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The artist teams up with an alté frontrunner on latest track and tells us why he’d love to get in the studio with everyone from Lily Allen to Charli xcx and Gary Numan next.
“I’m a real ‘find the beauty in everything’ type guy,” Kasien tells Man About Town below. The South London-hailing rapper – renowned for genre-fusing innovation since his debut 2018 project with storied producer, Kelvin Krash – has a hearty appetite for life in all its flavours. His musical taste, and specifically, list of dream collaborators, is a case in point. There’s chief brat herself Charli xcx, alt-pop doyen Caroline Polachek, Marsha Ambrosius from noughties soul-rap duo Floetry, drum & bass poster boy Goldie, boundary-breaking sonic experimentalist Arca and 70s/80s electronic pioneer Gary Numan. “Lily Allen would be fire” too, he adds.
That’s merely the names he thinks fans of his might not expect he’d gravitate towards, but he already boasts a roll-call of team-ups with those leading the charge in British music’s current epoch (FLOHIO, p-rallel, Master Peace, to name but a few). On latest track, “YAWA”, out today, he pairs up with singer-rapper Cruel Santino, leaning into the sounds of Nigeria’s alté movement, reflecting a thread running through Kasien’s upcoming project, “I Love You So Fucking Much”, that sees him marry influences from a childhood spent in both the UK and the West-African country. The resultant track is a kinetic piece of summer indulgence, that would be an asset to any soiree the season still has on offer – and a panacea to tie us over for any autumnal gloom that comes after.
Below, Kasien talks “YAWA”, gravitating towards alté sounds, working with A$AP Rocky in his early career, his MOBO-winning DJ father and summer 2024 fashion staples…
Hey Kasien! If you could introduce the Man About Town readers to your art in a couple of sentences, what would you say?
Expressive, uplifting, real, inspirational, the light in the dark, cry in the club, dance in the dark.
Congratulations on “YAWA” ft. Cruel Santino! Can you tell us the story of how the track came together?
He stays at my crib from time to time, and we have always sent music to each other over the years. I had a producer over at the time, and we made the track in my living room. It's pretty easy vibes. He's a genius, for real.
Your project "I Love You So Fucking Much" is also on the way. What was the defining mission this time around? Tell us more about the story behind the title!
It’s an ode to all the things I love in life. An ode to myself, my Mum, girls, my sister, my family, my friends, movies and partying. I'm a real ‘find the beauty in everything’ type of guy, so it makes sense.
We know incorporating more alté sounds in this project has been important for you. Was that a conscious choice? If so, what inspired it?
I wouldn’t say it is important but I’ve always naturally been drawn towards more melodic sounds and writing when I'm in the studio. I grew up on R&B so I guess I'm just in that phase of my career where I wanna sing a little more.
You grew up between the UK and Nigeria. How do you think those two experiences have manifested in the work you’re making today?
They 1000% have. I personally feel the melodies and beat selections for this project show my heritage and upbringing in one big soundscape.
For those who don’t know your earlier work – your 2019 debut project with Kelvin Krash was partly recorded in New York after spending time with A$AP Rocky. Can you tell us how that relationship was formed and what your memories are looking back on that creation process?
We actually used his studio engineer for some parts and Krash would bring me to a few sessions at Electric Lady. But yeah, we made that project in so many different studios, hotel rooms and Airbnbs all over the world. Krash is my brudda. Like my real brother! I love that guy. Known him for over 12 years now. Solid guy man, never switched up.
Music runs in the family – we hear your Dad was a MOBO-winning DJ! What were the biggest early lessons he taught you about music?
Yeah he is, shout out my dad!! RIP to the legend. He taught me how to DJ mix. He would leave me with a random instrumental and a random a ccapella and tell me to match the tempos while he went to the shop when I was seven [laughs].
He showed me melody and musicality within rap music and showed me there's no box when it comes to loving music. My house was definitely hip-hop based but was ultimately genre-less when it came to music.
Fashion is integral to your artistic identity. What are your staple pieces for summer 2024?
Black slim fit tee. Black straight-fit Levi's. Black leather boots. Thick black alien-looking frames. Pretty simple. No trends. No trends are trendy right now. Wear whatever you want.
Where are you at your happiest when you’re not making music?
Eating food, trying out different restaurants. Watching movies. Spending time with family or my girl.
