V.I.C: ‘VÄRIANT’ EP, Heritage and Paving a New Path – Interview

London-based rapper V.I.C is quickly becoming a standout name in UK hip-hop, blending sharp lyricism with a deeply personal narrative rooted in both his Nigerian heritage and British upbringing. Inspired by greats like J. Cole, he first caught attention on social media with freestyle clips before making waves with his breakout track ‘What I Do’, which racked up over two million streams on Spotify alone.

Since then, he’s continued to build momentum, notably landing a spot on the FIFA 22 soundtrack with his introspective single ‘A Teen’. From the stripped-back vulnerability of his debut EP ‘Bedroom Chronicles‘, V.I.C’s music captures a journey that’s equal parts self-reflection and boundary-pushing ambition. With his latest EP ‘VÄRIANT’ out now, Mixtape Madness caught up with him to talk about the new project, his inspirations and artistic development through the years.

You were born in Nigeria and raised in Southampton before moving to London. How have these diverse environments influenced your music and identity?

Moving around so much at first brought a lack of identity, but over time I have found that the ability to be able to identify with different cultures has been a superpower because it forced me out of my comfort zone. Which is why with my music I never just want to create the same thing, I’m always jumping genres or mixing sounds together because that seems to be who I am.

Growing up in the church choir, you often rapped while others sang. How did this early experience shape your approach to music and performance?

Performing has always been what I was drawn to even from when I was in Nigeria. I think that the reason I decided to rap instead of sing, was because I wanted some of the limelight to be focused on me. I wasn’t the best singer. So starting music by posting freestyles was me subconsciously wanting to show that theatrical ability of mine gained over the years of performing in church choirs.

Your music often features acoustic guitar samples and introspective themes. How would you describe your sound, and what artists or genres influence it?

I haven’t intentionally made it with guitar samples, I guess guitars bring out the best stories and feelings. My sound I’m yet to discover is based a lot on reality and story telling and relatability, my goat is J Cole who is the biggest representation of that. I really just want to make the best music possible that captivates people no matter what genre they listen to.

Can you share more about the inspiration behind your latest EP ‘VÄRIANT’ and talk me through the creative process?

The inspiration behind VÄRIANT was really just to put myself in situations that weren’t familiar to see what type of music came out. My process is usually to get the idea in the studio and go home and finish writing the song in one sitting. But for many of the songs on VÄRIANT, I worked on them in the studio and also chose beats that I would never have considered but caught a feeling from, that was creatively. For the theme, the main idea that seemed to come up over and over again was the idea that being different is more of super superpower than a hindrance. I think especially in the UK rap scene, I was getting tired of hearing the same sound over and over, so I dared myself to do something different, because even if it flopped, at least it might have given someone else the strength to put out something different as well.

TikTok played somewhat a role in your rise to prominence. How did you leverage the platform, and what challenges did you face in building your audience?

Yes it did! I think I’m in a bit of a cross roads at the moment because I started freestyling on TikTok, and making random content pieces before I actually started making music or felt confident in my online persona, so a lot of success came during the lockdown period. Recently I’ve started focusing more on my own music and brand and finding ways to reconnect with the audience who have known me from previous scattered content pieces and the current audience who are listening to themusic. That’s the main aim at the moment; I really just want to find the people listening to me for the art not the vitality of hopping on other peoples music.

Your track ‘A Teen’ garnered attention from Columbia Records and was featured on the FIFA soundtrack. How did this recognition impact your career trajectory?

“A Teen” was a blessing and curse. It was the 2 nd song I had written ever so having such a big moment at the start of your career, in the industry where you don’t have a strong identity, tends to have a negative effect but over the years I have learnt to see it as a good thing because I have learnt a whole lot of things about myself, making music, building a team and building a career sustainably because of it. Still trying to break out of being known as the “A Teen” guy but I think songs like “Two Sides” and “Wasteman” have helped solidify the fact that I’m not just a one hit wonder type artist.

I also, however, see that it is no longer on Spotify, and I seem to remember you posted a video on TikTok that talked about a sample in the track that got flagged. What was the situation around this?

Basically it was just a scammy producer who decided to sample another song and sold a beat without giving proper credits or notifying the proper parties. I didn’t know it had a sample on it and after the song had blown up and gotten on FIFA, the original producer who had the copyright of the beat reached out to ask for what he was owed. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make that decision as it was with the label, so he asked DSPs to remove the song and ultimately, we are still trying to figure a solution.

How influential has your Nigerian heritage been to your music, and how do you incorporate aspects of Nigerian culture into it? 

Nigeria is in me. I don’t think I have to try to incorporate it, a lot of my life friends and family are Nigerian. Even the goal that I have to make it is just because I want to prove to myself and people who came up with like me that no matter what your early life situation is like – if you have a dream, you can achieve it.

Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for your music career, and how do you plan to continue evolving as an artist?

I’m trying to continue paving a path that puts the UK rap scene on a global scale, not as a gimmick but as something to be respected and aspired towards. That’s all through learning and studying the people that have gone ahead. Also, continually exploring more about myself and the music as a whole. I need to continue growing my live performance scene as that’s where my strengths lie, so I’m excited to take big steps towards that this year.

What plans do you have in store for the rest of 2025?

2025 is another pivotal year. I’ve been saying it feels like 2021, when “A Teen”
blew up, because it’s the year when the industry is finally listening. I’ve had some of my greatest opportunities since this year started and I’m yet to announce some of them. Either way, the plan is just to continue following the plan, the mixtape dropped, I’m back in the studio, reading and learning and creating. It’s just a time game.