With his second album set to be released in the summer of this year, it is about time the Yuppee Mag audience got to know a bit more about the Mercury nominated artist.
If there is one artist that suits their name more than this man then please don’t hesitate to let me know.
Ghost.
The first part of his name begins with his obsession for all things paranormal and his fascination with the supernatural growing up as a child in London. However, that’s not where it ends.
The minimalist beats produced for his first album, ‘Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam’ posses haunting hip-hop rhythms infused with sharp eerie electronics that leave you spellbound, trying to work out the meaning behind it all and figure out how and why they work in perfect harmony. Before you know it his lyrical content has resonated deep within you.
Poet.
Many draw similarities to the rapper Roots Manuva due to his woozy, slurred, lethargic (some might even go as far as saying drunk) style of rapping. However, the second part of his name derives from a deliberate intent on his own behalf, to not be pigeon holed as a rapper and thus have a certain expectation placed upon the work he produces. Creative control is key.
Rather than falling into the rap trap and end up rapping about ‘bitches, bling and blunts’ in every other track, he uses his distinct, spoken-word style to emote on everyday life. Whether it is concern about a generation, “I remember nights in December, fairy lights and torn up rapping paper, it was happy times now its happy slaps and how big’s your gat and all that crap”, or concern about his current predicament in life, “I gotta move man, but it’s hard when your glued in place, I so desperately wanna leave this pace, in a steamy hot bath I just hide my face, the world looks different under water”, he makes it relevant to captivate his audience. (Lyrics taken from the song, ‘Survive It’)
Ghostpoet.
His first album, ‘Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jams’ is a concoction of his musical influences such as dance, trance, indie, folk and hip-hop. Again, the name fits perfectly as it describes his overriding emotions within the album, but it is also a combination of his tastes and sounds that really shouldn’t work together, but just do. An experiment gone horribly right.
This album made people in the industry take notice and helped him on the way to be nominated for a Mercury, which was eventually won by PJ Harvey.
However, he is now signed to independent record label, ‘Play It Again Sam’ and is releasing his second album, ‘Some Say I So I Say Light’ in May of this year. Of course the dreaded second album is the down fall of many an artist, but Ghostpoet, 30, has been a student of the music game, he has built his craft, honed his skills and is now fast becoming a master of the art.
So go on, YouTube him now and thank me later. I’m suddenly in the mood for a peanut butter and jam sandwich.