Tracking Back: Big Heath
Photo by Nev
Unashamedly honest and at times brutally open in his lyrics, Big Heath was an obvious choice for our Tracking Back feature. Let’s see what experiences built the Big man of rap…
1. What is your earliest memory of music as a child? We’re talking nursery rhyme early.
My earliest memories are all around driving around with my older brother and listening to his music really, from Kanye’s early albums to Kano and Skepta’s original stuff.
2. What music were your parents/guardians into? What was played around the house growing up?
My mum was never really playing too much, but my Dad has very open mind when it comes to music which was great growing. I always remember him playing Queen and Michael Jackson, which are two of my favourites ever, but he also loved Akon! Hahahaha
3. Did you have any tapes or records bought for you?
I remember my brother buying me Kanye - College Drop out, thats when my life changed.
4. What is the first music video you can remember?
Haha it’s got to be Akon - Locked Up, hahaha and what a video that is. Or maybe Biggie - Mo Money Mo Problems
5. What was the first record/tape/CD you bought for yourself? It can be a single or album.
I bought 2pac - All Eyez On Me when I was like 10, well I got my Nan to because I wasn’t old enough. I told her he was a poet, which really I’m not lying, just bending the truth.
6. What music were you into in the early days at school? Were your friends into the same thing?
Always been a massive rap fan obviously, predominantly as a kid it was 90s stuff. But at the same time I remember listening to shit from Sum 41 to some Fat Boy Slim, hahahahaha. My friends were mainly dubstep back then or whatever was popular.
7. As a teenager did this change?
Not really, I have always been heavily open when It comes to music, but rap is 90% of my playlist.
8. Did you play an instrument at school and can you still play it?
My mouth, and yes I still play it..
9. Give us a fond memory of one track at high school/college. Any house parties, road trips, holidays...
I remember handing in Ye’s verse from Flight School - Kanye West ft. T-Pain to my English Teacher as a poem, and she was so impressed she asked me to read it in front of the class. One of my friends knew what I had done, so started playing the song when I started reading it out…hahahaha
10. What was your first experience of rap music? How did it make you feel?
Growing up with a stutter was obviously a massive problem for me, and after years of speech therapy classes which never helped, I remember being able to rap along to my brothers songs (normally old Kanye) and since then I fell in love with it as I could say what I wanted to without stuttering. Rap made me believe in myself and unstoppable.
11. After discovering rap, which artists did you listen to the most?
Kanye West, Freddie Gibbs, Biggie, 2pac, Big L, 50 Cent, Masta Ace, Dr. Dre., Eminem
12. What made you pick up a pen and start writing bars, or what gave you the confidence to start to compose music yourself?
Similar to 10, the fact that rap was the only thing that overcame my stutter, I just fell in love with it. At the start I was nervous when I first started rapping my own lyrics, but like anything in life you are rubbish when you start out, but I’m a quick learner and had the belief in myself so my confidence grew all the time. Kanye gave me a lot of confidence.
13. Would you say your sound today carries influences from your childhood?
Yeh definitely, I am a firm believer that everyones sound is basically a combination of whoever you listen to, so mine has all my favourites. I love instrumentation in my music (probably from Kanye), Big catchy hooks (50 cent inspired me with those), the on beat flow and story telling from (Biggie), making jokes and having fun with bars (Eminem) and I heavily pride myself on punchlines I (Big L inspired me with those), these are just some examples.
14. Do you have any idols in music? Have you met any?
Feel like I keep saying Kanye, but yeh I loved Ye since I can remember. These days though my biggest idol is Freddie Gibbs, and I met him at his show last year when I opened up and that was crazy, in my opinion he is best rapper alive. Also I met Nas in 2017 and had a little chat backstage with him which was just mad. I’d loooooooove to meet Akon.
16. Finally let’s end on an embarrassing question. What is your guilty pleasure today in modern music?
Winner of the Guilty Pleasure, surely? Check out Big Heaths latest, the aptly titled ROLE MODELS…
Follow @big.heath
Play Spotify
Check out more artists on the Tracking Back series here:
