Photo: Press
Allow us to introduce you to West London singer-songwriter, Shakka, who has been winning over the hearts of the entire Grime scene. Check out Shakka performing 'Say Nada' in session for Vevo below.
Shakka has been making waves with music lovers for about two years now since the release of his 'The Shakka Crown Affair' EP in 2011. Using that momentum, the London singer has been on a seemingly continuous crescendo, playing Glastonbury, gaining support from Radio 1 and supporting Rudimental on tour.
His sound is a vibrant and impactful taste of pop with tinged by reggae influences and urban beats. The animated sounds of Shakka have forged a collection of famous supporters including Ella Eyre, JME, Wiley and Basement Jaxx.
This latest track, 'Say Nada' comes off Shakka's upcoming EP, titled The Lost Boys which is out 30 October. Pre-order it here.
Check out Shakka performing 'Say Nada' in session below
We had a chat with Shakka about about his musical background and his love affair with the British music scene, check it out below:
Can you tell us about your musical background? What are your earliest memories of wanting to be a musician?
My father was a reggae musician. After his years touring internationally with the likes of Aswad and Alton Ellis (and more specifically after I was born), he'd Play daddy from the early 90s onwards, taking me to music rehearsals and studio sessions after his 9-to-5 as a telecommunications engineer. Those nights in the studio around mixing boards, loud amps and old-school Apple Macintosh computers, left me with no interest for Sports, or Nike tracksuits, but an insatiable hunger to make music.
You're pretty enamoured by the grime scene, how do you think this springboard will effect your trajectory as an artist?
Ha! When I made these songs, using the Walking With Elephants remix I did as an example, I wasn't thinking necessarily about a pathway to stardom. It was an idea I had of fusing some cool sounds together. House (Ten Walls), and Trap, via the British proxies being myself and Frisco. I came across his music the year prior and thought that his rhythmical understanding and delivery was ingenious. And similarly with JME, after a few members of my team suggested it, I realised that his Britishness and matter-of-fact writing style would sound sick over Say Nada. As an artist I'm just glad that people can hopefully see how much I like truly British music.
What's the story behind your JME collaboration? What's he like to work with?
I had met him on a few occasions prior to working, at shows and festivals and such. The time I called him to write, was precisely the same time he was working on his 48 hour mixtape with Noisey. Julie Adenuga would tell me stories of how alike we were regarding energy but that didn't hit me until that particular session, when he played me the then instrumental version of the Pokémon remix he made. We just hit it off. I pressed record, and he switched the commanding "microphone controller" instantly.
How do you think living and writing in London has affected your sound and do you think you'd have different musical sensibilities if you grew up somewhere else?
I think that the beauty of living in London, more specifically Notting Hill, wasn't just being deeply rooted in reggae music, but was that it was normal to grow up in a cosmopolitan community. For example, it wasn't so much that my friend Hamza from primary school was from Algeria, but rather that he had exceptional football skills. And that unspoken unified lifestyle was my outlook on life, and in turn how I went about living life. I believed and still do believe that fusion is the norm, which is why I made the YouTube series of cover-mashups like a Gotye and Usher, and why I sing in a British accent over grime beats. I think I'd miss the deep reggae influence, and the euphoric electric guitars if I didn't grow up in West London.
What is the deal with that Wiley collaboration tweet?
We haven't worked together yet, but I will always be up for any collaboration with Wiley. Wiley, and other artists from the scene, helped me to find my own musical identity as a teenager.
What do you thinks it means to achieve 'success' as an artist?
When rent is covered for the rest of your life.
Learn more about and support Shakka on all his social media channels:
