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Raleigh Ritchie released his second EP, Black And Blue, in January 2014 and no one really paid any attention. Six months later, 'Stronger Than Ever', the lead track from the release, has become a Top 40 hit through word of mouth (and a little bit of national radio play). Jacob Anderson is now on the verge of the music stardom he very clearly deserves, but to the 24-year-old singer and rapper, single success is an entirely fleeting notion.
"It's disposable," he says of scoring a hit single. "That whole notion. Put out the single, it's got to be a hit. We've got to get onto radio and do this and this... To me that defeats the idea of writing an album. You want all the songs to sound consistent and tell a story together.
"I think there are still artists who are very much about putting out a single," he says (admittedly in an interview with Gigwise before 'Stronger Than Ever' became a chart success). "They want to have a hot song, they want to be loved. I want to be liked by the people I am meant to be liked by. I don't think of it as wanting everyone to like me and make everyone happy, because you can never do that with music. It is so subjective. I'm not really about that at all. I am fighting that."
Watch the video for 'Stronger Than Ever' below
Ritchie has more to fight against than falling into the trap of pleasing label bosses with radio-friendly hits. That achieved without really trying, the instantly likeable youngster (Ritchie is enviably full of smiles, energy and optimism) has one major hurdle to overcome before becoming the pop superstar he (and his music) deserves. The Londoner is perhaps best known to most people as Grey Worm from Game Of Thrones, in a role unrecognisable when listening to his gritty, intimate music - and admits concerns of being rejected for his acting career.
"I thought people were going to flat-out reject me," he reveals. "That completely occupied my mind for quite some time. When I first signed, it was a really big issue for me - thinking that people would have no idea that this is what I had always done.
"I thought people would see it as the same as someone from Eastenders releasing an album, but genuinely, nobody has really said anything. It hasn't been an issue, which is really surprising and means a lot to me.
"I really enjoy doing Game Of Thrones," he adds, "but making music is fucking everything to me."
We hung out with Raleigh Ritchie at The Great Escape 2014. See our interview below
Ritchie's sound is unmistakeably British and distinctly urban, but when discussing his influences, he ticks off some of rock and roll's greats and speaking with passion and at length of his love for classic vinyl (some of which he has plundered from his father's record collection - unknown to dad).
"Kanye's College Dropout is one of my favourites," he says. "I was here [London] when it came out, so I feel a sense of ownership about it. Hunky Dory by David Bowie, Extensions Of A Man by Donny Hathaway. They are my three favourites albums ever.
"I've got lots and lots of my dad's records. I've got a copy of Andy Warhol, The Velvet Underground, with the sticker of the banana on the cover, but that doesn't even belong to me. I don't know if my dad knows I have it."
Taking the enduring popularity of these albums by such iconic artists on board when considering his own career, Ritchie believe his time is now and hopes to deliver a record that could, like classics by Kanye West, David Bowie and Donny Hathaway, still be listened to and loved in 50 years time.
"When it's the right time, it's the right time," he says. "This year is very much about my album, more than it is about anything else. I'm not focusing on the career and becoming massive, rather than that I just want to make sure that my album is as good as it can possibly be. I want to make something that could potentially live for another 20 years, another 50 years. All of my favourite albums are from 10 to 30 years ago."
Listen to extracts of Ritchie's Black & Blue EP below
Ritchie is yet to announce the release of his debut album (which he admits he has completed, then scrapped on several occasions), but reveals that the sounds of 'Stronger Than Ever' and the equally brilliant tracks on his Black And Blue EP are more reflective of what to expect from the record than the more dance-led sounds of previous EP, The Middle Child.
"I wanted to put something out that had a bit more of a vibe, with Black And Blue EP I thought about it a bit more," he says of his two EPs. "It felt more fulfilling to finish that EP, and doing the album is so much more fulfilling than doing The Middle Child EP ever was. I don't want to do that down, but it didn't feel like completely indicative of me or where I am going."
"I'm trying to make sure it all fits in with what i'm trying to say. I need to check myself every now and then, get rid of things or think 'I can save that', and work on it again, maybe on a second album - if I get a second album."
That reality now seems highly likely. Raleigh Ritchie's 'Stronger Than Ever' single and Black And Blue EP are out now. His live performances are incredible to. If you're at Glastonbury this weekend, he is one act you won't regret watching...
