Tim Duzit: An MM Exclusive

Hailing from South London with proud Nigerian heritage, Tim Duzit enjoyed a sensational breakout year in 2025. His track ‘Kat Slater’ became the soundtrack to many summers whilst also taking the internet by storm, earning him a MOBO nomination for Track of the Year alongside the likes of Olivia Dean, Skepta, and PinkPantheress.

This esteemed company is where the artist wants to continue to find himself, with a clear vision for sustained success thanks to his unique musical influences. Mixtape Madness sat down with Tim to discuss his musical inspirations, his ‘foreign familiarity’ sub-genre, and what has changed after his career year:

Can you tell me about your origins in music?

I come from a musical family, man. I’ve always loved music and my parents are musically inclined as well as my brothers. I also grew up in a church so I feel like I got a lot of my musical prowess from that. 

I started off producing when I was around 13, messing around on Logic, and then I started rapping at about 16. Around those times I was listening to 2010’s trap, people like Drake as well, and just trying to replicate the sound on Logic before I went on to build my own individual sound.

I think it’s quite clear that you have built your own sound. What do you think has influenced that?

I think this music thing is so saturated, so you have to find ways to cut through and create your own lane. I understand the value that comes from being an individual. It’s not that I wasn’t trying to cut through before, but there were times where it felt like I was just making music to make music. I was getting too comfortable, but last year I started working with intention which helped me to cut through.

In terms of musical influences, I like listening to as much music as possible. I know a lot of people say they love Michael Jackson but I really love Michael Jackson. I don’t know many artists who are taking influence from people like Stevie Wonder, Kanye West, and Quincy Jones, and putting it into South London rap music. It’s hard to infuse that sort of stuff but I think I’ve found a way. When you mix that with my Nigerian heritage, you end up with this strange blend I’ve conjured up.

How do you think South London has informed your music, and how does that play into your ‘Local Foreigner’ persona?

I grew up in Thamesmead and in South London the ‘mini Nigerias’ are Peckham and Thamesmead. That’s what moulded me. In my journey here, everything in my music and my lyrics always has some sort of salute to that. The ‘Local Foreigner’ is just a salute to who I am – being someone of Nigerian descent, and being the Nigerian boy in London but the London boy in Nigeria.  I’m kind of a foreigner wherever I go, but I’m comfy everywhere.

The song which blew up last year and kind of tipped you over the edge was ‘Kat Slater’, the remix to ‘Native Remedies’. Can you talk to me about the process behind that?

That’s just the embodiment of me working with intention. There’s a term that embodies me and what I do, which is ‘foreign familiarity’, and that is taking what people are used to and adding that sort of foreign element,  which is what allows it to be identified as me and my music.  

People can kind of struggle to pinpoint me and my sound, but at the same time it’s not alien enough to alienate me and to not be able to enjoy it. You don’t necessarily want to hear something that’s so different that you don’t even know what to do when you hear it. People know what to do when they hear it and they know how to dance to it. 

My church growing up was a traditional Nigerian church and we have different drum patterns and grooves that a lot of people won’t hear too often. I can tap into things like that which have moulded me and are unique to me. It’s all about finding the balance between the foreign and the familiar, mixing it up, and creating something that is accessible but enjoyable.

That intention has paid off because the song has gone everywhere. Has there been a standout moment for you since it’s dropped?

The two standouts have probably come right after I dropped it and also very recently. The first I would say was performing at Fête (de la Musique) just as the song started popping off. It was the first time I performed it abroad and probably the second time I ever performed it, to be fair. That was crazy, because obviously I wasn’t even aware of how far it had gone in the UK, let alone somewhere like France. That was a surreal experience. 

The other time was very recently at the O2 when I was on stage with Dave. I don’t really need to say too much about that one. It’s just mental, innit? Those are my two standouts, and then sprinkled in between has been a bunch of craziness.

Dave was playing your instrumental throughout his shows and obviously gave you your flowers by bringing you out at his final show of the tour. Is that someone you have looked up to?

Yeah, man. Dave is a UK goat at such a young age, so I think by default you have to look at what he’s achieved and respect it. He’s a real student and you can hear that in his music. You don’t even need to speak to him or listen to him for too long to understand how much he cares for this thing.

When you look at someone like Dave or other artists, do you try and take things from them and see how you can apply them in your music?

Yeah, you have to. You look at your peers, you look at the ones that have come before you, and  you even look at the ones that come after you. That’s how you stay sharp, and I’m a sponge, too. I’m happy to be a student. It doesn’t matter who’s teaching, and I really do this. I really love this. I’m really someone that takes time with his craft. 

Those people that I told you were influences on man earlier on? Those are real performers with depth. So naturally, if I want to follow in those kinds of footsteps, you’ve got to take stuff like performance seriously. Even if I’m performing at a local show and someone’s gone on before me or after me, I look at some of the stuff they do and try to apply it to my own performance.

What do you think is your best asset as an artist?

I would say you can probably hear it in my music – you can’t fake being a student of the game.  I’ve been making music for a long time, and you can sniff out a lack of authenticity. Obviously I’m a real performer too and that is something that I take a lot of pride in. I think people are starting to understand that side of me already, as well as taking pride in my visuals and music videos too. I couldn’t pick out just one asset because there are different things to like for different reasons.

Finally, you’re on a crazy trajectory right now following a huge 2025 and a MOBO nomination. What is shaping up in 2026 and what does success look like for you long term?

There’s a lot of guys that have had similar trajectories that haven’t been able to realize their potential. It’s making sure that becomes a reality for me, first and foremost. I need to be establishing myself, getting some projects out, live shows, festivals. There’s a lot of boxes to tick off. I think success in the future is just that on a larger scale. The hardest thing to do in this thing is to have longevity. As long as I’m here, we can talk■