off with ‘Too Close (Intro)’, you are dropped into the mellow, dark, instrumentally descending vibe instantaneously. Asking M Huncho about the intention behind this, transforms into further discussion about production, melodies and his working practices. “Everything was done at different times, then I sat down to listen and chose the track list order. It was relatively easy, because we had a vibe where it would be slow, then faster, then slow then faster. The transitions between the songs are smooth all the way through you know. Once you get to the eighth song, it makes you restart the whole ting again.”

“In terms of producing , people sent me beats, but I’ve got quite a few producers on my snapchat. I voice note them melodies and be like yeah, if we can do something like this, then I’ll send over a reference track and then boom it comes into play. So I do play a part in it, but I don’t take credit for it, obviously, I didn’t do it. I gave them my idea and then the producer done his magic. I work with different producers, so it all just depends really.” His beverage arrives.

Our conversation swiftly flows through the tracks on the project, from the madness that the lead single, ‘Elevation’ caused and his flippancy towards video views, to a vexatious attempt at picking his favourite track. This was all before we land at the flawless flows of ‘Come Up’ and most notably, the longer structure of the first verse – his eyes light up as he nods when I bring this to his attention. “Yeah. You see what it is. The way I start rapping, I start way early in the beat…” he begins to address it. “So when the beat drops I catch the drop, so everyone can get pumped straight away. That’s why usually my first verses are longer, by 4 or 8 bars.” It’s a technique he perfectly exemplifies on ‘Council Flat’ mid-way through the 25-minute long project. “The way the second verses are set up, that’s actually how long the first verses are meant to be as well. I hardly start with a hook. ‘Calm Days’ is the first song where I’ve started with a hook.  But we need to get videos done for all of these man, all of them.”

I’m not a feature clown. Id rather do everything off my own back until I believe I’ve hit that calibre.

Later quizzed on whether or not more features on ’48 Hours’ was a possibility, Huncho’s composed response is just shy of disdain towards the idea. He sips on his lemonade, the ice rattles, and he breaks it down. “Personally…what it is…it all comes back to studying the game. If I do features so early on in my career, then it’s going to be a thing where, I’ll become known as the man for the hook, or the man for the feature. You know what I’m tryna’ say like…I’m not a feature clown. Id rather do everything off my own back until I believe I’ve hit that calibre where I can do features with people that I believe I can be compared with. Even though I don’t do comparisons or competition.” I concur and affirm that an artist really needs to hold their own when they do that. “Exactly…” he responds, “it really just comes down to the fact that I actually didn’t want to do any features. I’ve had a lot of good artists ask me for features… I had to decline them all on a professional level, just to let them know that I’m working on myself right now.”

Every song that I hear nowadays sounds the same. All it is, is a different person. The beats the same, the flows the same, the melodies are the same.

“You can’t ask me to be on a song that’s not my sound. When it comes down to music itself, I’m known for my style, my sound, beats, and I’ve never jumped on a shit beat and I don’t think I ever will, hopefully anyway”, his passion bubbles.“They might send me something like afrobeats or afroswing. I don’t do afrobeats or afroswing! How do you expect me.. I mean it’s disrespectful for you to even send me that in the first place, because, if you claim that you fuck with my music, then you should know what I do isn’t that.”

For those who have digested M Huncho’s music, you’d be able to identify its seclusion from what currently exists. It’s a Trap Wave. Yes, it’s wavey, but it carries this trap spikiness, almost an unfuckable with-esque territory, which you would be dared to enter. Clarity, content, and connection. Those are the three prominent focuses we mine, and most likely, what will be experienced in M Huncho’s upcoming debut UK tour, landing in Manchester, Birmingham and London later this year. “I’ve never ever been to a concert in my life apart from Future and my own performances…” a somewhat shocking confession. “I went to Future at o2 Brixton a couple years back, and then after that, just to my own shows. (chuckles).”

I’ve come from a place here no one wishes good on you. Even your friends wish you bad, they don’t want you to succeed, but in your face they do.

“Last year I told my friends , next year, I’m gonna be at Lovebox. This is when I had no booking agent, nothing. I will be at Lovebox. I will be at festivals and I’ve achieved it. Setting yourself a goal and achieving it, it feels 10 times better. 10 times better. I’ve come from a place here no one wishes good on you. Even your friends wish you bad, they don’t want you to succeed, but in your face they do.”

It’s at this point the concept of masks rises to prominence. Huncho’s frustrations, his acceptance and his ultimate embracement of the harsh realities masked in everyday struggles are perhaps parallel to the progressive career that lays ahead of him. It’s virtually undeniable, given the mainstream success of ’48 Hours’, entering the UK Album Charts and provoking a rousing vibe around each track he drops. “I wasn’t expecting it, but we pushed for it slyly. We kept it in mind but we didn’t expect it. And that just proves a lot of things. You’ve got people like Nines who charted…not even just this album but the last album too. That’s a positive move, at the end of the day we all come form the same place, so it’s good to see someone actually hitting the charts.”

Huncho recounts, “I got a DM from Izzie Gibbs. Good guy man”, as we began to wrap up, “and he told me bro, you are hard. A lot of artists won’t tell you that, because they have pride issues, ego, but bro I will tell you, you are hard. And that’s all he said, he didn’t ask me for anything. He said god bless, and like that was it, that was our conversation. It’s all about being genuine. My man has never seen me before, he’s never seen my face, he’s never met me. He just know me through music, and for him to say that to me, it just opened my eyes. People don’t help each other in this industry. You just have to push yourself.”

It’s clear there’s a blessing upon M Huncho, and his journey now rests on building and securing an impenetrable fort. His music speaks for itself, and with his upcoming tour, more videos and releases, his energy and vibrations are bound to build waves that will trap your attention, and undoubtedly, other troops on the battlefield.

A BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF TRAVIS SCOTT

The uncharted rage of a heavy metal show with melodious vocals and passion of a hip hop star.

Rated

Shots

By Sunjay Kohli

Photography by Jamie Drew

Jul 05, 2017

25-year-old, papz-dodging Travis Scott offers much more than your standard rap concert would. Following his two sold-out London shows, Travis brought the Birds Eye View Tour to Birmingham’s fully packed out o2 Academy to much anticipation.

After a short 10 minute DJ set of certified bangers, with a comparable attempt at recreating that viral Giggs ‘KMT’ verse video of a live audience, we were met with a huge red-eyed eagle perched on the stage, surrounded by smoke, mirrors and cages.

21.40 hit, and out emerged Travis Scott to a heated, restless yet eager crowd, beginning with “the ends”, ironically, before going “way back”, which was met with screams declaring that Travis Scott and his fans were in fact, “in the houuuussseee”, both cuts from his latest offering, ‘Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight’.

Whilst the set only lasted little over one hour, there was no doubting the energy and excitement the show brought, emerging through his clash of melody and ferocity, delivered through a post-‘808s & Heartbreak’ Kanye-esque auto-tune vibe, as well as his typical antics from having a few fans stage-dive during the performance of one of the latest tracks, ‘Butterfly Effect’, to himself jumping from the balcony into a swarm of reaching arms. The word – jungle – just wouldn’t cut it.

It wasn’t until a rendition of the impassioned, eye-shutting; chin-lifting ‘Father Stretch My Hands Pt.1’ was preceded by the reckless 2013 ‘Upper Echelons’ ft T.I and 2 Chainz however, that you could truly appreciate the boundaries that Travis Scott has pushed between an almost alt-rock emo-esque impulse and Hip Hop as a whole, a common, questionable, and much debated topic amongst the new era of the uncategorizeable artist. It’s this unapologetic approach, executed with a nonchalant attitude, which has allowed the Houston-born rapper to truly thrust himself onto the scene in such a big way.

After offering his own dance moves to rival that of Drizzy’s infamous ‘Hotline Bling’ antics during his verse of More Life’s ‘Portland’, Travis Scott manouvered his way into a procession of consecutive smash hits, from ‘Pick Up The Phone’, to ‘Antidote’, before finally giving the venue ‘Goosebumps’. Needless to say, everybody lost their sh*t.

As part of a new breed, Travis Scott was able to harmonize a mosh-worthy aggression with a beautiful quake vulnerability to his performance. It’s not solely for the Hip Hop head, but neither is it solely for the turnt up trapper. If this was anything to go by, then the rest of the Bird’s Eye View tour will be something special.

Every moment of the set fused the uncharted rage of a heavy metal show with melodious vocals and passion of a hip hop star, leaving the crowd stunned, spirited and sweaty.

THRILL-PROVOKING BANGERS SET OFF PLAYBOI CARTI

The Atlanta rapper sets the stage alive in his UK show.

Rated

Shots

By Sunjay Kohli

Photography by Zekaria Al-Bostani

Feb 26, 2018

There’s something special about seeing an artist live, especially when their buzz level has reached a global scale, and they are on the cusp of entering mainstream musical stardom. That’s the moment when a show can generate unparralleled energy in a room and Playboi Carti is no exception. With an overflow of fans, the air of anticipation for this show is less one of mass hysteria, and more like one of a ‘welcome to my most played songs of 2018’ Spotify playlist frenzy. It’s an initiation.

Fresh off an active 40+ North American touring schedule of sold out shows, festival bookings and appearances with the likes of ASAP Mob, Lil Uzi Vert and Gucci Mane, Atlanta’s own 21 year-old Playboi Carti hit the UK, before heading out into Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

By the time 9pm hit last night, there was still a sizeable queue waiting to enter the building, security were on staff, and you would be forgiven for growing a tad bit impatient. But impatience on this night was clearly unrequited, Playboi had no plans to kick-off the show any earlier than 10.25pm. Before then, it was down to Daniel OG to begin proceedings with a short 3-track shelling-set, culminating in ‘Uber XL’ which got wheeled twice, and as I thought to myself, this is ‘f*ckin’ mad’, Daniel OG repeated my sentiments exactly.

‘Location’, the opening track off Carti’s self-titled 2017 mixtape, saw in a thumping bassline as the boy of the moment finally hopped into the limelight with a demin jacket half-hanging down one arm, a huge shining medallion one could see from the balcony, and those oh-so-debated leather jogging pants. The reception was fuelled by both exhilaration and agitation, making it so much more intense.

After the opening cut, a spine-grinding bass dropped and then came “In New York I Milly Rock, Hide it in my sock”. With ‘Magnolia’, his ground-breaking catalytic anthem, you could feel the building sway as the crowd bounced. Playboi climbed onto the stage side speaker, held up from his ankles by security – letting off the occasional back-arching echoed wails into the mic.

Followed by a couple more run-throughs of his Playboi Carti mixtape cuts including, the affirmative yet fortuitously pertinent ‘Dothatshit!’, he ran across the stage back to 2016’s ‘In Abundance’ viral hit ‘Fetti’. Featuring Da$h and the distinctive Maxo Kream, the breakthrough hit for the wide-eyed buoyant melodic vibe-machine following his association with A$AP Rocky and the Mob.

Enter Skepta.

Yes. It was a surprise. The duo, ever since their photoshoot by Gio Corabi for Wonderland, have been, allegedly, creating some dope music together, which we’re yet to be blessed with. But Skepta’s entrance came with a track from another across the pond pal Drake’s ‘More Life’ – ‘Skepta Interlude’. With one more, ‘It Ain’t Safe’, and an embrace, he left, leaving us questioning ourselves… wtf just happened.

Playboi Carti then spent the remainder of the show away from the stage, perching from the balconies, staircases and sound pits, causing a frenzy of scurrying fans to be fought off from a bunch of big yellow-coated security. His assured presence schlepped a defining performance across all corners of the venue as he continued dropping thrill-provoking bangers from ‘Let It Go’ to ‘Broke Boy’ and then to ‘Magnolia’ once again. You would have thought he’s been doing it for years…

The night came to a close after homage was paid to his label mentor, A$AP Rocky and the mob, with ‘LPFJ2’ bursting out of the sound system as he stood amongst the crowds atop the sound-pit barriers. With a Colgate-smile bright, and Carti’s presence assured, he departed to his waiting tour bus.

THE RETURN OF ROXXXAN

Don’t call it a comeback, it’s a grow-back.

Shots

By Sunjay Kohli

Photography by Daniela Monteiro

Nov 28, 2017

At the beginning of Summer 2016, one of the UK’s fiercest female MCs dropped a new video, ‘Back To Live’, after what seemed like years of absence. Whilst the aggression and rawness mirrored that of her prior releases from ‘Too Fucking Facety’ to that infamous verse on Mikey J & The UK Female All Stars ‘Roc The Mic’, this time, it felt different. The energy was positive, and the aggression was balanced with a sense of self-awareness and clarity. What followed on from that release were a string of visuals and new sounds, which up until now include her most recent effort, ‘Crud’.

Straight off the stage from opening up for Shakka in Manchester the night before, Roxxxan and I take a seat as we try to remember the last time we met. It’s been a few years since I last interviewed her, before the comeback (or what she refers to as a grow-back). We both recall being at a Music Potential event in Birmingham a few years back, which kicks off her reminiscing about the big move she made to London when it all started. “I received an email about an internship opportunity, and I was doing some stuff in Birmingham at the time with Punch Records…” she begins. “They’re like the Urban Development of Birmingham, I kinda’ grew with them. I was always on their case, like; if anything comes up let me know. About a year later, I got an email for an interview at Parlophone, EMI, for an internship. I went down on the Friday, got it, and started work on the Monday.”

This was back in 2009, “It was an exciting time, Professor Green had just signed to Virgin EMI, I was there when Glyn Atkins signed Emeli Sandé. The week I started, I was writing the massive cheque for Tinie Tempah, you know they do the big presentation cheque.”  This was before RoxXxan really started making substantial music, “I was just creating a few tracks and rapping for the sake of it” as she candidly describes.

RoxXxan’s ambitions to be a rapper were present from early. So when the move to London came, despite her lack of knowledge surrounding the industry and business, the energy she came with was unparalleled. “I was working the Professor Green launch party, they had Scream Djing that night. I remember just jumping on stage, grabbing the mic, and started spitting. I was savage. We don’t have these opportunities in Birmingham as much, so I took them here in London. I was hitting up everyone, I wanted them to know I could spit. Everyone you can name, I hit them up, but I just wasn’t getting my F64 back then.”

“I wasn’t old enough to understand myself or what I wanted to be as an artist”

Shortly after a handful of open mic performances, Roxxxan found herself scouted and signed within 9 months. Before you know it, she was putting out the type of music that still has YouTube commenters exclaiming their jubilation on her return to the scene. I put the question to RoxXxan about whether it was this early rejection she was facing in the industry that was partly responsible for this consistent undertone of animosity in her music. She addresses it serenely and explains how, ironically, the label was a major source of this.

“After splitting with the label, there was still this buzz, but there was also these forces opposing me. We weren’t really seeing eye-to-eye. I wasn’t old enough to understand myself or what I wanted to be as an artist. And the label… there wasn’t enough urban music for them to understand how to release me… if that makes sense. We weren’t on the same page. They were showing me a path I didn’t want to take, the “quick” path to commercial success if you like, you know, get the R&B artist, write a ballad, hook and have a rapper like me Hip-Hop the verses up a bit, then call it authentic Black music. Not to take away anything from artists who took a similar path, they had to do it to open the doors to get where we are now.”

I understand. No one owes me anything

“So yeah, even when I left the label there was a buzz. I left the same week as the ‘Roc The Mic’ verse, but I was still at the bottom of the food chain. Even now, people still have a reluctancy towards me. I used to take it personally, but now, having gone through these past few years, I understand. No one owes me anything. I expected people to just have my back, back me, post my pictures up, etc etc, but no one owes me any favours.”

The energy in the room tames when our discussion moves onto those 2 or so years, following the split from her label, when Roxxxan stepped back from music. “During your twenties I think it’s normal to have some kind of little breakdown,” she reflects calmly before illustrating her challenging times. “There are hard times, and they’re when you learn everything about yourself. It was my period of evolving. My Nan and I had a very close relationship, and when she passed, I was going through a breakup with my partner at the same time. I was 22, stress free, living in London, feeling free, it was a mad high, then all of a sudden, it all came crashing down. I took a step back from music and I moved back to Birmingham.”

“I think it [the aggression] was just everything. Anger towards myself, for stopping myself from being creative, believing that I’m blocked; it’s all in the mind. Myself before anyone I would blame. I feel like I’ve got so much to prove.”

I ask RoxXan if the city was there for her, when she moved back, and her confident response is the epitome of the Birmingham spirit that has the city grasping for the scene’s top spot right now. “100%. They were there for me when I went back, they still are and I believe they always will be. I’m always flying that Birmingham flag. The relationships I built there, stayed. So being there helped a lot, before it was time to move back here…”

Birmingham is our next quick detour before addressing her current comeback to the scene. The rise has been well documented, and RoxXxan is heavy on supporting the cities finest talent. “I’m listening to everyone, what’s happening is amazing. Lotto, JayKae, Mike Skinner. I’m so proud of us. Jorja Smith, Preditah, Leshurr, MIST. We got the sauce right now…” laughing. “Everyone loves an underdog, and we are very underdog.” Even though the move to London was seemingly the finite opportunity for her at the time, she makes it clear that it’s not the case anymore when quizzed on the proposed necessity to come to the Big Smoke. “Not anymore…I don’t think you have to come here. It’s not even just Birmingham proving that, you’ve got Manny; Bugzy and IAMDDB, Bristol, Nottingham doing their thing. These days you can do it yourself, your phone is your label, your social media your PR team. If the music is good, people will find it.”

It’s not even about being gay, not every tomboy is gay. Again, stereotypes

Another subject matter RoxXxan has always been synonymous with is femininity. It’s a topic ever-present and addressed throughout her content, lyrically. Contrasting it, however, is the murky, grittiness of her visuals, most notably, ‘Rumplestilskin’, ‘He Said She Said’, and ‘G Code’. “I consider myself to be quite a feminist…” she begins as she addresses the topic. “Looking into the scene, there was no woman that really represented what I’m about. The tomboys, the no-so girly girls. It’s not even about being gay, not every tomboy is gay. Again, stereotypes. I want people to be aware so that women can feel comfortable in everything.”

“I understand, you know, love yourself…” as she responds to the over-sexualisation of women in the industry. “If you’re comfortable being naked on camera, CUS it makes you feel good and gives you the right self-esteem, then cool. Do it for the right reasons, for the positive. If it’s not for that, if it’s for the IG, the likes, I can’t really have respect for you, if you don’t have respect for yourself. It’s hard right now, there’s no one in the middle. You’ve got like, MA, one end of the spectrum, no makeup, very openly gay, and like Stefflon Don on the other end, curvy, sexy. I see myself in the middle. A tomboy but very girly. Feminine.”

I’m trying to be a big misfit, and be for misfits in the world.

And being that big misfit, there’s a lot of pressure on RoxXxan to make the next step correctly, given the momentum she has built right now. Whilst beneficial to her craft, being the perfectionist she claims to be threatens this momentum should new music not come soon enough, as she totally understands. “Yes I do feel under a lot of pressure. I’d like to say no, but I do, I need to get it right. I’m trying to portray me the best way I can… and I’m super hard on myself ‘cus it means so much.”

Before wrapping up, Roxxxan emphasises that as a Gemini, she’s trying a bit of everything, giving the impression she has been experimental with her new sounds. “I’ve been in the lab, making music. As you can see I’ve done a lot of Grime, I guess it’s just letting out that frustration before the new music comes. The music is ready, I just need to be sure it makes sense, that it fits now.”

Regardless, following the release of ‘Crud’, it’s needless to say with the excitement for a new project – it can’t come soon enough.

THE MILKY WAY LANDS IN LONDON

Bas shows London what he’s made of.

Rated

Shots

By Sunjay Kohli

Photography by Harry McCulloch

Mar 12, 2019

On the heels of a 43-city US tour, as well as 8 shows on the African continent including his native Sudan, Dreamville’s indigenous signee Bas brought his Milky Way Tour to the UK. Two years after his sophomore album Too High To Riot, Milky Way marks the rappers third, and most definitive project yet. The album sees Bas rollick his way through an easy, bouncy, exotic sonic landscape – an energy which was ever-present throughout his growth, but now appears to have flourished.

So with his assured arrival on the stage at London’s sold-out Village Underground to the soothing Hics / Ari Lennox-graced backing vocals of the albums introductory ‘Icarus’, the energy in the room harmonised with his own. This tranquil yet excited arrival was quickly flipped with the dive into a bar-loaded ‘Purge’, one of the few unapologetically-dimmer rap records from the Milky Way album.

Whilst both Bas and his breezy, beautifully-sculpted project prove seemingly effortless, his presence elucidated any uncertainties. As though a conductor had taken centre-stage, his control of the crowd, DJ Nitrane, keyboardist Justin, and himself was unquestionable as we jumped into more album cuts from ‘Front Desk’ to ‘Barack Obama Special’, all preceding a 5-miniute monologue of the inspirations behind the latter track’s infamous opening lines.

As with the album, in which the emblematic challenges faced by newly-famed and fortuned rappers are sporadically riddled throughout, the commentary is provided with an underlying theme of whit and humour. Such was the tone 20 minutes into an hour long set by Bas, as we found ourselves reviving our energy for debut and sophomore album cuts from tracks ‘Night Job’, ‘My N**ga Just made Bail’ and Last Winter’s ‘Lit’, to cheffing up a solid, choppy ‘Housewives’ performance.

As the evening ended, Bas and his contagiously buoyant presence remained strong from diving back into to Milky Way favourites ‘PDA’, ‘Boca Raton’ and of course, ‘Tribe’. With the penetrating bass bouncing off the brick walls housing the packed out floor, the crowd were then treated to a preview of a volatile J Cole / Bas verse from the upcoming Revenge of The Dreamers lll project, on what seemed to be a track entitled ‘Baby’. I guess we’ll wait and see what the Dreamville’s camp has in store!

THE ASCENSION OF BISHOP NEHRU

“I feel like I only really signed to hear what Nas had to say”

Shots

By Sunjay Kohli

Photography by Daniela Monteiro

Apr 18, 2018

Just over two months ago, I sat in a circle of 8/9 people opposite Bishop Nehru at his first album listening session in Willesden, North West London. His sense of tranquillity was hemmed with an underlying tone of vehemence. The same could be said of his project. As we bopped our heads through the 12-tracks produced by Kaytranada and previous long-time collaborator MF Doom, it became evident that ‘Elevators: Act I & II’ served as two things – it is both the perfect introduction to those who are unschooled, and the perfect commencement for those who had a few years ago fathomed the inherent greatness of Bishop Nehru.

The 19 year-old kid I first met in Vancouver, Canada at the start of his 2016 Magic 19 tour is now refined. Three projects later, at 21 years old Nehru has finally released his debut solo studio album. His persona, his music, his delivery are all sharper, lighter and unequivocal to any other Hip-Hop artist in the same age bracket. “I think it’s been great so far, although, it could be a lot bigger”, Bishop begins over the phone from New York, as I ask him about the response he’s felt since the album release, “but I feel like it’s a real special project, it just needs a couple more eyes on it, and once everybody notices it, it will go.”

The album, which is split into two parts, ‘Act l – Ascension’ produced by Kaytranada, and ‘Act ll – Free Falling’ produced by MF Doom, seemingly serves as the perfect platform for a long-awaited collaboration between Bishop and the Haitian-Canadian producer whose 2016 debut studio album ‘99.9%’ received worldwide critical acclaim. “I recorded a track with him in LA. It was pretty dope vibes you know, like a typical studio session,” Nehru tells me on working with Kaytranada, “…and that was the session where I got pretty much most of the beats for the project. He dumped them off to me that day. We recorded ‘Driftin’ (the opening track) in the studio that day. There had previously been talk of us working together…” he casually says, “…but that track of course, just confirmed it. It’s been like a year in the making.”

And rightly so, ‘Driftin’ instantaneously sets the tone of the album, an upbeat, ascending melody, straddled with bars of self-assurance, wit, humour, and it’s dope. The lyrics for ‘Lost In My Mind’ however, were my point of inquisition to Bishop, given it’s contrasting message to what the rest of the track delivers. “It’s definitely coming from a negative light of course…” he begins to explain, “at the same time however, it’s also just a general feeling. Pretty much a trip through my own head. That’s the sort of idea I have for the video, without giving too much away. You know, like a whole bunch of chaos going on around me. Almost like I’m viewing both negatives and positive things in my head pretty much. There’s certain things that people interpret differently. That perspective and those different perceptions are the inspiration for those lyrics.”

The concept of duality is consistent from the surface splits of the album, trickling down to the deeper veins of individual tracks and verses, in particular around ‘The Game of Life’, a 4 minute retrospective narrating two individuals perspectives meeting their respective tragic endings. Without delving too deep into it, I compliment the production on the track and ask how involved he was in it. “I didn’t really have much of a hands-on approach, but there was certain things that I heard in the beats that I wanted to bring out. I brought in a pianist, guitarist, and told them certain things I wanted them to hit. I guess that can be counted as co-production…” he contemplates humbly, “…but I think Kaytranada and MF Doom did their job pretty well.”

“I’m really open to working with other people, especially when they’re on my same type of vibes. And I feel like us three are all kinda’ reclusive musicians, mysterious, so it was a nice fit.”

One of my favourite tracks, ‘Get Away’, stands out for the prominence of it’s aspirational, prognostic presence on the project. Given the budding New Yorker has already been in the game for a few years, it naturally brings about the question – what the goal is? Nehru’s answer assures me that my impressions were accurate. “Well in the end…” he begins, “…I definitely want to be known as one of the greatest musicians.” Arguably a stunningly centred declaration for a 21-year-old rapper, although, nothing seems to indicate at the slightest hint of adolescence about Bishop. “I wanna learn more instruments. I’ve been playing piano now for a couple of years. I feel like MJ’s career is the perfect example with regards to the age thing. He was pretty much making music since he was a kid, and his biggest album came at the age of 24. I look at it like that. I don’t time myself. I just know if I keep making music with my heart, it will eventually get heard and explode.” Nehru momentarily diverts away from his usual reticence, “… I wanna be a household name musically. I have so many different sounds I want to share with the world too, and it will take a little while for people to be able to really pinpoint like, ‘yo, this is his sound’, but I feel I can do everything. That’s the type of artist I want to be known as, a versatile musician, who can do pretty much anything.”

“There’s lots I aspire to do as far as art, and connecting with people. If I was the biggest artist but I couldn’t connect, that’d be kinda’ pointless know what I mean?”

Our conversation then quickly detours to his previous experiences with mentor and New York Hip-Hop icon, Nas, and the deal he initially signed with Mass Appeal a few years prior. For followers of this protégé, we know all too well about the working relationship that never fully manifested itself between Bishop and Nas’ label. Despite this, I’m keen to discover his key learnings from the industry guardianship Nas may have offered. “I feel like, outside of Nas, there was too many outside sources trying to tell me, creatively, what to do…” he begins to reflect omnisciently. “I feel like I only really signed to hear what Nas had to say, and how HE thought I should do things, even though I was gonna’ do it my way regardless. I didn’t sign with him to get creative advice from non-creatives, that’s pretty much what it was.”  Nehru continues, “Also, I kinda think I was a bit stubborn with certain things as well. So it was kind of a growing process for me as well. There’s certain things looking back where I could have been like ‘alright, I’ll take the backseat for this and let you guys lead,’ but that’s just not in my nature, I’ve always been kind of rebellious.”

It’s at this point I offer my re-assurance (not that it’s required), that, as an observer for several years, the path Bishop has elected is not necessarily the correct, but certainly the most organic, as he concurs. “He told me not to be sensitive about certain things in the industry. I mean, it’s a business at the end of the day, so you can’t take things personally. I’m sure if I see Nas tomorrow, he’ll be the same way he was when I first signed. Certain things are just business.”

We move into the second half of both our conversation and the project. MF Doom has produced the other half of the album, a bouncy, hip-hop-centric mix of tantalizing tracks like ‘Taserz’, ‘Again & Again’ and ‘Potassium’. “Concerning this ‘new age’ of Hip Hop, I don’t get the people that don’t like it” Bishop clarifies. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly for a rapper of his growing calibre his sustained admission into what some may perceive as a traditionally ‘purist’ Hip Hop community, is rare. Although, such an endorsement probably shouldn’t be a topic of conversation amongst this new generation of artists. “But I bump that shit. I think it’s just an age thing, they won’t understand it. I mean, when they were making jazz music, there was a point in time where jazz was called devilish music, know what I mean? People thought jazz was satanic, and that it put white women in a trance. This is literal…” he continues, “I’ve seen a poster that says this, that marijuana and jazz music are straight from the devil.”

“So it’s kinda like this now, when people say it’s trash, not real music, whatever, I feel like everything evolves. The influences evolve. Hip Hop is creating music from your situation. “

We take a final deep dive into America, and the wider impact on his music of the historic, deep social infrastructures now surfacing to a new generation of oppressed. “There’s a lot of people talking about stuff they don’t know about, pretty much. Now there’s like trap rappers who try to talk about revolutionary shit. That’s cool but I feel like at a certain point that’s going to start to pollute the message. You’re not spreading it correctly.” Whilst he acknowledges the issues plaguing so-called ‘minority’ societies have been persistent for hundreds of years, it’s just a new generation that are experiencing them.  “We don’t necessarily have to find a way to move within the system, but it would be the smartest idea. I feel like it won’t change, but if they do change it, it will probably still not be in our favour. We gotta’ find a way to work around it.”

As we draw our to a close, Bishop assures me he’ll be back in the UK soon to perform the, what is now, his first album of an already strong catalogue enriched with introspective narrative and impeccable delivery. If ‘Elevators: Act l & ll’ is anything to go by, you can expect to see this Nehurvian King’s face plastered all over each floor of hip gop’s tower in the coming years, as he ascends to the rooftops.

THE ALPHA-FEMALE PRESENCE OF SHAÈ

Fully exploring and flaunting her versatility

Shots

Next Up

By Sunjay Kohli

Photography by Daniela Monteiro

Mar 08, 2018

Way before the superstar features, collaborations and co-signs, soulful R&B songstress, Shaè, was captivating online audiences across the world with her snazzy YouTube covers. Now, as we journey through 2018, Shaè has burst back onto the supposedly forsaken R&B UK scene with her latest single, ‘No Stallin’.

2016 saw the spirted singer beginning to post her shorter cover snippets on Twitter, generating a bigger buzz than was anticipated at the time, and before long, her extremely pertinent track ‘Melanin’, caught attention. The rooted jazzy soulful track itself addresses the social and cultural challenges we’re currently submerged in, as well as being fuelled by the infamous death of Sandra Bland. “’Melanin’ was written at a time where I was already on the edge of frustration with all the unjust treatment and deaths I was seeing everywhere. The Sandra Bland case was like the tip of the iceberg. Her story hit even closer to home because she was a black woman, like myself. ‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!’ is what I felt like saying but realistically my people have been saying that for decades, so instead of expressing my anger, I decided to channel that energy into writing something to uplift, unite and promote love amongst people of colour.”

To delve deeper into the propellants of Shaè, we start with early beginnings in music, “Music has definitely always played a major role in my life. I went through different stages in school from being a rapper to a spoken word artist to even training as a dancer, but from the very jump, the one unchanging factor was my love, and deep connection with, music.”

And her sound? Well, if you haven’t figured already, it carries a smooth, Jill-Scott-esque flow, particularly with the track just mentioned and another entitled ‘Move’. However, her vocal versatility is ever present, carrying herself with a much more assured, buoyant type of demeanour on ‘Big Mistake’ and the new single ‘No Stallin’.

“I just flow with how the music makes me feel I suppose…” explaining said musical flexibility. “Anyone who knows me personally will tell you I’m the most gentle natured person, but I naturally have quite a dominant Alpha-Female presence. I think this juxtaposition is naturally reflected in my music sometimes because that’s true to who I am. In saying that, there has definitely been growth from my first releases to my most recent ones as all artists organically grow/develop over time.”

Shaè has also been at the centre of some important collaborations in her auspicious journey, from securing a Ms Banks feature on ‘Big Mistake’, of which she comments “Ms Banks came to mind as a feature immediately because she is, in my opinion, a real life example of a resilient, determined and focused woman in this music thing.” … to the last minute Kojo Fund’s ‘My Wish’ (ft Kranium), and not to mention Kojey Radical’s ‘700 Pennies’. “One day GA, my good friend and Kojo’s main producer, called me saying he had “good news and bad news”. He said the song me and Kojo had worked on prior was scrapped because it had been sitting there for ages, but, he also said they were going to use my adlibs from that song for a new song… and the new song would also be featuring Kranium! As you can imagine, I was gassed!“

Shaè has thus far managed to seemingly balance channelled energies, rooted in challenging societal constructions, with her empowering array of musical influences from Nina Simone, Sade, Erykah Badu and many many more. And it’s working. Her music has been co-signed and noticed by a handful of future music icons, including a prominent recognition from Chance The Rapper, as she vividly recalls. “I remember it like it was yesterday. I was lying down on my bed, scrolling through my TL as you do. Then I see ‘Lil Chano from 79th retweeted you’. Now, at this point, I genuinely thought it was one of those parody accounts because that happens sometimes, so i just clicked on it nonchalantly to see. When I saw the verified tick………. bro….. I said ‘NAAAAAAHHH’, jumped out of my bed, conked my head on the ceiling (my room is in the roof so the ceilings are slanted), but it didn’t even hurt because I was too full of adrenaline and I just started running around my house. My mum thought I was crazy, and she didn’t get it but I didn’t even care. I was just too gassed…”

2018 is most definitely shaping up to be an exciting year for the future R&B star. Following the release of ‘No Stallin’, we can expect Shaè to be ‘fully exploring and flaunting her versatility on upcoming projects’. It’s coming in the summer time, and we can’t wait.

SIMBA SHORE: THE NEW NORTHERN KING

“The same people I started with are the same people I’ll finish with.”

Shots

AAA Pass

By Sunjay Kohli

Photography by Matt Pearson, Photography by Sunjay Kohli

Sep 05, 2021

At 2.59pm I got the text from Nic.

“We’ve just wrapped up soundcheck now. Heading to the apartment.”

By then, I had already made the short hike from Newcastle train station to the Maldron Hotel in the heart of the city. My spot for the night. There was a buzz in the air, my first time up to the Toon and I was already impressed. Riding across the Tyne river entering the city landscape, with a view of the seven bridges, it is quite a sight for those yet to visit. I checked in, dumped my bags and grabbed the gear before heading around the corner to the Grainge Street apartment to link my Northern Baby crew for the next 24 hours. 

Nic came downstairs and greeted me before we walked up a couple flights to the apartment, a few new faces dotted around and greetings ensued before we set up in the cosy but modern front room. We chopped it up briefly and the excitement and anticipation of tonight’s performance was quickly replaced by the anxiety and stress of a music video shoot day. Before long however, the man of the moment himself walked in with a few of his boys. 

It’s nearing the end of summer and today, Simba Shore, unquestionably the most exciting prospect to emerge from the North East, is dropping his first track of the year. Follow 4 Follow, a ferociously commanding first person account of a day in the life of Simba, sprayed over a deliciously resolutive beat, one which, enlivened by it’s chopped vocal sample, immediately caught the ear of Simba, he explained as we sat down to discuss. “I heard the beat and wrote it at 10am in the morning, I finished at 11am. At 12pm I was in the studio, at 1pm it was done. I’ve never written a track so fast in my life. I heard the beat and I just thought wow.” He spoke with enthusiasm and excitement, which despite his calculated demeanour, shimmered through in moments. 

Though Simba Shore is already garnering the support of a household name up North, he’s technically only 4 tracks and 1 feature deep into what promises to be an extensively celebrated catalogue one day. It started at the top of 2020 with ‘Exposing Me’ an instrumental sampling Whoopty dissected and flexed upon unforgivingly by Simba. The track splashed him on the map, amounting over 2 million streams in no time and has raised a few industry eyebrows. It was followed up in March 2020 by a now customary ‘2am In Newcastle’, then, his bass-ridden collaboration with Hargo on Eazy later in the year. “Well I’ve been making music since I was 15, but I don’t think it was a high standard. But in my city people were taking it in…And then I came with Exposing Me. 2 milli streams, with no playlists, that was crazy for me. I feel like I wouldn’t have even done that if it wasn’t for people around me, pushing me. I’m happy they did because now I’m loving it, I’m enjoying it.”

We spoke on camera for a little while on his motivations, sharing memories of bluetooth / infrared phone days and our favourite artists before wrapping up. After a quick few snaps with Matt, photographer for the day, it was time to start shooting the video. The apartment was cramped with the director and his kit, a few of us in the second bedroom grabbing BTS and a living room full of the boys, blasting out the new drop. The first scene was shot, shot again, and shot once more before Simba dipped out. The rest of the crew stayed back for a minute, gathered in the living area and ran through a host of music videos and Daily Duppy’s on the TV screen. The fridge was raided for all the Maggies one could ever ask for and the apartment was vacated. Onto the next location.

As we marched up to Grey’s Monument, a 134 ft tower standing tall over the Metro station in the middle of Newcastle, it felt more like late autumn than mid-August. The air was frisk and despite the buzz of a city centre sprawling with shoppers and young teens capitalising on their last couple weeks of Summer holiday freedom, it maintains a sense of calm. Life is a little slower here or, so it was. After about 20 minutes of scouting locations in the vicinity and linking up with Sisi, another young talented prospect out of the north, Simba rolled through, this time, in one of two gleaming white Mercedes-CLA AMGs and pulled up onto the pedestrian walkway. Whilst he hopped out and reconvened with the director to finalize the plan for the city centre cuts, it didn’t take long for the feds to show. We were ushered along so the two beauties sped off to turn back and all cameras got into position.

They drove up and down 3 or four times to ensure we caught what was needed, pissing off a few commuters and bus drivers in the process. By the time it was time to do the walking shots, the sidewalks across both sides of Blackett Street were filling up with stopping passers-by rapt in all the commotion. More and more seemed to join the squad as Simba and his crew paraded up and down the middle of bus lanes for a handful of takes. As we stood and watched the crowds gather and friendly faces he recognised from homies to fans he stopped to chat to, the vibe truly attested to his words from our conversation earlier in the day when questioned on his motivation. “My friends. My people man. I look back and I wouldn’t have done certain things if it wasn’t for them. I wouldn’t have even started the journey. They’re in my new song you know. The same people I started with are the same people I’ll finish with. So it is what it is.”

It had already hit 6pm before the Monument shots were all done and we were behind schedule. A few more snaps with fans and friendly faces passing through and it was off to the next and penultimate shoot location for the day, before the grand finale. Trap Food House. A little gem on a corner of Waterloo street. Simba went inside and placed the order for 10+ wing combo boxes as we all congregated on the steps outside ready for the camera. The sun was beginning to set as everyone grew hungry and eager for a respite, but again Simba’s enthusiasm reigned supreme throughout the multiple takes of the track and in this moment, that energy shone through once more. It’s attributed to his work ethic, determination and newly found grind. It’s quite possibly, alongside the pure talent he possesses, why he’s at the forefront of a city yet to be recognised and championed. A city unspoken for, “without voice” as he spoke on… “There’s no voice up here, we kinda get overlooked here, I feel like, if artists are doing a show, 9 times outta 10, they’ll do Manny, jump over Newcastle, go straight to Scotty, they won’t come here.”

“I want to give my sides a voice, give myself a voice. I’ve got stuff to say, I feel like that’s important. We’re tryna give the city a vibe, to let them know what we’re here to do.” 

By the time they wrapped the final shots, I jumped inside the shop just as the chefs were serving up the boxes. Two types of marinated wings, deep-fried calamari, shrimp, hot sauce and a scoop of creamy mac ’n’ cheese. Simba passed me mine, I handed my share but he refused. “You got me when I come down to Brum” he says. Say less. I grabbed the box, dapped everyone up and left to get an hour or so to refresh at the hotel, detouring at the boss-man shop to grab a bottle of water and a red-bull. We needed our energy up for the night ahead. 

10pm struck and the phone buzzed with the penthouse pre-party address. 

“602 on the door. We’re heading there now.” 

I pulled up, entered the code and smashed the ring button. After giving my name through the speaker, I heard them shouting in the background ‘let him up’ hoping we don’t have similar problems getting through the doors of Jungle later that evening. Little did we know…Elevator was out. Stairs it was. As I climbed, a familiar face met me halfway, Johno of the increasingly popular YouTube channel RIDE music, documenting the stories and happenings of the scene. We entered the penthouse and it was dark, buzzing and the speakers thumping, everyone dressed to a T, tables full of bottles lining the ceiling to floor windows, a pool table littered with red-cups and a balcony amongst the lit-up concrete jungle landscape. Truly the sort of scene we’re perpetually bombarded with in this game, except, it was real, it was happening, the vibes were positive, energy up and we were all there, a part of history for the city Simba is running. He arrived shortly after me and got to shooting the party scene for the video pretty quickly, running through the track two or three times as we slowly became more waved. 

Despite all my experiences with artists over the years, this was probably the first time I’d witnessed the first one to come out of their city so strongly. Despite having yet to scratch the surface of his career, the support, locally and nationally seems to be there. “So far the industry support has been amazing, you know. Before I even had a song out, we were doing label meetings. For me that was crazy…” Simba explained to me. “Cus I’m seeing things I’ve never seen in my life before, like wow, this is the life I wanna live you know. I was there and I’m seeing artists that do this everyday, recording a song a day. I was recording a song a year. It showed me the amount of work you have to put in to get there. There’s not much more the industry can do for me apart from give me a milli but yeah…” he smirked. If tonight was just a taster of that lifestyle, then it was one we’ll undoubtedly savour for as long as we can. You can’t help but feel the tide is incoming as Follow 4 Follow rings through the speakers and vibrates the penthouse walls, it won’t be long until Simba Shore swings again. But we weren’t quite done for the night, one more stop.

12:02 am.

Jungle night at Tup Tup Palace. The spot to be at for those A-listers that do come through the city. Just a short uber ride away from the penthouse and the venue playing host to tonight’s carnage. There were queues either side of the entrance hemming the pavements. For the final time today, Simba pulled up in convoy, this time in a matte black G-Wagon, right outside the entrance. What ensued was a frenzy of fans, club-goers and crew, blocking traffic, taking selfies, fixated on the hysteria. The hype was contagious and fans rushed up to the car windows to say hello and grab a picture. After about 15 minutes of the energy building he hopped out and the track began blasting through the whip’s door speakers, full beam lights on in the background, blinding the lens, with Simba ready to perform another take outside the club. 

He did so and after another 30 minutes of loitering, selfies and greetings, past the due-stage time, it was time to head inside. The club was dimly lit, with mosaic lavish Eastern-style interior, across multiple levels. We headed to the VIP section, flashed our wristbands and battled our way straight to the bar. Just after 1am, Simba hit the stage. Seemingly out of nowhere, the beat dropped, he appeared, hooded up in his camo jacket, ring lights and cameras swarming behind. Bodies flooded the floor and the lights blinded us. He ran through Follow 4 Follow and Exposing Me, with every word being screamed back for the latter, before disappearing again into the night. 

The beautiful thing about these moments and these times is the opportunity to capture an artist at their tipping point. A true protagonist in his environment, with solid foundations and endless ambition. As the night drew to a close, his words rang true again… “My name’s Simba man, from birth, gotta let them know the powers there. That’s what it is man, all I can do is tell my truth…” It’s time to let everyone know, there’s a new King of The North coming.  

SAY LESS TO FEEL MORE OF ROY WOOD$

“I always want to experiment. Music is never something you should be closed-minded about.”

Shots

Video

By Sunjay Kohli

Photography by Philipp Raheem, Photography by Jamie Drew

Jul 02, 2018

It’s a uncomfortably scorching sunny start to June as Roy Wood$ is paraded across Kensington High Street rolling out of the Warner Music HQ. The British summer has arrived, as too has the Toronto-OVO native, on his first European tour.  Bestowing the tour’s title, ‘Say Less‘, the debut studio album for Wood$, is a sparkling 16-piece ensemble, floating with satisfyingly resolutive melodies, spewing with confidence, versatility, and with a slight sprinkle of that 90s/R&B magic.

“I was literally just saying ‘Say less’ all the time, so to use it as the album title was natural for me”, Wood$ begins to explain, as we take our seats in our pop-up studio prior to a rooftop photo shoot at the label offices, eyes and lenses all pointing at a tranquil Wood$. “ ‘Yo say less fam, say less’. It means like, we don’t need to converse, ‘cus we already understand each other you know? We have a level of understanding, so say less you know.” Though far from his hometown of Brampton, Toronto, Wood$ is far from shy of delivering an overt explanation of the slang used across the pond. “When it comes down to the music, it’s kind of the same thing.”

This being his first time in Europe, and just one London show deep into the tour, Wood$’ excitement and energy emulates on both the album, and what would later be witnessed that night, his performance.

Roy Woods by Philipp Raheem

Following the release of three extremely potent EPs; ‘Exis’ in 2015, followed by 2016’s ‘Waking At Dawn’ and ‘Nocturnal’, the album, led with singles ‘Say Less’ and ‘What Are You On?’, saw Wood$ score a US Billboard Top 100, as well as an impressive 26th on Canada’s Billboard album charts. It was in fact, highly anticipated since the release of ‘Exis’, with heavyweight track ‘Drama, featuring The Boy himself, soaring to prominence. However, almost 3 full years later, the end of 2017 was seemingly the perfect time for ‘Say Less’ to come. “I felt like, the growth of my music, and me as a person, I needed to get my album out now…“ Wood$ explains with a hint of impatience on the release. “I didn’t feel like I wanted to give another EP that people maybe would’ve thought was an album… I wanted to give you the album now. It felt like it was time for me to show everybody what Roy really does, you know, instead of just giving a taste of it on an EP, you know?”

Music is never something you should be closed-minded about.

Though sonically, this latest effort from the OVO Sound camp is as versatile as ever, the album’s track-list, from the groovy upbeat MJ-esque ‘Little Bit of Lovin’ to a vocally entrancing ‘Monday To Monday’, holistically encapsulates the trademark Roy Wood$ presence. It’s somewhat experimental, something which Roy is clear to emphasise. “I’m always experimenting with my music. I feel like the more I experiment, the more I create and the more I like… go about it like a scientist. I see it as me working in the lab, you know. I always want to experiment. Music is never something you should be closed-minded about. There’s so much to learn from music.”

“All the producers I work with all the time, yeah I work with all those guys, everybody on that album…” he exclaims, after being quizzed on his ability to remain consistent despite having up to 15 credited producers on the album, including the likes of Murda Beatz, along with a handful of fellow sixers. “There was not really anybody new that I worked with… there are songs on the album that are a few years old. I knew I wanted them for an album. I knew what I wanted for my first album, but I didn’t know exactly how I wanted it to sound, but I knew what songs I wanted you know. I knew what I wanted the album to do. So there’s certain songs I saved and waited for the right time to put on the album.”

‘Undivided’, the closing track of ‘Say Less’, is the undeviating response when challenged with the supposedly impossible ‘favourite track’ question. A track that Wood$ co-produced (although un-noted) himself, with long-time collaborator, FrancisGotHeat. “We were just working one day, and we made the beat together. He was playing keys then we just took the sample to the studio, made the beat, started writing down the lyrics in my head, had a little idea, and was like yeah, that’s it. I helped with the process of not just the writing, but the creation of the beat itself too. It’s the first song I ever co-produced and put out.

“I’ve always had an interest in producing, and I’m doing it a lot right now with my DJ for a mixtape with UTU [Unlock The Underground, his hometown collective] and next album…”

Our conversation swiftly transforms into talk of his content and the overriding essence of vulnerability prevailing through the varying instrumentals of ‘Say Less’. “I feel like me being vulnerable as an artist is what makes me an artist… you know…” he begins to express. “Like, I talk about feelings, pain, relationships, memories, experiences. That’s why I make music, I love to listen to music that makes me feel. Happy or sad. I wanna hear that you know. If I’m feeling sad, I wanna hear a song that makes me really feel that, so that, I feel like somebody could relate. That’s why I love putting myself in a vulnerable state, and get those really sappy tracks out there you know.” Thus, arguably, such emotional receptiveness seeds the coherence of a multifaceted project. It pulls you in different directions, but you end up at the same destination.

Finding himself constantly returning to 90s R&B, Wood$ affirms his devotion to artists from Jagged Edge to Usher, influencing the 22-year-olds musical execution. Not to detract from current ‘new school’ influences too, Wood$ most notably commends Bronx teen-rapper Smooky MarGielaa.

The array of music influences Wood$ has exposed himself to serves as a reflection of the broad cultural impacts he speaks of, coming from the cosmopolitan melting pot of Ontorio’s capital. Starting his musical journey rapping at age 16, it wasn’t until his move from Brampton to downtown Toronto that Wood$ really began to open his art up. “Toronto has influenced my music so much. It’s what I’m around everyday, it’s what I grew up with. The culture around me, the people around me, you know it all makes up me and my city. So when you listen to me, when you look at me, I’m a representation of my city, and that’s for everybody there.”

“There were a lot of artists there that were coming up along side me…” he begins to reminisce on a seemingly not-so distant past. “So like, 88Glam, I was coming up with them. We were in the same clubs, always linking, seeing them everywhere I go, it was just a regular thing. So to see them now, you know, I’m very proud of them man, where they’ve been mad. It’s beautiful for our city man, we need that.”

Later that evening Roy heads back Camden’s’ Electric Ballroom for his second night in London. The diverse energy of his hometown is channelled into a tireless performance. The energy of a trap star with the profundity of a true R&B future icon is on show. His vitality is equalled by the 1,000+ venue, something he excitingly apprises in our chat earlier that day. “It’s so  different out here compared to the US man. The feeling the vibe the energy the people, people react to the music differently. It’s way more energy from what I see. Way more energy here, and I don’t know why. They’re singing, louder, dancing, energy, you know!, and I get that in America, like a lot, they go crazy, but it’s like on another level. A level I’ve never seen. I’m just soaking it all up.”

Undoubtedly with a long career ahead of him, Wood$, though now strongly defined in the furnishings of OVO fortress, is most likely to cross the surrounding moat, and infiltrate playlists and charts with upcoming projects. ‘Say Less’ serves as an affirmation of both his imaginative artistry and commercial viability. With a collaborative mixtape with UTU on it’s way, and a sophomore album well in the works, we can’t wait for something new.

Roy Wood$ Live In Birmingham

S-X TAKES HIS SOUND TO SHOW #1

S-X stages his long awaited debut live show.

Rated

Shots

AAA Pass

By Sunjay Kohli

Photography by Jamie Drew

Jan 15, 2018

Less than a couple of hours away from taking the stage for his first ever headline performance, Wolverhampton’s own’ S-X is backstage, preparing for this first step into the limelight. Surrounded by close family and friends, the energy is surprisingly tranquil ahead of his highly anticipated Show #1.

Following the success of his career in production, there is arguably a lot to live up to for S-X and his mellifluous, soulful sounds. An almost sold-out crowd begin to trickle into The Slade Rooms from around 7pm, waiting to see the producer turned performer. With credits from some of the biggest names in music, including the likes of Childish Gambino, YMCMB and not to forget, the legendary D Double E performance on ‘Wooo Riddim’, his journey as a performer has already begun on solid foundations.

S-X’s vocals have been strongly embedded into his extremely poignant self-produced efforts, from ‘Plans’ to ‘Everytime’, the latter being the first single from his upcoming project, ‘Reasons’ set to drop March 30th.

9pm hits in The Slade Rooms and S-X rises to the stage, rocking a silver satin puffer jacket and his trademark shorts, looking casual as ever. As the lights dim he breaks into the first two cuts of the night, ‘Intro’ and ‘Too Hard’, from his last project ‘House Clothes’ – a 6-track EP with a deep, dark, bass-heavy type of vibe, released back in September 2017.

Entranced by the melodic vibrations, it’s as if the crowd are watching the sounds, and not him. Such shadowy, almost murky instrumentals have evolved into S-X’s trademark sound over the years. Coupled with the steep high-pitched tones he delivers on tracks such as ‘Realised’ and ‘I Tell You’, it’s a style he’s always felt comfortable using to narrate his stories. “I’m very laid back, calm and reserved,” S-X explains to me earlier on in the night, “but when I’m comfortable in situations I will be loud and energetic. So I think that matches the music – organic. I’m seeing it develop now, as I’m getting more comfortable with this whole thing, which is probably why the new music is more up-tempo and energetic. I can’t wait for it.”

Not too deep into the set, we get to see that energy on display with the performance of ‘I Need You’, as S-X hops around the brightly-lit green stage, blaring out the lyrics from the chorus, “Cus you know you’re the one for me right now…” before the beat drops. A vivacious moment jarring you right from your core.

After a few more measured and undisturbed tracks in front of the cosy and compact crowd of 400 or so, the eagerness for the exuberance S-X teased with ‘I Need You’ is convened perfectly with the arrival of Birmingham kingpin, Jaykae. Frivolous as ever, with a mic in one hand and a drink in the other, they perform ‘Anymore’, a track from Jaykae’s own EP ‘Where Have You Been?’ featuring S-X, before jumping into what’s proving to be, the smash single ‘Moscow’.

The final four tracks bring about a level of hype that you don’t expect to see from a soulful, R&B type of performance. From ‘Plans’, which the crowd screeches lyric-for-lyric, to ‘Still I Get’, mosh pits ensue over screams that rupture your eardrums, and Snapchat lights up the room.

The end of the night sees S-X joined on stage by long-time collaborators and friends, TGF, a Wolverhampton-based YouTube collective with millions of subscribers, which helped break S-X by syncing his music into their somewhat, peculiar, content. The crowd break out into chanting their name, and then proceed to rush up for a photo opportunity with S-X after they wrap up the show

If the last few releases are anything to go by, 2018 is expected to be a year of growth, musical vigour and overall triumph for the newly staged S-X, and we can’t wait.

ROLLING WITH ONE ACEN

“If you’re not honest about where you are, it’s hard to navigate to where you wanna be”

Shots

By Sunjay Kohli

Photography by Zekaria Al-Bostani

Nov 26, 2019

“It’s like a sonnet, believe it or not.” Jay Z wrote in his 2010 memoir, Decoded. “Sonnets have a set structure, but also a limited subject matter: They are mostly about love. Taking on such a familiar subject and writing about it in a set structure forced sonnet writers to find every nook and cranny in the subject and challenged them to invent new language for saying old things. It’s the same with braggadacio in rap. When we take the most familiar subject in the history of rap—why I’m dope— and frame it within the sixteen-bar structure of a rap verse, synced to the specific rhythm and feel of the track, more than anything it’s a test of creativity and wit. It’s like a metaphor for itself; if you can say how dope you are in a completely original, clever, powerful way, the rhyme itself becomes proof of the boast’s truth.”

Thus, it’s fair to say, combining the intensity of such efforts in what is now an over-concentrated, braggadocio-ridden 2019 UK scene, with humility, sincerity and increasingly vulnerable subject matter, you become somewhat of a counterpoint between genres, artists and emotion. You become One Acen.

“That’s why I did wanna make a sick song, a banger, a tune that hits hard…” Speaking on his most recent single, ‘Xpensive Habits’ lounging across the sofa at Keakie studios in Shoreditch. “…but for me to say, ‘a man can’t tell me about being depressed in love with a girl that’s fucking somebody else…’ that’s the first line of the song… people are like ‘what’s he talking about’?”

“Every artist has to be vulnerable. It’s all good having a party song, a wavy song its nice but, where the difference is between some of those bigger artists and smaller artists are that, we’ve seen the last 5 years of Stormzy’s life play out. We know about Dave and some situations in his life, same with J Hus. I feel like that’s one of the main things…people need context to your life. People need to know why you’re saying something. Then they could be like ok I believe this guy, I like this guy. Even if they don’t like you at least they understand you. Right now, people don’t know me, don’t understand me, so it’s not much to hold on to.”

In the scene, I feel like I’m a guy who everyone’s kind of familiar with, but no-ones fully bought into me yet. But they’re not sure yet, its just about making them sure now.

Yes, whilst it may seem we’re yet to learn more about the young rising star and his story, his string of memorable anthems are beginning to create their own narrative in the culture. From 2017’s ‘Rolling’ to last years’ ‘Verified’, ‘Vice Versa’ (ft WSTRN) and of course ‘Best Life’ with Hardy Caprio, yes, all are built upon the underlying bravado of the scene, yet, One Acen’s demeanour is affable, carrying himself graciously through airy, sweet, charming and instantly likeable instrumentals. The most commendable trait of his character however? How much fun he’s having with his newly found success. The videos are becoming increasingly flash…“Big up Atlantic” he laughs… yet the uninvolved smile on his face remains.

Of course, it hasn’t always been fun and games for Acen leading up to this tipping point. Having created and released a project every year since 2006, exploring sounds and vocals from R&B, Grime and Hip Hop, he seemed to land on his feet, almost 13 years later. “It was a grind ennit, I was just on a mission…” smiling gleefully, proud. “The end of 2016 into 2017 I just felt like I had been doing it for a long time and there’s no money coming into it. Like I said, before 2017, I had been doing music for like 10 years and I probably made like £300 maybe, if that. It got to a point where it needed to balance out. I spent a lot of time, but its not making sense. It’s something I love doing but at the same time you need to make it make sense for your life. So that period 2016 into 2017, that was make or break time.”

Enter Hardy Caprio. The pair have now created somewhat of a tag-team since Acen’s ‘Rolling’ in April 2017, going onto to create ‘EIO’, ‘Unsigned’ and ‘Best Life’ together. “He liked some of that earlier stuff I did,” he begins speaking on his early relationship with Hardy. “He had SBTV freestyles and I used to see them on my timeline and I just appreciated his style. We started talking on twitter, for easily three or four months before we made a tune… just about the scene, how he’s tryna do what he’s doing but its not working the way he wants it to work. I’m in the same place. Then we make a tune called ‘Rolling’ first. That was my first 100k views. It got played on 1xtra too, so it kinda’ opened doors straight away. Then ‘Unsigned’ next…and that was just, tipping point, like you said.”

“When we did the first tune ‘Rolling’, he used to bring me out to his shows. Then he would give me part of his booking fee. To cover my travel or whatever, and vice versa when I started getting shows. Helping each other get to the next level. We both feel like, if you’re not honest about where you are actually placed in the scene, it’s hard to navigate to where you wanna be. If you over estimate where you are, you’re not making an accurate map to where you wanna’ go. We don’t act like big stars, even if we were, we probably wouldn’t act like that. That’s not our thing. We were honest with where each other were. Taking notes form each other.”

Acen then followed up the success of ‘Rolling ‘with his next work, ‘Verified’. The track, despite its popularity, seemed to lack his artistic mandate in hindsight. “I was imitating a certain song structure and type that was kinda working at the time.” He begins to explain uncomfortably. “When you go against yourself to get bigger and it doesn’t work, you don’t get the result that you want, so was it really worth it? I still like the song but sometimes it’s just like, ah man, I know what I was doing.” However, such a feeling proved to be the catalyst for what was to come next, his biggest track to date, ‘Vice Versa’ featuring WSTRN. “I produced ‘Vice Versa’ with CallMeTheKidd. What I didn’t like about ‘Verified’ is that it felt like I was not being me when I listen back now. So when I got to ‘Vice Versa’ I wanted to make a song that only I can make.”

“I feel like that song is me. That vision can work and people can respect it. If I just made a whole persona that wasn’t me and I blew, it would be sick to blow, but deep down, I don’t know if I could live with it. It would be a conflicting feeling.”

As we transition into a new decade, it’s exciting to see One Acen full to the brim with ideas, melodies and motivation, ready to fully capitalise on the forthcoming fruitful year. Although slightly covert, he’s sure to disclose an upcoming project, which is not necessarily a themed follow-up to the diverse, jubilant, perhaps wide-eyed ‘Sexy Odd Rose’ project last year. “It was a good project [Sexy Odd Rose], I think it was underrated to a certain degree, but I do feel like it’s the same thing with verified. I feel like, not that it wasn’t me, but I was going for like, wavy sort of vibe music, whereas with this project, I’m putting more of myself into it. I feel like you can listen to this project and know more things about me. It’s very important for your fan base to learn new things about you. I’m trying to be more honest, with my art. Everything I feel now, I want it to be in a song at some point.”

The plan is in place, the talent is there, and the vision…”To make me one of the biggest artists in the UK, ever. We can definitely do that.”

RAY BLK: COMING HOME

“I always had the hope and dream of taking it far, and the belief that I would.“

News

Shots

By Sunjay Kohli

Photography by Jordan Tyrell

Oct 15, 2020

In Dickens’ ‘Great Expectations’, perhaps one of the most memorable characters is that of Miss Havisham. A wealthy woman swindled and jilted by her husband-to-be, only to then continue into a manic, depressed obsession, victim to her emotions of heartbreak and embarrassment. Despite her attempts to vicariously avenge her trauma through her adopted daughter, Havisham is eventually redeemed through compassion and remorse. Whilst the parallels of action are not present, those of the initial distressing emotions imposed upon Havisham are indeed vocalised through what was Ray BLK’s first ‘official release’ as it were, a 7-track mixtape from 2015 entitled after the literary character. You won’t find it on Spotify, but what you will find is the story of a young girl mirroring that of Havisham. The difference? Destruction was the symptom of Miss Havisham’s woe, creation is that of Ray BLK’s. 

“That poem [by Carol Ann Duffy] was really quite influential, but the story was the main influence for me, mainly, because I felt like it was so relatable to a lot of women, period. A lot of people are scorned. That was my mood at the time so I decided to name my first mixtape that…” Ray Blk explained, as we began to converse on how literature had led her towards her first project. “English literature definitely has influenced the way I write. I’m such a lover of stories and poetry. I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to those things. I used to really enjoy analysis. It influenced the way I write lyrics. When I write a song I always question the lyrics. Does this make sense? What am I communicating? Am I saying things exactly how I want to say them? I write in a story form.” Despite being yet to release a debut album, the following and stature Ray BLK has built is one of substantial presence. Having been the first unsigned artist to win the BBC Sound Of award in 2017, the mid-twenty something emerged from Catford, South East London to great heights, with emotive, pertinent subject-matter in voice and visuals. 

Her early influences of literature and inherent musical inclination led Ray to be selected for a ‘Gifted & Talented’ school programme as well as the church choir, exposing her to the creation of music at the tender age of 10 years old, all the while, consciously (and subconsciously) absorbing the musical genius of those playing in her household.  “Music was always there.” She begins. “From my first memory of seeing Michael Jackson on the TV, ‘cus my dad was really obsessed with him, and from the second I saw the ‘Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough’ video, I was like, I wanna do that. I just became so obsessed with music and music videos.” She continued. “I was really influenced by Gospel growing up, I come from a really religious family and I was raised in church. Singing in choir every Wednesday and Sunday at church. Music was always being played in the house. I grew up on Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey. They taught me how to sing. I would listen to their CDs, those two, and Mary J Blige, were like the only secular artists my mom listened to. I would practice the riffs and runs they were doing. Mary J Blige is like my queen. I feel like it was because of seeing my moms’ connection to her music. I had an emotional attachment to it, but not really understanding what she was saying because I was really young. But I kept listening to it and as I grew older, I’m like, ‘ohh i understand’. It’s a feeling attached to it. It’s the same thing with food. The food you grow up with, it just brings a safe space / nice warm feeling when you have that food! That’s how I felt with that music. It’s nostalgic for me.”

“I always had the hope and dream of taking it far, and the belief that I would. When that happened, honestly, I was really shocked. Because I expected it to be a lot slower really.”

Upon completing university, the vision of signing a deal for Ray was one of constant motivation through a torturous 8 months of PR work during the day and studio at night. It’s a time which all creatives experience, torn between mind and soul, some for which it lasts years, others, a matter of months. Such was the case for Ray as she welcomed with open arms a publishing deal soon after. “I finished university and dropped my mixtape the same month. That was my plan. It was my last year of uni and I’m not tryna be at a desk, cus I’ll go mad, I need to finish this mixtape, drop this mixtape, then I was just so sure in my head that this plan was going to work out. I was gonna’ finish uni, then sign a record deal, and that was it…” laughingly. “I really respect people who take that leap to go into a career or field where they’re not making money not knowing what’s going to happen. I personally always knew I couldn’t do that. I like feeling comfortable, buying nice things, going out for dinner… I would love to quit this job and just focus on music but I can’t. I like feeling comfortable and safe financially. Really, I was just waiting to be in a financial position to not be at this job anymore. So getting my publishing deal was honestly such a blessing for me, ‘cus it allowed me to do my art as well without having to also have a record deal. It meant I could actually be in the studio and not be so tired from work all the time. I was just making music full time and made my first music video, a song called 5050. Then things started rolling from there. It was just single after single. It felt like a whirlwind, I was kind of thrusted into this new world and had to pretend that everything made sense and I got what was going on. 

As the traction developed, simultaneously the sophistication of Ray’s craft began to refine. “I feel like I’ve developed so much in terms of my sonics and writing. Honestly, I think that comes from just really trying new things and working with new people. I’ve worked with a bunch of different sorts of producers over time. My mixtape was grabbing beats from YouTube. So being in sessions with another person and being part of the development of the beat was a new experience for me, and then just finding out what sound I wanted was a process.” 

Somewhat akin to the musical self-discovery, her personal journey from home has also been continuously prevalent throughout Ray’s story. It’s an age-old parable that has seemingly been further unearthed in recent times. A story of righteousness and consciousness. Following the successes she has had as an artist, from the BBC Sound Of award to the forthright musical memoir of her imperfect neighbourhood, turned hit song, “My Hood” featuring Stormzy, it became a matter of re-connection. I put to Ray the strain of compromise on art and soul, a story which she is all too familiar with. “I felt that pressure around that time [BBC Award] which was a huge deal for me and at the time, I don’t think I understood how huge of a deal it was. I had a lot of people in my ear saying certain things because of the expectations that come with winning the sound poll. Usually, people maybe expect to win it and they have a whole album prepared, whereas me and my manager were just winging this thing. I was being put into sessions with Adele’s producer, Sam Smith’s producer, and they’re obviously sick in their own right but that’s just not my sound as an artist. There was a lot of pressure to make a big pop smash. Eventually you just succumb to it, these people are supposed to know what’s right, they’re supposed to be the experts…I feel like I did give in.”

She speaks of a song which, from its inception, had garnered both her desire for acceptance and so also her hatred. “I didn’t connect with it at all, it wasn’t authentically me. It was a learning curve. I need to always be proud of the stuff I’m putting out, it represents me, so that was a turning point.”

Whilst we draw a close on perhaps the worst year in modern times for the whole of humanity, a year of which, surely repercussions will be felt for many more to come, it seems as though Ray BLK has turned a new page and continues to pen her story. New music and a motivation to represent her people. She coins her sound as ‘Trap N B’, promising “more of a sexy side that people haven’t seen before…”. “The new music is just really honest and open about my experiences in relationships and in the industry as well. That’s a conversation a lot of people have been wanting to hear from me, how I feel as a black woman in the industry. I feel a lot of things. I feel like it is my superpower because there’s not many of us. And I feel like I have a cult following because of it. But definitely I feel there are struggles that come with it. A lack of support for female artists period, like across the whole board. Rap music is thriving but in those spaces, the support is literally just for male artists.”

It’s time to come home. If you walk away from this with just one gem, it should be that which Ray BLK speaks and lives. No matter how far from home you go, what room you enter or what people you meet, when you leave home you don’t have to leave yourself behind. 

PREDITAH THE ARCHITECT

“All music is and all art is, is your interpretation of what was already there”.

Shots

By Sunjay Kohli

Photography by Zekaria Al-Bostani

Sep 18, 2019

In August 2017, by-then veteran producer Preditah and supernova to be, Jorja Smith laid what could be considered one of the only internationally digested UK Garage-centric love letters, ‘On My Mind’. Jorja’s vocals comfortably inhabited the nostalgic soundscape crafted by Preditah, effortlessly creating a timeless classic. The trajectory of the track mirrored that of both their careers. Thus, I find myself sat opposite Preditah in the Atlantic Records lounge, days after his new single, ‘Animals’ featuring Rachel Chinouriri, has dropped. The label has been his home for now almost a year, as they gear up to release, what he calls, his first ‘real project’.

“When I first signed I thought I might have to move to London…” he sits relaxed, sun glasses firmly in place fresh off the two hour drive down from Birmingham. “…‘Cus now I’ve got a whole floor of people that are working on my behalf, which is still mind blowing to this day. I’ve done everything pretty much by myself or with not a lot of people. Everything is all about vibe and content. I met quite a few labels but then I met Twin and Jordan, who are my A&Rs here. I’m already aware of Twin’s progress, even in his career, always seen that from just a distance, so I’ve always been aware of what he does, and when I met Jordan…when I meet people that were aware of what I was doing before all of the hype, it makes me know that they’re actual real fans of my music. We had a real good conversation so it just felt natural to join them.”

Whilst now, Preditah is known for his Grime and Garage-centric works, his early musical exposure, was not too different from many other inner-city Birmingham kids at the time, being Church. However, once the chopped-up, pitch-shifted sonic of Garage reached his ears, he resonated with it. “Garage made me realise that music was more than what I heard it was. It sounded futuristic at the time, hearing all of those garage sounds… like Craig David, ‘Rewind’, when I heard that I was baffled. When I figured out you could actually do that yourself that intrigued me. It was all out of me wandering how he did that and figuring it out myself over the years. It’s all been a case of just natural building blocks. Garage was the genre at the time… that was my influence. If I grew up now as a kid, maybe it would be Afrobashment or Drill, you get me? Depends on what era you grew up.”

“All music and art is your interpretation of what was already there. Everyone’s just giving everybody their interpretation of what they’ve heard before. That’s what my sound is.”

Countless projects, instrumental EPs and collaborations later, from re-mixes for Skepta, Disclosure and Chase & Status to Grime-centric production for artists from Solo45 to Wiley, it’s almost farcical that only now he feels as though he’s about to enter his prime. Yet, the room, the words, the spirit, become re-energised as he articulates his position right now… “I think spiritually and musically, it’s all timed perfectly. Now, I feel like I haven’t done anything yet. I feel ready to do whatever I’ve got to do. Everything else I’ve done before was just stepping-stones. Gathering the materials to build the building, but now I’m ready to build the building with Atlantic and the management team I’ve got. That’s how I feel right now.”

On second review then, perhaps his emotions are not so dismissive of his past works which have deeply embedded him into the trenches of UK music, but more so the result of recent success, arguably, most notably, the Top 10 UK Rap record, ‘So High’, by Mist ft Fredo. Having flipped Toni Braxton vocals to create what could only be crowned the rap record of Summer 2019, the track, co-produced with producer Fred Again, exemplified Preditah’s versatility. He speaks on the record, beginning with a sense of incredulity, humility and hunger, before developing into undeterred confidence… “I still can’t believe it. Anyone that knows me probably knew me for Dance records, Bass-line, House, Garage, Grime. No one really associated me with Hip Hop. I used to make rap beats for local rappers in Birmingham back in the day. I didn’t make anything major, but it’s not something that I’m new to. So me and Fred had a session, we made about 5 beats and that was one of them. MIST loved it, got Fredo on it, and the rest is history. I’m not gonna’ lie though, see with that song, I knew it was gonna do what it did. The beats good, we both knew it was a good beat, MIST liked it, so that’s a good sign, ‘cus he’s picky with his beats. He’s not someone that just likes any beat. That’s a thumbs up. Fredo liked it, thumbs up. Fredo’s got his fan base, MIST has got his fan base, I’ve got my fan base. And it’s like, what, Preditah made a rap beat? It’s just all of these different energies. Fredo is hot right now. MIST is the man, all them energies, there’s no way it can’t. Once everyone likes it in your circle, naturally, you get that feeling.”

Whilst he may have been aware of the trajectory ‘So High’ was about to take, similar could not necessarily be said of his, thus far, sole collaboration with fellow Midlands-er, Jorja Smith. “That record came about because one of her managers was my music lawyer at the time…” beginning on recounting the making of ‘On My Mind’. “I remember though, getting to that studio session with her, took me ages. I was late, I had to bring my whole iMac in my car, drive down, etc. When I got there, I met her for the first time, she was like anyone else, just chill. Calm. We had a good conversation and we just went straight into it. That’s the first and only song we’ve ever written together. It was easy, the vibe was just natural. We have similar inspirations, as musicians… I knew where she was coming from in terms of a little bit about Walsall. She knew about me from bassline days. Walsall and Birmingham are pretty much the same place, its not that far apart. Once the foundation was there we just made the vibe and the rest is history. The process is the process, but the result is that we just made a good song. And we didn’t drop it straight away, we sat on it. When we dropped it, it was the right time and people love it to this day. Still feels like a new song, even though it came out two years ago.”

“We didn’t expect it to do what it did. But that’s what’s sick about music. If you make a good song, people might like it, but if you love it, and everyone else begins to, that’s the sickest feeling.”

Despite his recent acceleration over the past two years, Preditah’s overriding sense of humility and warmth is rooted in the years of grafting it took to get here, as it should do with any other artist. However, it was the sense of selflessness that heeded the most attention when I probed for insight into any personal struggles he may have succumb to. His sincerity is validating. “It’s not even about me, it’s about the people around me. When I realised like rah, the people around me, and even to this day you still have to question people around you, they could either be helping you or hindering you. So life’s always about picking the right environment, and then dwelling in it. I feel like right now, my management team, everybody around me, right now, are the right people. So now I feel likes its time to get this ball rolling. It’s taken a while to get to this, to feel this free, and feel like a producer again, its sick.”

Thus the ball rolled onto his most recent work, ‘Animals’. Intrinsically UKG focused, ‘Animals’ channels Preditah’s newfound energies, providing a club-destined platform for Rachel Chinouriri’s radiant silky vocals to bounce off. “When I got the vocals back, I thought yeah this is different, this is not something that I would usually do…” talking on the record. “…but I liked it ‘cus she smashed it and I thought, I have to finish this. So we got into the studio and finished it. She re-sung the vocals, I got a violin player to come in, I went fully HAM. There was nothing planned. It’s just an idea of what I can do. To me that is my sound, but it’s a new sound to everybody else. It’s the first time anyone has heard anything of that nature.”

“I’m either gonna create the culture, or be a part of it. Whatever makes me, me…is my culture. If people like it, then we’ve got our own culture.”

The single, is the first from his forthcoming and first vocal project, My Perspective. Despite his encounters with famed and talented vocalists throughout the years leading up to this point, his primary focus has always been the environment at the time. Are the people ready for this? In fact, even On My Mind was recorded almost two years before it was released. It’s all about timing. He elaborated. “It feels like the right time to drop this EP because this EP is about love. This is my perspective on love. Not necessarily in a relationship way, it’s about… we all have love in us. This is my perspective on it. All of these songs are sick, Garage, but all about love. Just keep that in mind. You’ll listen to this and forget they’re about love. This is years of work in the making, its not just some overnight thing.”

As we wrap, the potential for frontline stardom becomes clearer. The truth is, Preditah’s music has already taken him around the globe. His sonics are internationally digested and gleam in all environments synonymous with music. The ambition to shine and craving to develop appear fundamental, as he leaves us with this…

“I wanted to be a architect, and to be an architect, you have to know what people like, you have to study. It’s one of the hardest courses to do at uni, it’s 7 years. Not a lot of courses are 7 years, ‘cus you’ve gotta study everything from technology to how the earths made… all of these mad things just to make a building. Even though I’m not an architect, my mind is. I listen to music more than I make it. I’m watching how other people market their music and I think. I’m a student. I haven’t stopped looking up to people, I’m still looking up to people, today.”

ON THE RIDDIM WITH STEEL BANGLEZ.

“I’m the best producer in this country. I will be. And there’s no one gonna’ stop me. That’s it”

Shots

By Sunjay Kohli

Photography by Jordan Tyrell

Apr 11, 2019

Not long back, East London’s Forest Gate native Steel Banglez was sat in his now home studio in Mayfair’s Tape. The room was glowing, hemmed with blue luminous lights and artists alike. All were lit. AJ Tracey was slouched on one of the two perpendicular sofas, barricading the ceiling tall window looking out into the downstairs club. Eight tracks had been laid with Tracey and MoStack, yet the one that emerged came to be known as ‘Fashion Week’, and went on to become the producer turned frontline-label artist’s first UK Top 10 single.

“This is my home man, this is my place. Tape. This is family, my studio” he declares, leaning back in his studio chair, legs folded, looking comfy in a NICEE Teria tracksuit. His air of authority is striking, yet channelled through the seemingly charming, nonchalant persona sat directly opposite me. There’s a fire within. “I’ve got one of the best studios in London. This is a great business opportunity for me. Every celebrity under the sun comes here. Imagine having a studio where everyone has a good time, you meet people on good terms. On a business level, this is perfect for someone at this stage in my career. I’ve had Rhianna sit there” gesturing toward the sofa behind me. “I’ve had Justin Bieber in here, Migos, I’ve had French Montana smoking the hell outta this place. Virgil, Future the other day. It just doesn’t stop. It’s the perfect place and my home.”

Residing in such a ceaseless environment however is without question demanding, and if anyone in UK Rap is unquestioned in his relentless pursuit, it’s Steel Banglez. His work ethic is deep-rooted in his culture, his DNA. Whilst it’s only within the past few years his name and sounds have reached mainstream ears, his catalogue is over a decade deep and indisputable to any true UK Rap fanatic. “It’s just hustling, it’s a hustlers mentality and then it turns into a professional business” as we begin conversing on his endless motivation. “That just comes from working hard. Hard graft innit.    That’s where we come from, our families, I’m first generation. They had to work hard. You’ve seen that with your parents…. our family came here, we set up businesses, my mom worked my dad worked, and I worked, but I worked my talent that was given to me by them.”

I’m just keeping the spirit alive.

Yet, with such a strong sense of heritage, Banglez refuses to be burrowed by his own cultural bloodline. His recognition and embracing of worldly culture, in both his personal life and musically, is most probably the reason he’s been able to unlock his path to mainstream relevance. “For me, to where the worlds heading, I don’t like to say, it’s white, black, brown. I’m not on all of that” he speaks with a hint of irritation towards the idea of criterion. “I’m from an area where, my best friend was Turkish, my next-door neighbours’ best friends were Jamaican, my other best friend’s Ghanaian. I grew up in a multi-cultural thing and I don’t see cultures like that. This is London bro, like there aint no separate culture. You understand? We don’t see it like that. I’m just being me and what was embedded in me, whether that’s being Punjabi, in the moment on Instagram, or being from the roads, where I was from, how I speak, how I learnt, which was influenced by whatever culture. I’m just being East London bro.”

Following his early pursuits in the scene from DJing on pirate radio at aged 11, to the production of the old school Big H ‘Practice Hours’ freestyle aged 14, his exterior progress was halted. Steel Banglez, real name, Pahuldip Singh Sandhu, aged 17, was sentenced to 6 years for firearms charges.

Having served half of the sentence and re-emerging at aged 21, Banglez openly reflects with omniscience on the ordeal after I ask how it affected him. “I was a kid bro, at the time I was just a gassed yout’. Rolling around with guns, everyone knows in the ends. I was a mad yout’. I was just doing stupid shit. I was just fucked in the head but, it was just the people I was around. I think God removed me ‘cus I think it would of got way worse. I was getting too comfortable with getting away with stuff.  It was empowering me in a negative way. I was thinking certain shit, and then erm…whilst I was in prison, I just had this awakening as they would say. I started meditating , I started reading about everyone in the history of music, philosophy…I started reading a lot of Alan Watts.”

Aside from his personal growth, Banglez was also able to maintain his musical process whilst in prison. He rolled off a bunch of UK rappers whom he had met in prison, before emphasising the weight South London holds in the rise of UK Rap, including Fix Dot’M & Youngsta, Colours Miyagi, Ill Mill, PDC, Giggs and SN1. “All of that happened whilst I was incarcerated, so I just felt like it was meant to happen. I view it as a journey for my life, as an experience, I don’t look at it like ‘ I hate the system’… I just look at it like that was meant to be and that’s where I was meant to travel through to get to where I am now. If it didn’t happen I might not be who I am today. And it saved me from doing some foul shit.”

I’m the best producer in this country. I will be. And there’s no one gonna’ stop me. That’s it.

Whilst incarceration could then be perceived as somewhat of a blessing in disguise for Banglez, it was upon his release when depression struck. In 2014, he spiralled into a stint of deep depression, following the deportation of his peer, friend and at the time, Universal-signed artist Cashtastic, an individual he had invested a lot into. “I kinda’ felt like I got blackballed…” he began to reflect in a much more sombre tone, “…because he got taken away, and then people didn’t really fuck with me, because they thought, ‘well Cash is Banglez’s main guy…’”

The mood in the room deepened. “That’s when I realised that in this game no-one gives a fuck about you, that’s why I don’t give a fuck no more. You get me? I was about 25 I think. But that’s when I realised, no-one really cares in this music ting, so I was like cool, I’m just gonna’ come and get everyone. I’m gonna’ come for you… I’m the best producer in this country. I will be. And there’s no one gonna’ stop me. That’s it. And I prepared, found MoStack, linked up with Mist, done, there you go.”

This shift in mentality seems to have served his purpose well. Following this period, Banglez began honing in on his creative production skills, utilising his musical knowledge and finding his niche to break into clubs. “With Grime, the boat had already gone…but I knew Hip Hop man ‘cus I study Hip Hop. And it’s kinda like whatever happens in America, we’re like 10 years, 15 years behind. So I knew if I stuck through this period of development in rap, not only would I be nurtured in the real culture and evolution of UK rap but I’ll become the best. Because none of these other guys have the knowledge that I have. And that’s what comes with it. If you look at some of the greatest producers, they nurture through into their late 20s into their 30s. If you look at Dre, look at Timbaland, even in dance, like David Guetta didn’t peak until he was like 37. Producing’s a totally different job to rapping. You understand? It’s a lot of work it’s a lot of effort in the studio. It’s a lot of understanding sonics, it’s a very different thing.”

He continues, “Plus it’s a better tempo, people receive this tempo of music better than grime. There’s very limited stuff you can do in production in grime. But with Hip Hop you can take it into reggaeton or afrobeats, or there’s so much more, into Indian music, because this tempo is a universal tempo.”

The one that has elevated him to that next level however, is of course Birmingham native Mist, who he speaks earnestly on. “Me and Mist are similar, you know, he’s got a lot of underlying pain, depth, he’s awake, his third eye is open, his pineal gland is booming right now. We’re both on some real shit, we just gelled bro, we just understood each other. We took each other to the next level.” And whilst Banglez had begun to definitively define and establish his sound, he came to the realisation whilst working on Mist’s infamous ‘Karla’s Back’ of the importance of the metaphysical element to music. “I was finding hard to get into the clubs, like ‘what the fuck can I do…”

If you’re a true musician or true artist, or someone that’s into anything creative, you realise that the money will come, and you just need to keep creating.

His passion shines through as he begins, “then I realised like, obviously, these kids, their parents used to go garage raving, and if you’re a really deep person you know that embedded in their DNA would be these sounds. If I pull these sounds out its already in them ‘cus they’re the babies of these people that used to listen to this music. You know that saying sometimes where its like ‘you get it from your mom’ or ‘you get it form your dad’ or ‘your dad was just like you when he was younger’. See if you’re a deep person you’ll start to understand how this works. So I was like, you if I bring that garage bassline back with the vocals that made me feel good, obviously its gonna make this new generation feel good because its already in them.”

“You have to start understanding this. To be great, you can’t just be on your own, like my ting is my ting. You gotta’ understand the world. If you’re a real human being you’ll understand it’s not about your culture. It’s about understanding everyone’s, then you’re a don. That’s real shit.” And so it clicked.

Now fast forward to 2019, and Banglez has a string of UK Rap hits under his belt with the top calibre in the game. Steel Banglez brand is now in ascension. From a captivating tag to fully fledged music videos, giant sport-brand sponsorship deals, placement in Bollywood blockbuster films and a full-length project in the works. Steel Banglez has well and truly arrived. Whilst his music carries a presence that matches his own, he continues to re-invent himself beyond music, and quite frankly, there’s nothing anyone can do to stop him.

MIST DISPLAYS A VIGOROUSLY LIVE PRESENCE

By Sunjay Kohli

Photography by Zekaria Al-Bostani

Mar 16, 2018

Rated

Whilst we are now no strangers to the thoroughly detailed trials and tribulations that Birmingham’s own MIST has been subjugated to in his rise towards UK Rap stardom, something remains intriguing about his presence. What we are not so familiar with however, is how the raw vulnerability of ‘Diamond In The Dirt EP’, essentially a self-addressed open-letter fuelled by anguished musing, can be delivered and consumed as a jubilant, triumphant, self-assured resurrection. Tonight we’re in for a celebration.

When the curtain falls in London, on what is the 6th stop of an 8-city sold-out UK tour, we’re faced with a stage that appears inhabited by marijuana plants and makeshift hanging tube lights, all imprisoned by huge angled steel structures on either side. Following a spirited 10-minute hype-up from long-time collaborator, producer, and now artist in his own right, Steel Banglez, what ensues is a minute-long David Attenborough-esque clip of a gas-masked MIST sauntering around a grow-house. Out floats the man of the moment, clothed in a fresh all-white tracksuit, crooning out his earnest bars to the melodically desisting, MOBO Award winning, ‘Hot Property’, the final single release before he goes into ‘Diamond In The Dirt’s ‘Game Changer’. Mist doesn’t even make it through the first verse before the track is pulled-up and he starts again. Such is the case for most of the night.

The mood is then momentarily abridged with the bleaker, 2016 ‘Sickmade’ cut, from the ‘M I S T to the T’ EP, and ‘DITD’s potent ‘Fountain’ featuring Haile WSTRN, before it’s again transformed to borderline mania with the arrival of, now well-solidified Birmingham duo Lotto Boyzz, setting it off with ‘No Don’.

It’s after this d-tour however, when the thematic sophomore EP, which saw MIST enter the UK Album charts at No.4, bares its scars for us all to see. There exists conflicting experiences, as portrayed through ‘On It’s (featuring Nines) simplistic yet telling “I’m tryna get used to the glamour, half of my G’s locked up in the slammer” to the verses on the melodious pop-friendly ‘Wish Me Well’ featuring Jesse Ware. It’s an endless contemplation of past grievances and encounters, all of which prove to be the deep dark foundations for what MIST and the Sickmade team can proudly brand as a soaring career. Soon after this declaration of what can only be described as a vigorous presence, the arrival of MoStack amounts to a similar response as he hops his way on stage running through a vocal-rupturing rendition of ‘Liar’ and a shoulder-rolling ‘No Words’.

What follows seems like an assemblage of greatest hits, from bass-ridden iPhone raising ‘Ain’t The Same’ to a 4-times wheeled, jungle-evoking ‘Moshpit’, in which MIST is not only joined by a re-emerging MoStack, but also an extremely concerned venue-manager, for just a moment. Each time it’s wheeled, out crawls a head-shaking, profusely sweating man calling it a night. The pinnacle although, is met with Lethal Bizzle’s cameo kung-fu kicking ‘Pow’ performance, before leaving MIST to drop his final few bangers.

It’s this moment before the finale however, when the journey and what it represents comes ever so apparent. Those four resolutive keys signaling the beginning of Karla’s back, are the last orders bell as the party draws to a close. The venue is still rammed to its fullest, floor and balcony as MIST wraps the night up with a confetti-soaking ‘Game Changer’. Whilst seemingly a cheerful character on and off camera, his buoyancy is no longer to be mistaken for vulnerability. MIST has yet to reach his pinnacle in this scene, and with a debut studio album in the works, it’s edging closer.

M HUNCHO – ON HIS TERMS

“When you talk about growth, you know…we went from a bird to an Eagle…”

Shots

AAA Pass

By Sunjay Kohli

Photography by Zekaria Al-Bostani

Feb 11, 2020

It had been six days since the release of M Huncho’s project, the third and final instalment of a loosely linked trilogy of works. It began with 48 Hours, 2018‘s mellisonant introduction to who would then go on to become the convener of his own ‘Utopia’, in 2019. Thus, we finally meet 2020’s ‘Huncholini The 1st’. Despite the astonishment of securing a Top 5 project on an extremely competitive release week, the success of this mixtape may have seem pre-ordained. Why? Numbers look after themselves. That’s not the concern. It’s clear to see from afar, the impenetrable fort that we had envisioned two years ago has now come to fruition. It’s his army, his sounds and on his terms.

“A very diverse crowd listen to me…people from all ethnic backgrounds. I just feel like I’m as genuine as I can be…” Huncho begins as we sit across from each other, cameras rolling…mask firmly in place. “The fans, I think they take to me because of the way I represent myself and the way I handle myself. The music as well…it’s very relatable to all different types of people working in all different fields. Working or not, it’s relatable in some type of way.” His strong tone becomes slightly more genial when speaking on his fans. They represent a new wave of listenership in a scene and genre which is now finding its own. It’s transcending languages and borders, with an array of conclusive, harmonic, sparkling sonics descending onto the rainy battlefield that is ‘Huncholini The 1st’. Production credits expand widely with frequent collaborators including ADP, Pyroman and of course, long-time ally, Quincy Tellem. Yet Huncho’s weight on the tape is as forceful as his presence. His style is congruous; some may deem it repetitive. The truth is however; it’s a sound that depicts a prominent gravitating stature. The army is growing strongly and welcomed or not, its marching is being heard.

Having established an understanding as to ‘the what’ behind this force, taking into consideration the consistent growth Huncho has seen over these past 3 years; from musical works with stronger impact; sold-out tours and chart-invading records, we begin to discuss the why. “I just keep going. I haven’t taken it all in. The people around me will take it in. They’ll be happy, proud, etc. For me I don’t really take it in until I feel like yeah…right now I’m still on a mission. I’m not gonna look back at it until the mission is accomplished.” I ask what the mission is.

“The mission is growth in general, musically and personally. That’s the mission bro. Becoming a better artist. Creatively, going in a different direction to what other people are doing. Just being a pioneer in what I do.” His tone shifts as he declares with poignancy… “I just feel like right now, I’m the only person that has pioneered my own sound. I feel like I’ve got my own sound. I feel like I was the first person to do the sound that I do. I feel like my lane is different to other people that do something of the same sort. I have different variations, you know what I’m tryna say?”

It’s like being a King. Before Henry the 8th…he’s the 8th bro, you get it? Before, there was just Henry, the first.

Whilst on a surface-level, his reasoning and agenda may seem self-serving; musically, it can be argued that it’s in actual fact, the righteous role of royalty, of a king, leading his own men through the gates into a utopia of generational well-being. “I feel like breaking down the doors is the best thing to do…because there’s only so far you can take it. You have to make sure there’s someone form the next generation, that can take it further than where you took it. That is the plan bro. You can take it as far as you can, but with the right advice and teaching the next generation how to manoeuvre, you can enable them to take it way further than where you took it.”

The journey could not have been a smooth one up to where Huncho now stands. It’s spoken about schematically but consistently throughout the project, swiftly brushing his pen over challenges and demons faced throughout. His answers face-to-face however, are as fleeting yet insightful as those in his lyrics. “There’s a lot of different types of demons, you know what I’m, tryna say? That’s a conversation I normally keep to myself. To the people that will listen or read this…it’s just about being more headstrong in what you do. If you always think about your life as a mission, demons won’t get to you…and if they do, there’s always gonna’ be a way you break out of it. It’s just a phase.”

Thus we move to the ‘how’. The answer? Telling his stories and being of growth. The musical growth speaks for itself, ‘Utopia’s fourth track ‘Birds’ serves as a prologue to what can then be considered the epilogue the fourth track of ‘Huncholini The 1st’, ‘Eagles’. Huncho clarifies the premise of the project definitively through this as well as introspective switch up entering the second verse of the latter track. It’s seasonal.

“It comes from the fact that I done Birds from Utopia. The introspection, that comes from the other side…” as he begins to elaborate on this artistic intricacy. “When it gets to the second verse of Eagles in general, it’s going into a deeper topic. We’re talking about death, mental health, etc. So I just feel like the inspiration actually came from Birds. We’re talking about growth. The whole tape is about growth in general, that’s the deeper root of it.

“When you talk about growth, you know…we went from bird to an Eagle bro….you know what I’m tryna say? In the wild, in wild life.”

Huncho, never one to engage in exhaustive feature artist lists on his projects continues to maintain his selective process with ‘Huncholini The 1st’ offering just three. We begin to wrap up after talking about the few carefully crafted features on the project; the seemingly unstoppable Nafe Smallz, D-Block Europe and of course, Headie One, his somewhat of an industry counterpart, the two experiencing parallel growth throughout recent years.

“I done that in Paris, around Fashion Week times last year…” he tells me while talking about the kinetic ‘Head Huncho’. “Working with Headie is fun as well man. Its mad relaxed. Headie don’t even smoke, but he just always looks or seems like he’s high…” laughingly. “Naturally he’s a very funny guy. I’ve known Headie for a long time in the music thing. Our come up as been at the same time and we’ve watched each other grow more importantly, so working with him is pretty natural. I was on his first tape, the One, so yeah man.”

“We’re in a good space right now. Even right now, the way we’ve started the year, I’ve dropped my tape, Hus dropped his tape, WSTRN dropped some music. Different Genres. We’ve started off the year strong, collectively, even though we’re all individuals. We’ve started off the year very positively and last year, 2019, ended on a high note. It was good to take off from that high note, instead of setting the bar low. The UK scene is growing in general and I’m just happy to see everyone doing their thing.

We end on somewhat of an imperilling statement from M Huncho, as he continues his campaign for mayorship, rising to the throne of his Trapwave kingdom…”They can expect a lot from me this year. To the people that are still sleeping on me, they can either sleep or never wake up I will not be disappointed. We got bigger and better things to come.”

Until next time. Huncholini.

LIVE: HERE STANDS THE TRUE POWER OF J COLE

The power is there, so are the people, it’s time to take the chains off.

Rated

Shots

AAA Pass

By Sunjay Kohli

Photography by Daniela Monteiro, Photography by Jamie Drew

Oct 17, 2017

Ever since the beginning of the campaign for J Cole’s fourth studio album, ‘4 Your Eyez Only’, it was evident that the focus had shifted from the story-telling, individualist, journey-driven approach of 2014’s ‘Forest Hills Drive’, to a societal one. Not to detract from anything that the third album brought us in terms of insight and self-awareness, but this album, seemingly told a different story.

This story is an organic one, and it sees Cole dive head-first into rap-activism. From his first-hand experiences of Ferguson, to the production of the 4 Your Eyez Only Dreamville Film, and everything in-between, it’s all been happening in America and beyond, both right now, and before.

So when J Cole arrives in London nearing the end of the European leg of his ‘4 Your Eyez Only Tour’, the stage is set. Performing two packed-out shows at The 02, the stage immediately captures our attention – a prison cell block, ringed in barbed wire, and guarded by towering lights and CCTV cameras. Following the ramped up opening performances from his Dreamville entourage; Ari Lennoxx, J.I.D and Earthgang – the mood bleakens, although maintains an underlying hint of anticipation. Cole’s arrival is met with screams as he is marches down the prison hallway, chained up. They open the gates, uncuff him, and we are welcomed by a, now 32-year-old, man, sporting a bright orange prison jumpsuit, under one spotlight, released onto the stage, howling out the pain of several-hundred years of struggle through the rough vocals of For Whom The Bell Tolls.

The somber mood is then transformed into the aggressive rockstar-esque energy of ‘Immortal’, and back down again, as the elegant almost calming delivery of J Cole’s poetic monologue-type verse ending the song becomes the welcome to the show. It’s after this introduction, with the third track ‘Déjà vu’, that we are really exposed to the perfect harmony of the vulnerability and belligerence that J Cole delivers during the tour and the album itself. Although seemingly a perfect balance, in hindsight and considering the tone and message of his dialogue throughout the show, the aggressiveness seems birthed through this susceptibility to those who suffer from a ‘Vile Mentality’. From explaining the story of a 17-man armed swat team invading his home in North Carolina which inspired ‘Neighbours’, to the delineation of the mind state that plagues the young minds of Black communities, this mentality is not something that one couldn’t appreciate.

Under the spotlight, as the same live instrumental band that have been with him from the first tour play softly in the background, you can appreciate this live-for-the-moment mentality, but you’re constantly reminded that you can’t live by it forever because of where it’s derived from. Cole sums up this message with ‘Change’, another cut off the album, accompanied by Ari Lennox, who brings a groovy-tone to the show, setting up perfectly his next set of the night – the ‘day one’ hits.

After parading into an acapella verse of ‘Lights Please’, with each word exemplified by fans, Cole skips into a crowd bouncing rendition of ‘Neighbours’ after having DJ Dummy reverse the ‘Forbidden Fruit’ instrumental from ‘Born Sinner’, his second studio album, and home of one of his biggest singles to date, ‘Power Trip’. All of this before he is met by a roar of screams after the first note of ‘Nobody’s Perfect’ drops, before ending this slight detour from the album, with an acapella second-verse of ‘Can’t Get Enough’.

It’s the moment before the finale of ‘No Role Modelz’ however, and watching Cole prance around the stage screaming about his domestic desires with ‘Foldin’ Clothes’, is when the irony hits you. Whilst it may seem humorous, (the humour being something he acknowledges himself before breaking down the deeper significance of love and relationships), he’s doing it on a stage set up as a prison yard, in a jumpsuit, and just a few songs away from being re-incarcerated.

It’s here that stands the true power of J Cole.

Cole has an ability to scrutinize and address issues that plague minority communities, and apply them to the majority, whilst maintaining unprecedented hooks and flows, entertaining his fans and putting on one of the shows of the year. His preciseness in dissecting the effects that his stardom, fame and fortune has had on his ability, and it’s influence is evident. The power is there, so are the people, it’s time to take the chains off.