For West London-born artist Bawo, actions speak louder than words

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COLORSXSTORIES | ARTIST INTERVIEWS

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Born to a Nigerian family, Bawo grew up in West London, an area of the British capital that has produced some of the UK’s best hip-hop talents—from Nines to Knucks—in recent years. But while he grew up watching the likes of 50 Cent and Eminem on MTV, as an artist himself, Bawo has taken a genreless approach to music, fusing influences from grime, garage, and soul to create a sound that is completely his own. Last year, he showcased his distinctive style on ‘Legitimate Cause’, his album taking a stab at the way contemporary capitalism pushes people to constantly (and mindlessly) strive for more.

In line with his debut A COLORS SHOW performance of ‘Hope You’re Listening’, we sat down with Bawo to discuss social media-induced desensitization, superheroes, and what we can expect from his live performance at COLORS’ IRL event TONES of Paris in October 2024.

What is it about West London that has inspired so many of UK hip-hop’s leading figures?

West London is home for me, so I sometimes struggle to pinpoint what’s special about it because it’s all I’ve ever known. Here, there’s a huge mixture of different people and cultures right on your doorstep. Labrador Grove and Portobello in particular are hubs for creativity, good vibes, and just being yourself.

You grew up in a Nigerian family. How has this heritage influenced your artistic development?

Nigeria is in the essence of everything I do. A lot of the talent I have comes from being African. I feel like music wasn’t a choice for me, it’s just how I am. Even though my parents aren’t musicians, music has always been prevalent in our household. Our family is from the Itsekiri tribe and I grew up listening to a lot of their worship music.

Tell me more about your relationship with spiritual music.

Even though I watched a lot of MTV and wanted to be a rapper, I started off singing in church and the choir at school. I was never the star of the show, and used to lie to my schoolmates about it, but really I was singing my heart out and trying my absolute hardest.

Which artists on MTV inspired you the most?

50 Cent’s aesthetics are so different to mine, but when I was nine I was addicted to his album. I also loved Eminem, Michael Jackson, and Will Smith—he was an all-rounder. He was in ‘Men in Black’ and ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’ and was a hero of mine as a kid. I thought you couldn’t be cooler than Will Smith.

Later on I was introduced to indie pop. Having grown up with Black music, I thought that it was basically rock, which is hilarious. I started listening to Two Door Cinema Club, ColdPlay, and One Republic, all of which I still love now. They opened me up to writing in a whole new way.

When did you realize that you had a chance of making your dream of being a rapper a reality?

Rappers’ music videos were like adverts for their lives. I bought into it. It didn’t take me long to realize I wasn’t going to be this tough guy with loads of chains though. It’s not who I am.

When I was around 14, I wrote songs and raps all the time but didn’t show them to anyone because I was really shy. Then, when I was 18, I saw my first recording microphone in the room of the guy who cut my hair. He let me record two demos on it and from then on I thought, “ok. This is possible.”

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Your music also references grime, garage, and soul. What is your relationship with those genres?

Most music these days is hip-hop at its core. When you boil down some of my favorite rock albums, they’re basically hip-hop. For me, hip-hop is a form of expression as opposed to a style of music.

There wasn’t a specific branch of music that inspired me. There were metal songs on WWE games I used to play that I adored and knew word by word, and I even liked every Disney song I heard. I thought I cared about genres as a kid, but I really didn’t.

Though your sound might be hard to categorize in terms of genre, you have described it as “homely”. What does this mean to you?

That stems from the fact that I’m doing my best to be myself and be honest in what I’m doing. I was lucky enough to have some really good friends when I started out who told me that what I was producing was cool, but that I was trying too hard to sound like other artists. I had to realize that I couldn’t keep running from my story. Ultimately, the more true I am to myself in my music, the more other people will relate to it. So yeah, I hope to find home in my music. Otherwise, what am I doing?

Your latest album, ‘Legitimate Cause’, was released last year. It explores the concept of “the grind”, hustling, getting ahead, and responsibility. Where did your interest in these themes come from?

Today, there’s a big importance placed on growth. I can only really speak for London, but it feels like capitalism is trickling down into loads of different areas of our society. Because of this, striving has become a big part of my personality. It’s something that I’ve reckoned with for a long time. Creating this album was my way of dealing with it. It’s cathartic to make something from it as opposed to letting it get you down.

On the cover of the album, I’m wearing a suit and standing in a corporate office setting. The whole “9 to 5” theme is a bit tongue in cheek. It plays on the fact that, as the child of parents who didn’t grow up in the U.K., I’m constantly being asked when I’m going to stop making music and get a real job.

Tell me about ‘Hope You’re Listening’, the song you performed on COLORS.

The song, at least the first verse, is about the same thing as ‘Legitimate Cause’—striving and recognizing what I want to do. I’m literally doing it now, so I shouldn’t get in my own way. The second verse talks about other people who feel like they’ve been working towards something but don’t even know what they’re doing it for.

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“The more true I am to myself in my music, the more other people will relate to it…

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… I hope to find home in my music. Otherwise, what am I doing?”

The track will feature on your upcoming project. What can we expect from the rest of the album?

‘Hope You’re Listening’ is a very important song on the project, and probably the most delicate. That’s all I can really say.

You’ve been foreshadowing the release with superhero-related imagery. Where did that come from?

It’s not about having superpowers, but about being yourself. In my last project, I was wearing a corporate suit—the skin that society wants me to wear. Now, it’s about tearing off this layer and revealing who I really am. It’s very empowering too—wearing the superman logo has made me want to go to the gym even when I’m not in the mood!

Tell us more about your brand and collective Say Nothing.

It started off as a label with my closest friend. Ultimately, we want to help other artists and people in the community. We’re not exactly sure how to do that yet, but we’re taking small steps in that direction. The name refers to the fact that we both don’t like to gloat. We’re quietly confident, but we don’t like to say what we’re going to do, especially to strangers. We just do it. I don’t like meeting people who give me whole essays about how cool they are. Actions speak louder than words. So say nothing, do something.

You’re doing something very exciting in October—you’re going to be performing as part of the lineup of our inaugural TONES of Paris event at La Seine Musicale!

Being invited to TONES is a big part of why I think this has been a really good year for me. I’m really looking forward to it. It feels right.

What can audiences expect from your show at the event? How do you feel when you perform live?

I feel like I’m part of the audience and that we’re basically having a sing-a-long. It feels like we’re all together. I hope the audience gets the sense that I’m not doing it for the sake of it or to be a star. It should be a communal celebration.

You spent two weeks in Paris writing songs for your latest album. Do you have a special connection with the city?

I really like it. In some ways it feels like an alternative London. There’s a grit about it—I’ve never seen so many people smoking cigarettes! There’s mopeds everywhere, a sense of pace, and a concentration of energy. Going there with a purpose feels really cool.

What are your ambitions for the future?

To be real, I would love to do another COLORS, even if it’s in five years time. I had one of the best days of my life recording my show. Outside of that, I don’t have that much in my head. I’d like to win certain awards, but that’s more for my parents. They didn’t get to see me graduate so I know something like that would mean a lot to them.

What message would you like to share with the COLORS audience?

Something I’ve been telling myself recently is that everyone has limits. It’s okay to ignore them.

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Bawo is a West London-born artist whose performance of ‘Hope You’re Listening’ was released on COLORS on the 2nd September 2024. You can watch the full show on our YouTube channel. Bawo will be performing at COLORS’ IRL event, TONES of Paris, on 27th October 2024. Get your tickets here.

Text: Emily May
Photography: Alex Galloway

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