The 24-year-old Croydon rapper only released her debut EP this year – but with the amount of talent she has, it’s no wonder she’s already making waves in the rap scene. Fresh off of her main stage performance at Bestival, she invited us into her dressing room to talk all things festival time slots, EPs and future plans.
You guys were amazing! What’s it like playing festivals?
It’s exciting, definitely!
Does the amount of people you’ll get vary, or can you bank on a certain amount of people coming, or does it depend on the time and stage?
Yeah, there have been some weird ones where the timing’s been strange, especially when you get a passing by slot at a random time. Sometimes you get massive crowds, but it’s always a vibe.
Is there anyone you’re excited to see this weekend?
I want to see A Tribe Called Quest, Dizzee Rascal.
I think you could have come on before him and it would have been amazing, because you really get the energy up.
Yeah girl, I think that would have made sense! But it’s also nice to be on at midday, there’s a good vibe still.
You’ve had an incredible year – your first EP came out in January, you came fifth in the BBC’s Sound of Music, it’s like you’ve blown up this year. Does it feel like that, like everything’s come at once?
No you know, I feel like everything’s gone at a pace that makes sense, it’s not too much all at once, not at all. Maybe it is to people who are only getting familiar with me now, but I’ve been doing this forever so it feels like it’s come in good time.
You’re Stormzy’s cousin, so do people try to compare you, do you feel that pressure? Because obviously he’s one of the biggest people in grime at the moment.
Not too much, I mean we’re different artists – there’ll be the occasional troll who’ll say shit to him or say shit to me, but nobody big.
People always seem very quick to group together women in rap, especially female MCs, and you’ve spoken out against that in the past?
Yeah, I don’t believe being female should make you not an equal to men, and I feel like people think that’s the only motive, there isn’t any other route to do anything. As long as you’re challenging the men!
Who’s your favourite artist at the moment?
Prince Mini, a long time friend of mine, I think his work is incredible.
What advice would you give to people wanting to start music?
To just think through every decision thoroughly, sometimes being in this [industry], you can be quite impulsive because you want to develop, you have a dream and a goal, and if there’s an opportunity there you want to take it. Sometimes just think.
What’s the highlight of your career been so far?
I’ve been busy songwriting for one of my favourite artists, so that’s a definite highlight.
What are your future plans? Are you planning an album?
Yep! Definitely. But until then it’ll just be lots of bangers, lots of singles, lot of good vibes. And more mad live shows like today!
