Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Future, and James Blake – “King’s Dead”
“The Black Panther soundtrack was out that summer! I remember just smashing that out constantly. ‘Red light green light red light green light red light green light!’”
CASISDEAD – “Pat Earrings”
“CASISDEAD is one of my favorite rappers anywhere. He’s signed to XL, he doesn’t put out a lot of music but he’s got this mystique around him where he disappears a couple years and comes back. He’s got a track called “Pat Earrings” that sold in the U.K. because Pat is a very well known matriarch on a very popular soap opera called EastEnders, and it’s a track about falling in love with an escort. I remember listening to that at the time.”
SOPHIE – “Is it Cold in the Water?”
“Something that just brought me into an emotional space was “Is it Cold in the Water?” by SOPHIE. That’s just a really beautiful track that I keep returning to. “I Can Make You Feel Better” is my go-to when I’m feeling down.”
Buy Muy Drugs – “Buy Muy App”
“Just from being in New York and having to record in New York, I got put in touch with some people in the scene. I got to know Buy Muy Drugs a little bit. They are fucking wild, I love that shit. There’s this one track, “Buy Muy App.” Yasiin Bey has a little cameo on it. It’s kind of like Animal Collective meets rap.”
AJ Tracey – “Shisha”
“I told you about AJ Tracey. I was listening to “Shisha” much more. It’s very U.K. because South Asians and Middle Eastern people constitute a big portion of the population in the U.K. It’s just such a present part of the culture, so A.J. Tracey doing a track about smelling like a shisha pipe, it was amazing to think about being back home. I also remember Bella Hadid shared it on her Story or something and it was all over the grime blogs, like, ‘Yo, people are checking the U.K. stuff. Bella Hadid is listening to Secure the Bag.’”
Tirzah – “No Romance” and “Make It Up”
“I’ve got to mention Tirzah, an artist I just love. She reminds me of a U.K. version of Jessie Lanza. It’s like low-fi R&B and soul, very iconic. Mica Levi produces all her stuff. She’s got one track called “No Romance” and another called “Make It Up,” which is more house-y.”
Ramsey & Fen – “Love Bug”
“I think it was my homesickness from being away for so long, but I was just listening to U.K. garage. There’s this song called “Love Bug” by Ramsey & Fen that was a classic when I was growing up. I was about 15 or 16 when that tune dropped, and it’s just quintessential garage music. You’ve got that lo-fi production, really tinny drums, people making their tunes on their old, panned-out PCs or their PlayStations. And you’ve got those really pitched up female vocals.”
Alkaline – “After All”
“I made a trip to Jamaica the winter before, I was riding around in a taxi and I asked the driver to put me on to some new stuff, and he put me on to Alkaline. Dancehall music and culture is a big influence on London and a big influence on me.”
Kamaal Williams – “Salaam”
“There’s so much exciting stuff in the U.K. right now in our jazz scene. That summer I was listening particularly to Kamaal Williams. He’s a half-English, half-Chinese guy from Peckham. His album was called The Return, and the track I loved is called ‘Salaam.’”
Riz Ahmed – “Once Kings”
“The song that I couldn’t have made unless I had done Sound of Metal is the one I just released, “Once Kings.” Sound of Metal caused me to go to such a personal place, to be more vulnerable and honest. That fit into my music, because “Once Kings” is definitely the most personal track I’ve ever written. It’s the most honest and vulnerable track I’ve ever written. It’s about where I’m at as an artist and where I’m at right now in my life. Doing Sound of Metal pushed me to that place.”