In Their Own Words: Fresh Creatives For Music

The scene of creatives in the U.K. lacks no innovation. The help of a shifting media culture has given way to more and more self-starting creatives finding or creating avenues for their content. Each role contributes as a force to the wheel that keeps the industry spinning. The “In Their Own Words” series aims to expose a roster of creative geniuses working in and around music.

Plug into the first picks and their journeys below!

SCARYTHINGS LDN

“Scary Things is myself (JK), DJ Bempah, Dan and DFR – we’re a team made up of a creative director, music executives and a producer/DJ. We started under Radar Radio’s umbrella, which, under a year, went prime time. Our mission is to help the mandem and give ‘scary’ talents, who are often overlooked by major platforms, a push. We invited guests like OFB, K Trap and Ty Dolla Sign, who all dropped freestyles. We’re more than what meets the eye and it’s not just drill stuff. We’re trying to break that mould. After Radar, we made Scary Things a lifestyle brand – change is scary and you have to trust the process. Taking our show to NTS radio made the most sense and we hit the ground running with guests like RichYett, Pop Smoke and MK The Plug. We combined our individual skills and have now branched into live events and merch. The likes of Sam Wise, Kadiata, Youngs Tef and Trap x10 were all listed on our last party’s lineup! We’re good brothers, catering to the real with our grass-root platform.” – JK

THE BLOCK REPORT

“Flashy Sillah or simply, Sillah. I’m a twenty-two year-old, Tottenham native and a part of the Flash Squard collective – an independent entertainment label that I founded with a few friends. Our roster of talent hosts music artists, an engineer, a video director, a graphic designer and even an influencer. I host the ‘Cold Drinks & Conversations Podcast’ with co-hosts, Toren and Ray Niro. In two years we’ve sold out a live show and amassed 10,000+ downloads across streaming platforms. The Block Report was born through needing to hire a studio whilst shooting my previous, ‘Sillah’s Sound Lab’ series. Due to COVID-19, I thought, “You know what, I could just shoot on the estate” and it worked! The new series is powered by the 90s Baby Network who were enlisting content creators for their channel at the time. I’ve always been comfortable with voicing my opinion in front of a camera. Josh, my camera-man, has a powerful lens and connecting my show to an estate aesthetic was the perfect formula.” – Flashy Sillah

SANCTUARYLDN

“Sanctuary LDN started in 2015 – the first show had games, live performances, poetry and oh, Big Tobz was our first performer too! We went on to host Ghetts‘ headline show at the Queen of Hoxton… it was very DIY and, to be honest, we didn’t really know what we were doing. Still, we kept going and have had the likes of One Acen, House of Pharaohs, Yxng Bane, Jords and Shae on our stages, all before they boomed. We’ve championed and pushed U.K. music and culture for the past five years, and artists being able to have their stories told by people who really understand is very important to me. We adapted during lockdown, with online live-streams, DJ sets, and now, we are a creative agency. In the last three months, Burna Boy, Potter Payper, D-Block Europe, and more recently, M Huncho & Nafe Smallz, are all artists we’ve created campaigns for after album releases. It’s been fun and there’s so much more to come in 2021, so stay tuned!” – Esi

CORD SOCIALS

“We started CORD at the start of the year with a simple mission in mind – to take music discussions within our scene to a new level. Ten videos in and 300,000+ views later, we’ve covered everything from album reviews, street interviews, fan-curated playlists, our popular ‘Do All Fans..?’ series and we’re only just getting started! Our vision is to create content and experiences with fans at the centre, bringing together a community of music lovers in the UK. We want to bridge the gap between the artists and listeners, creating vibes as we do so. If you love the culture, we’re sure you’ll love our content. Look out for the first CORD event, landing in 2021!” – Jesse & Daniel

Stay tuned for Vol.2 – we have an endless roster of talents that will introduce more of their genius to the crowd. Oh, and in their own words too!

Article cover art designed by Forever Prmnt.