fb-pixel
Loading...

A Chat With ‘WEAREBLK’s Rising Melodic Star: 24wavey

Elle Evans

By Elle Evans

Elle Evans

28 Apr 2020

24wavey is one of the UK’s brand new faces in Rap, signed to ImJustBait and Abdi TV’s label ‘WEAREBLK’, the London-based Nepalese rapper has been catching the eyes of many.

Since he was 14, 24wavey has had his eye on one day rapping for a living, but to him its much more than that. From the young age of 14, the newcomer taught himself how to record and mix his own vocals on GarageBand. Growing up in the prime of Grime, it was this that helped to shape his pen game and begin to master his musical ability. It wasn’t until 2017 when he started to delve into the more melodic side of rap listening to artists like Geko, Lil Tjay and Lil Durk who ultimately switched up his style completely.

In the short time 24wavey’s been releasing music, he’s already amassed hundreds of thousands of streams and views. Following up from his popular track “Bucket List” which he released later last year, the newcomer recently returned with his latest bop “Hunnabands” which has amassed just over 325,000 views in its first week – this is only the beginning for 24wavey!

We caught up with the rising rapper to ask all about his background musically, his brand new single and more…

I read that you started rapping at the age of 14 and that your brother was one of the main influences behind you getting into music? 

Well, I wouldn’t say my brother was one of my main influences for me getting into music, I’ve always been into music but when my brother purchased his MacBook, that’s when I started recording. I would use his MacBook a lot and discovered a recording software called “GarageBand” which was downloaded. From there, I would record myself singing over instrumentals and then gradually taught myself how to mix my own vocals.

What rappers were you listening to around this age that influenced the shaping of your pen game?

At around 14 years old, I started listening to a lot of grime artists such as Bugzy Malone and Stormzy – as grime was very popular back then. Listening to these type of artists inspired me to start rapping like them and start recording my own freestyle videos.

You are one of the UK’s emerging acts that delves into the more melodic side of rap. When did you start to indulge in this side of rap? I read that you originally started mastering your sound with Grime, so what started this transition?

It was around 2017 when I started singing and stopped rapping. The reason for that was because I used to listen to artists like Geko a lot during that year, I really liked his style so he inspired me to start singing. I started making songs using Afrobeats/Afroswing instrumentals that had Geko ‘vibes’ to it up until mid 2018. At around this time, I started listening to American artists such as Lil Tjay, Lil Durk and a few others and this is when I switched up my style and started recording over ‘wavey trap’ type beats. From there, I just kept recording and improved my sound. Mid 2019 was when I really found my wave, there were a lot of wavey upcoming artists during that year such as Mastermind and J.I the Prince of N.Y and I feel like these artists influenced me a lot and really helped me find my sound. Since then, I just ran with it and that’s how I got to where I am now.

You’re signed to the label ‘WEAREBLK’ founded by ImJustBait and Abdi TV – How did this come about? Did they approach you?

So I dropped my first single titled “Bucket List” on GRM DAILY back in November 2019. Three days after the video dropped, I received a direct message from Abdi TV on Instagram. We had a conversation and he told me how he really likes my song “Bucket List” and said that I have potential. He then went on to tell me that he owns a label with ImJustBait called ‘WEAREBLK’ and asked me to send him some unreleased songs of mine and so I did. He wasted no time and immediately arranged a meeting with me and my manager. During the meeting, Abdi TV and ImJustBait had a conversation with my manager and I about music. We played them some of my tracks and from there they were certain they wanted to bring me in to their label – a month later I signed the contract!

You’ve previously stated that you would love to collaborate with artists overseas. Is there anyone you have your eye one or have always wanted to collaborate with?

An artist overseas I would definitely want to collaborate with is J.I the Prince of N.Y because he is one of my favourite artists – he’s had a big influence on my music. I feel like me and him would make a hit.

What about in the UK?

An artist from the UK I want to collaborate with is Mastermind, he is also one of my favourite artists and I like his wave. He has also had a big influence on my music which is why people may say we sound the same. 

Let’s talk about your latest single “Hunnabands” – All your tracks tend to have a ‘feel good’ feel to them. When curating “Hunnabands”, what was your aim both sonically and lyrically? 

My aim when making the song was to make sure it was addictive so people would keep replaying the song. I wanted to make sure people wouldn’t get bored of it so I added different flows and melodies within the song. 

You’ve been described as a “breath of fresh air in the music scene” – What do you feel sets you aside from other artists in the UK scene?

I feel like I have mastered my melodies and flows which make my tracks stand out. There’s not really much to it, nowadays people are more interested in melodies rather than the actual lyrics and I feel like my melodies really pull people towards my music.

You’ve said that you don’t want to be placed in any one sound as of yet – What other genres or styles of music could we hear you on?

I am a very versatile artist, although most of my songs consist of the wavey trap type beats, I would still be comfortable on any kind of beat. For example, I started from grime beats, to afrobeats, to wavey trap beats so it’s clear that I have been versatile throughout the years. I have music for every season.

What more can we expect to hear from you this year?

You can expect a lot more music from me this year as I have been recording non-stop and have a lot of unreleased songs – maybe even a project by the end of the year!  


Keep up to date with all things 24wavey via his Instagram here.

Tags: