It is a fear, that’s why the word ‘Black’ is censored in the title. I'm going to explain my story, and I don't care how it sounds; it will all make sense. “Shook” but unflinching, Salieu trusted Calver’s confidence in him and played an unreleased track to a crowd who, for the most part, didn’t yet know his name. It was one of the only clubs in my area. Pa Salieu: I got sent there so my mum could be the breadwinner for her parents – till the day my grandma died, mum would always be sending money back. Things really took off with “Frontline”, a gritty and urgent tale of “block life” set against twisting and colliding beats, which became Radio 1Xtra’s most-played song of 2020 to date and amassed more than three million views on YouTube. I was close to death, but I felt everything. Pa wears fleece and nylon pullover Paria Farzaneh, nylon trousers. After his grandmother died in 2016, he sunk into depression, and writing poetry became a way of coping with her loss. Pa Salieu: Yeah! One of Pa Salieu’s most notable strengths is his vocal range. “It's up to people like me, to be honest, to bring Coventry back.”. Features / Interviews . Here, the artist and activist speaks to her friend and I May Destroy You creator, Michaela Coel, about a new batch of music inspired by a wave of freedom. The hood is a draw-out for kids. One of the lyrics is ‘Realise you’re my brudda, fuck a skin tone / Coming from the heart, bro, listen to the Black tone.’ I feel like tunes like that are needed. Coventry is not like London; there’s less opportunity. I know how important culture and unity is. I know Urdu words, Afghan words, I know Somali words. I'm trying to explain my story, but be woke with it. It was a drive-by. Pa Salieu is the 22-year-old artist who exploded onto the UK rap scene with his single Frontline back in January. The women both got out of the lift and the kid stayed. She reached out to me and I fucked with her energy straight away. I’d only seen beaches when I was in Gambia. He wants to paint something for every single — images he feels are evocative of the song’s meanings — which, as a collection, could be released alongside his debut mixtape, Send Them To Coventry, expected this summer. Born in Slough, Salieu moved to The Gambia to live with his grandparents for five years, before returning to the UK to join his mum and younger brother and sister in Hillfields, a deprived area of Coventry (his brother, Tee, joined him for this shoot). This is exactly what I'm trying to do as well: woke with it. People haven’t even heard of Coventry, but to someone coming from the ends, where I’m coming from, I want them to feel comfortable, I want them to know that it’s in reach, it’s your time! I like anything woke. What type of music did you grow up listening to? “Shook” but unflinching, Salieu trusted Calver’s confidence in him and played an unreleased track to … You went to a Positive Youth Foundation youth club – did that impact your creativity at a young age? I hear some dancehall and American rap for sure. It's not like 50 years ago, but the government are more crud than anything. I don't think God works like that. In England, one punitive response to perceived bad behavior is to exclude young students from school. I remember my 18th birthday. The Gambian-British rapper has many reasons to be happy, despite everything. I'm not trying to drive people to do what man's been through, but I am going to tell my story as it is. Now renowned for his versatile, genre-splicing songs, Pa Salieu is carving his own lane in the UK music scene. It’s a frigid, pre-lockdown London morning in early March, and we’re sitting down on a sofa in a brightly lit studio in the plush surrounds of Notting Hill — at least 100 miles away from his home estate, which is located near a strip called Hillfields. Even on bite-sized speakers, its combination of abrasive performance and towering drums feels monumental. A list of fundraisers you can support right now. That’s the good thing, the culture. I am Black but there are bigger things out there, man. My grandma liked to go off sometimes and be isolated; she’d go on these religious pilgrimages – you know when you just cut? Music honestly saved me; there was no plan B. I stole my cousin's iPod and there was a lot of Vybez Kartel in it. I feel strong about my generation. You’d probably think I’m weird” – Pa Salieu. Pa Salieu speaks to Eve Jackson about growing up on the frontline, how his African heritage and time in The Gambia helped him stay on the right … In the last 12 months, he has become one of the most hyped new musicians in the country, with everyone from FKA twigs to Virgil Abloh tapping his talent. ‘Hood representative’ always stuck with me. Enshrined in his excellent video for “Frontline,” it’s a place where tiny corner stores, his old school, violence, drugs, and inner-city debauchery reside, intermingle, and thrive. Listen, I can't even get a garden in Coventry. Hillfields was the ends. I’d go to the toilet and there would be racist shit written all over the walls. I like to be on my own too, to do my own thing and just get to work. I can’t get a proper job, so I have to put one hundred into what I do. You saw how racist this country is, I feel like we’re very stubborn now and nothing’s going to pass us like that, you know? I'm trying to have an impact, to have a good influence. I used to climb the mango trees all the time; these are experiences that you can’t have here. An ambient paranoia courses through Pa's small, diverse set of songs, sharing something murky and slyly vicious in common with The Specials’ most essential hits. I've seen everything. Her sound is powerful. You spent several years living in The Gambia as a child, did you enjoy it there? He would talk about what was happening on the roads so unapologetically. I had this idea that I told my manager about: I'm a Gambian boy, and I'm thinking of getting a drum from back home and, every show, I come on-stage, place it down, do my performance, take it away. On “Ghost Town,” the band mourned the tragic post-industrial demise of their native city, which in their telling was becoming “a ghost town” where “bands won’t play no more.” The song, despite its gloomy, unambiguous political messaging, spent three weeks at number one on the U.K. charts. I don’t feel like I’ve done enough yet, I ain’t nowhere close to building my school, but I have to, I have to do it. The doors closed, the lift went up and one second later these two women come out of the other lift right next to me, looking for the kid. Able to switch from deep, almost demonic tones to a smooth, more melodic style, he also invokes Jamaican vocalists like Vybz Kartel and Tommy Lee Sparta. He was my brother, my best friend. Order your copy now. Nor is he the kind of born-to-be-a-star egomaniac that waltzes into a room as if the world exists in order to placate their existence. The first interview I want to bring in is from DAZED. On my life, I blame school,” he says bitterly, miming sitting idly at a school desk. I was a proper grandbaby, you know? Hi Pa. You’ve just moved to London! I see it. The favourite, innit. Once he died, music started to pick up for me. She’s a good woman, man. Did coming that close to death alter your outlook on life? I’ve been shot at. He’s one of those vocal artists whose speaking voice belies their performance range: the guy who snarls on “Frontline” about whipping white like Django is somewhere else. The hardcore track, produced by Felix Joseph and AOD features a … He always looked at shit outside the box. You posted a picture of yourself with FKA twigs, have you guys been working together? In what ways has Gambian culture influenced you? I can’t put my mum through that. Buzzing Gambian-British rapper, Pa Salieu shares the music video for his new single 'Bang Out.' Now I feel obliged to motivate (other artists in the same way). It was for my defence; I’m from the hood but they don’t understand that. It’s a little album, you get an entrance into who I am, there’s a lot of flows because, you see, I have no genre. Nah. You know? All I know is what I saw. If you were on the hunt for the new face of afro-futuristic rap, Coventry might not be the first place you’d look. Photo by Will Robson-Scot. Me researching about Pac helped with that. All I know is, when I got shot, I said, “Fuck that, I'm not dying — allow it!” So I went downstairs, called an ambulance, bleeding everywhere, trying not to close my eyes. Before him, Pa smiles, it was The Specials. Pa Salieu has been shortlisted for the BRIT Awards’ 2021 Rising Star prize, which recognises the future stars of UK pop. I bet your mum is proud of you – what a few years... Pa Salieu: She is. So, that whole month, I had been listening to those tunes going to school. I just found it relatable. I loved it, I am one hundred with youth clubs, we need more for kids. Misconceptions about cities like Coventry, propagated by Londoners and denizens of larger English cities, are rife. You know, this generation is different; we ain’t taking shit, man. In Pa's case, he grew detached. What aspects of being woke do you mean? They used to have a monkey at the house, and there was a whole field of mangoes behind our yard. She’s so cool, like a big sister. She wasn’t into the music, but (she’s into) what I’m aiming for. I’m telling you, this year I’ve seen more positivity than I have in my whole life. I always fought back. Big plates of food, everyone from different households eating together. I was very proud of who I was, that’s what Gambia did to me. It's my generation. Vybz Kartel, Tupac... Music was a release for me. You can pre-order a copy of our latest issue here, For most young, driven, artistically minded people, creativity has taken a serious hit this year. I’m proud of everyone around me that’s taking their time to help me. Pa Salieu is the 22-year-old artist who exploded onto the UK rap scene with his single Frontline back in January. What’s it like being in the studio with you? Shoutout to Pa Salieu, just got into him before his new project dropped and I’d say it’s one of my favourites of the year so far. You’re not going to take the piss out of me. “Pa is a clear example of how, no matter what strategy you have, if the music is strong enough, it can cut through,” she said in a phone interview. That’s what I feel like, something about me is an insult I don’t know about. Mum is always shocked when she reads the stories in my interviews. I don’t think I do.”. Money is money. All of us are here to change things. The song — like much of his music — takes cues from afroswing, dancehall, and American rap. There, Pa met his manager, and things have fallen into place ever since. How’s life? 2020 had barely begun when — almost overnight — he became one of the hottest names in U.K. rap after his bright-but-tense smash “Frontline” went viral. It's crazy, man. Woke. Able to switch from deep, almost demonic tones to a smooth, more melodic style, he also invokes Jamaican vocalists like Vybz Kartel and Tommy Lee Sparta. Mum was a cleaner, she was a hard worker and out a lot of the time. We didn't go to the shop to buy chicken — we had chickens in our compound. The rapper was born in Slough, before he moved to live with his relatives in Gambia for six years when he was young and later returned to the UK and settling in Coventry when he was eight. The vibes are different, and I don't know how to explain. I won’t talk. During our interview, he frequently pauses to make sure I’m hearing him, asks my name to make sure he’s hearing me. Pa Salieu is hungry.The British-Gambian rapper is at his first NME cover shoot in London, and it’s running a tad late. 23 January 2021 (released) 08 February 2021. But it’s not just rapping that he uses to express himself. There was a phase where I was researching into his life a lot. One of the most exciting names in UK rap right now, Coventry’s Pa Salieu is taking the country by storm ... MTV PUSH UK & IRE 2021 Exclusive Interview Spotlights. Pa Salieu's new mixtape 'Send Them To Coventry' will be released on November 13th. Comparison’s aside, Pa’s steadily getting better. I don't feel like I'm invincible but, no way, I'm not dying. Fresh on the music scene, rapper Pa Salieu has been recognised as one of the UK's most promising new talents. Julian Brimmers speaks with the UK upstart about his run so far, and his unique perspective on pressure, fame and success. Pa Salieu's new mixtape 'Send Them To Coventry' will be released on November 13th. Newsdesk . My dad worked in factories most his life and my mum does cleaning and that; they both worked so hard, and that immigrant parent workaholic mindset, it transcends, it rubs off on your kid, it’s sick. I didn’t take any of it; I stood my ground. His breakthrough hit ‘Frontline’ , which dropped right at the start of the year, is an ode to Hillsfield - the residential suburb in Coventry where Pa was raised - but its “mazza on the frontline” message also speaks to those living in inner-city estates. It was my outlet. Charmingly vulnerable and coy in conversation, Pa has a lot to be happy about right now, even in the face of some scarcely believable set-backs. And yet somehow, Pa Salieu – the Coventry rapper taking UK rap into a mutant future – is having the time of his life. I started freestyling and I just loved it. There are so many great people in our generation, and I don't see color. But by skating over Pa Salieu, you’d be doing the scene a solid disservice. Then, on September 1st 2018, my friend AP got killed. Mum is always shocked when she reads the stories in my interviews. Pa Salieu: I was a cheeky kid. Everything that happened, I deep it differently. How did you adapt to life back in the UK? But I will start with what I've seen. Pa Salieu is on the cover of Mixmag issue 349 – read his cover feature below. My grandfather built a madrasa (Islamic college); me and my cousin were the first ones to go and now there’s about 600 students. I remember being very interested in 2Pac's story — very interested. AP had started this clothing line Money Moves. There's one of two ways you could have felt afterwards: that you're invincible, or that we're all incredibly close to death. Watch The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon highlight 'Pa Salieu: Frontline' on NBC.com. It was one of the best stage entrances in U.K. rap this year. For reasons musical and physical, he’s also earned comparisons with fellow “Gambian bruda” J Hus. was murdered. By Julian Brimmers November 10, 2020. Its focus on tales of life growing up in Coventry. I discharged myself, what, five, six days after? “Same hardships you'd see here [in London] or anywhere else.”. Pa Salieu: Take hip hop; it started in (the Bronx), but it spread across New York, then there’s a scene in LA, in Atlanta. You wake up, walk to school, all you see is fiends, come home, all you see is fiends. The only part I loved about it is the culture. Taken from the Autumn 2020 issue. I've been getting so many sounds [from her]. Share with: Pa Salieu interviewed at MTV December 2020 for … Effortlessly blending African melodies with the raw siren-laced London soundscape, it sent Twitter into a tizz with many commenting on the track’s resemblance to early J hus. You spoke for the first time in your recent song with SL about the incident last year where you got shot in the head. I remember so much from when I was there, even though I was just a kid. People seeing it. Sharing both a Gambian heritage and a polyamorous attitude to genre, Salieu has been likened by many to J-Hus, a comparison that doesn’t faze either artist. Class Of 2021: Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard. “I don’t smile, you know, but I’ve been smiling,” he says with a glint in his eye over Zoom. “Sometimes I can't speak to people, and I find myself alone. Taken from the Autumn 2020 issue. I can't even believe I'm here. Which one were you leaning toward? Our generation ain’t a joke! It kicks off a big 2021 for the Coventry rapper, who won the BBC’s Sound Of 2021 poll, as well as being NME’s no 1 star on their “Top 100” of emerging artists set to breakthrough in 2021. Watch The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon highlight 'Pa Salieu: Frontline' on NBC.com. She's in Gambia now, and I've been telling my cousin, “Yo, make sure you're recording her!” She's sick. Griff, Pa Salieu and Rina Sawayama have been nominated for the Brits rising star award, which recognises pop's ones-to-watch for the coming year. School failed me. Photo by Will Robson-Scot. That was my grandmother. Although I’m struggling to put my finger on what exactly it is I like about his project just gives off a certain vibe that I fw Effortlessly blending African melodies with the raw siren-laced London soundscape, it sent Twitter into a tizz with many commenting on the track’s resemblance to early J hus. Treading the line between rapping and singing, he has frequently been compared to J Hus, a fellow British artist of Gambian origin. By Julian Brimmers November 10, 2020. A year later, tragedy struck again; his close friend A.P. I didn’t want to put my mum through it. I’ve been working on my new mixtape (Send Them to Coventry); it’s a real mix of sounds, it’s not like a normal mixtape. I had just finished a studio session, a mad tune. Wearing an ever so slightly glossy black tracksuit which carries reflective taped lines down its pants and top, with a feathery black-and-off-white Louis Vuitton scarf draped messily around his neck, he bares no signs of fatigue despite being up until at least 4am, in a different city, the night before. I went to Ikea and got into a lift; there were these two white women and a kid who saw me coming in. I am a representative of my hood, of any hood. She’s a good woman. Griff, Pa Salieu and Rina Sawayama nominated for Brits Rising Star. She’s just been giving and giving my whole life, and no one ever gave back to her. You remained conscious throughout this time? MTV PUSH UK & IRE 2021. I understand why I have certain traits, they’re from her. It had a studio so it was a chance to do music. Is there any collaboration down the line? The Coventry rapper, alongside fellow nominees Griff and Rina Sawayama, was selected by a panel of industry experts including songwriters, press and online music editors, producers and radio & TV heads of music for the award. CLIP 03/09/21. I want to build schools back home in Gambia. Treading the line between rapping and singing, he has frequently been compared to J Hus, a fellow British artist of Gambian origin. Trust me. 23 January 2021 (released) 08 February 2021. If a kid’s hungry and he knows where he can get money, he will, you know? How did it come about? We shared the same vision, you know? OK, I get it. I wasn’t a troublemaker, but I always ended up getting excluded. The years in Gambia were the most important years [in my life], up until I was 8 or 9. I'm pissed. You’d go round the corner and there was a street full of prostitutes. Take me back to Hillfields – how did it all start for you? She doesn’t know how to say no, just like my grandma. This is part of the story; it just has to be. Abused by kids for his dark complexion, he'd often retaliate, ending up in trouble with his teachers. From there, his tracks only got weirder and darker, with “Bang Out” sampling the silky and ghostly jams of UK jungle favourite, Japan’s “Ghosts”. I’m scary. Do you think you wouldn’t have gotten involved in crime if there’d been more youth clubs, more opportunities? There were huts and donkeys everywhere; Gambia is just a different feeling, you know? From Coventry to magazine covers across the country, Pa Salieu is the undeniable force shaking up the face of British rap. I am never working in no warehouse again. Then, on September 1st 2018, my friend AP got killed. This admission comes as no surprise. If you’re in the hood, you’re in the hood, wherever you are. One of Pa Salieu’s most notable strengths is his vocal range. I’ve been pinned down for most of my life, so I’m not going to let it happen with something I enjoy, with something that I can control. This article previously appeared on Audiomack World.. Coventry-raised Pa Salieu cannot be ignored. Order your copy now. For example, when it's time to eat in Gambia, we call the neighbors, fam — from everywhere. Did you pick up on other cultural things: music, art, food? I go to the studio (and I’m) writing, writing; I’m so focused. Music is one of the keys to that and I think it’s going to be a big key in uniting Africa, I’m telling you. “I’m happy! Pa Salieu is hungry.The British-Gambian rapper is at his first NME cover shoot in London, and it’s running a tad late. He was my brother, my best friend. Some of this social awkwardness can be traced back to school. “(In the studio) you’ll see me like I’m possessed or something! Pa Salieu: I knew I wasn’t going to die. I walked downstairs and told one of my boys, ‘I think I’ve been shot... am I bleeding?’ I turn around, he’s seeing blood everywhere, he takes me to the toilet, my friends get some blue hand towels, they’re trying to put them on my head, and I’m like, no, fuck this, I’m not dying in a toilet. Pa Salieu: I got sent there so my mum could be the breadwinner for her parents – till the day my grandma died, mum would always be sending money back. He asks innocently, “Do I actually look like him? I've never done music like that; I just freestyled and went to the studio. It's powerful. I loved Tupac. He called it ‘hood representative’. Years before he emerged from a digital puff of smoke, he imagined using spoken word as an emotional release. Where did it connect with your head?At the back; twenty pellets, a shotgun. CLIP 03/09/21. I’m dark, my African accent is strong but it was even stronger back then. ©2021 The Fader, Inc. All rights reserved. In 1981, Coventry band The Specials’ seminal hit, a perfect storm of creepy ska and political invective, struck a chord with the British public. I couldn’t listen in class so when I was in the exclusion room, I made sure I really listened, really took it in. My grandma lived in a town called Bundung and my dad’s parents lived in Serekunda, one of the big cities. The family named 23-year-old Pa Salieu after his late uncle, his father’s eldest brother who was a police officer in Gambia and was killed in a motorbike accident while on duty. This article previously appeared on Audiomack World.. Coventry-raised Pa Salieu cannot be ignored. I just tap in when I’m there. I believe in the blessings of a mother. Pa Salieu has the heart of a lion. This time last year? ... Royal Family Responds to Harry and Meghan’s Interview, Piers Morgan Quits. I'm not violent but I do have to explain the violence that I've seen; everything inflicted on me. Don't worry, I'll explain it in my mixtape. I’m pushing myself, I’m unlocking new traits.”. What were you like at school in Coventry? My grandfather had a farm in his back garden. AP was one of the only people to really motivate me. Pa Salieu: I don’t know, you’ll see me like I’m possessed or something! Class of 2021: Pa Salieu. In those times it wasn’t ‘cool’ to be African – well, it was always cool to me. Interview. But why? People are dying around me when I'm trying to make the names live on and I die? I started freestyling and I just loved it. Interview. Interview. And the young British-Gambian rapper has arrived with a mythological backstory: trauma, decamping to a family farm in his ancestral homeland, a frighteningly close-to-call near-death experience. Last July at Lovebox, Tiffany Calver brought Pa Salieu out, last minute, to perform live for the first time. Phew. Taken from the autumn/winter 2020 issue of Dazed. What did you find interesting about him?He spoke with his chest. Pa Salieu: I had this Romanian friend, he was an international student and he had this studio setup where you could record music. If you wait for me, you'll see how this guy has matured in the music. Pa Salieu made his US TV debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, performing his song Frontline.. I went to the Black Lives Matter protests – it was mad seeing the unity of everyone, I feel strong on it. What opportunities were we getting? The FADER: Tell me a little bit about your other early musical interests. Trust me, I'm not dying. I grew up around white people, I grew up around Black people, Indian, Kurdish, Afghan, Pakistani, you know? I’m so proud of all this stuff going on. Pa Salieu: I just called them and started going. So when people at school dissed me about being African, I wasn’t gonna let it go. At school, most of the people teaching me thought I was a dickhead. When Pa Salieu was a young child, he was sent from his birth town of Slough (a small town just outside of London) to Gambia, to live with his grandparents. Shortly thereafter, a still-grieving Pa was hauled by a friend to a studio run by a guy named Jam, who would give Pa free studio time, helping him make music during lively sessions. Salieu’s lyrics don’t sugarcoat his experiences of hardship and violence growing up (several bullets remain lodged in his skull today after he was shot at last year), and yet, there are slickly playful moments that permeate the darkness. Pa Salieu: I’ve been in full work mode. The only positive thing I used to see was my mum and my sister. Interview. In Gambia, it was a farm. My auntie influenced me. Which, to most people, is a pretty crazy story. Words: Robert Kazandjian Fashion: Sabrina Soormally Photography: Vicky Grout Join us on the ad-free creative social network Vero, as we get under the skin of global cultural happenings.Follow Clash Magazine as we skip merrily between clubs, concerts, interviews and photo shoots. I know people get it, and I know more people will get it. “See me, being like this, not being able to speak to people. I’ve been stabbed. Though this cut was featured on HBO show Ballers, it was actually 2020's alarm-system-siren-screaming “Frontline” — recorded two years prior — that blew his name up, highlighting his knack for melody and unpredictable, elliptical rapping. I did not listen to music like that. Pa Salieu is on the cover of Mixmag issue 349 – read his cover feature below. I remember one time my grandma took me on the ferry from Banjul, the capital city, and we ended up in this small village called Fas Chaho. An ambulance took me to the hospital and I remember seeing my dad cry. Pa Salieu: I got a criminal record young for carrying a blade. Lyrically, your song ‘B***k’ is both a celebration of culture and a critique of racism. So when I got the chance to come to London to do music, to leave the strip and meet someone or get a link to go to the studio, I knew I had to really go for it. I won’t talk. I’ve lived in a place where nobody gives you dirty looks because everybody looks like you. The family named 23-year-old Pa Salieu after his late uncle, his father’s eldest brother who was a police officer in Gambia and was killed in a motorbike accident while on duty. You know what I’m saying? Did you help on the farm?Nah. Having gone public about her experience of domestic abuse, FKA twigs has returned with creative confidence. I don’t know how to explain it but it was such an experience. This is about unity. I remember so much from when I was there, even though I was just a kid. Last July at Lovebox, Tiffany Calver brought Pa Salieu out, last minute, to perform live for the first time. I’m proud of everyone I’m working with. Griff, Pa Salieu and Rina Sawayama have been nominated for the Brits rising star award, which recognises pop's ones-to-watch for the coming year. How would you describe her sound? Though sleekly dressed, he’s no poser. I never went out of the (area), like I said; I never even went to the seaside. Do you think it’s harder for British rappers coming up from outside of London? There was a phase I went through for a month where I listened to a lot of music. Rapper Pa Salieu has won BBC Music's Sound of 2021 - identifying him as Britain's most exciting musical talent thanks to his adventurous, ... Read the full interview with Pa Salieu below. Where “My Family” depicts the grit of Hillfields, “Betty”, his other smash track, is richly melodic; club-ready and dancehall-tinged. I loved it. It's a normal city with a lot of blocks, a lot of hoods,” he continues.