Q&A: Joell

Edinburgh's "bad boy with a big heart" is Joell, he has circled the underground Scottish hip-hop scene for some time, and is on course to break through, pioneering his own blend of sung-rap and effortless hooks. Drawing on both US and UK influences, Joell has his own unique take on the current UK rap explosion.

Get to know Joell, his latest tracks ‘Safe Outside’ and ‘Hop in the Coupe”, as well as his creative process, and advice to fellow musicians trying to navigate their way through the Scottish music industry.

Before the release of ‘Safe Outside’ in March, your last single was 'Hop in the Coupe', a favourite of the Resonate team. Can you tell us a bit about the track and how it came to be? 

My producer/my g, ‘Baygee’ comes up from Nottingham every couple of months to work on music. He’ll play beats and I just go on all of them. We pick our favourites. We work fast and efficiently and I think this night we made Hop in the Coupe, Mamacita which is part of a previous EP.

What is your creative process when creating music? Do you have a specific technique for writing/composing or is it freestyle? 

I used to try perfect everything but the music industry is so quick. I've got fast and I just believe in my ability to come different. I usually have a lot going on in life good and bad so music just allows me to get that out.  I’m not good at talking, I like to keep myself to myself but songs are just stories of my life I turn into lullabies. So I’ll play the beat and just freestyle and come up with melodies and create a sort of movie in my head that relates to whatever I've got going on that listeners will be able to relate too.  I like different sounds and as long as the sound or the beat excites me or sparks something and I feel I can do something on. it just kinda happens. It's something I got naturally good at I can’t explain that part.

What was your favourite show you played/went to last year? 

2023, was French the Kid. I supported him at the garage in Glasgow early 2023. I'm a fan of him so yeah, it was cool and my sound is a bit slower and chill for the crowd who were there to turn up for him but they really took to me, I was surprised. I don't get booked for many shows unfortunately, hopefully that changes. But go back to 2022 Resonate of course I really enjoyed that. It was an audience that were there to take in new music and new artists I think they were surprised by me. Everyone took to my sound so I feel there’s a place for me I just have to get out more. And maybe let people in a little more. 2024 lets go.

 Tell us your three desert island albums. 

50 Cent - Get Rich or Die Trying because I grew up on it as a kid,  I’ll wake up and work out and have to survive every day on my island. Travis Scott - Astroworld. That’s everything. Frank Ocean - Channel Orange. If nobody is coming to get me, I can be forgotten about in peace.

 ⁠If you could collaborate with anyone on future music, who would it be?

It has got to be Kanye. 

 ⁠What advice would you give to aspiring musicians who are looking to establish themselves in the Scottish music industry?

Get a job. Whatever it is. 

1 - This is not cheap, this is so expensive, you need money to survive in this game, everything’s going to cost you, you might never make a penny, I don't believe in big deals and labels coming to save you anymore, you’ve really got to adapt, hustle and take every opportunity you can. 

2 - If you hate the job it will make you hungrier than ever to get out the job, the job will give you drive and focus to chase the goal, the life, the material - whatever the thing is, the job you hate will give you a reason to go get what you want most.

 ⁠Lastly, what can we expect to see from Joell in 2024?

Music. Loads of music. That's what I'm missing. Loads of music for people to constantly listen to and get use to my sound. SHOWS, loads of shows so they can learn my songs and come sing them with me live! LETS GO.

Make my friends proud. It's good to see Scotland make it to the euros. I want to be another positive thing to talk about coming out of SCOTLAND. 

Click for tickets.

Follow Joell here.

Q&A: Supermann on Da Beat

Supermann on Da Beat is a Scottish disabled South Asian music producer bringing a blend of influences, across genres to create unique tracks without borders. Blending production from rock bands like Nirvana with artists like JID, Lil Peep, XXXTENTACION, Kanye West, Scarlxrd & Nas to bring a fresh perspective to the UK scene.

He's had a meteoric rise in Scotland’s hip-hop scene since teaching himself production skills by watching YouTube videos during the pandemic. His prodigious output has seen him collaborate with artists around the world including CHEF THE RAPPER, Kapil Seshasayee, Viv Latifa, Genesis Elijah, Grim Sickers, Mic Righteous, as well as US based KruddTheGuru & Rockie Fresh.

This week sees the release of his debut spoken word EP ‘Breathe’, we caught up with Sanjeev to find out all about it, as well as more about his accessibility advocacy in Scottish music venues, and dream collaborations.

Your debut spoken word EP 'Breathe' featuring the track 'Fight For Our Freedom' is out this week, can you tell us a bit more about it?

'Fight For Our Freedom' is a track about societies unconcsious bias towards disabilities as well as the need to collectively move as one to make change. I believe that to really make change we need unity and collaboration to learn from each other. 

Lyrically the track goes deep on the continuous fight for freedom against the power & greed that surrounds us at all levels of government around the world. It’s a protest song at its heart & it’s a clear sign that we as a global collective don’t plan on stopping our pursuit for global freedom. ‘FIGHT FOR OUR FREEDOM’ represents a movement, the need for change & a turning point in our approach & perception of disability. 

Sonically, the single combines trap, punk & metal elements together to bring a new sound & is inspired by artists like Rage Against the Machine, Linkin Park, Scarlxrd & XXXtentacion. I really love blending genres & this is an example!

You are very well known in Glasgow and Scotland for your work with Hip Hop Scotland, as well as being an activist for disabled artists and accessibility issues in venues (and in the music industry in general), in your last AOTW you spoke about some of the highlights of this work putting on accessible shows, has much changed in and around Glasgow when it comes to being more accessible?

I don't think there's been a huge change in physical access in venues, although I have noticed a change in awareness and mentality. I think this is important because you can only fix something when you know the issue exists. I'm hoping this will lead to a physical change in access soon. I think it's slowly improving, but I know it will take time, and I'm not expecting change straight away, because this is just one of many issues that need to be addressed in the UK and Worldwide.

You're a huge grassroots advocate as well and work with some incredible upcoming acts in Scotland, who are you enjoying listening to? And who do you think could become the next big thing in Scotland?

That's a really difficult question because I work with so many artists, but I'm really enjoying listening to Eyve, Joell, AjForty7, Phro, P Caso, Sean Focus, Paque, Becky Sikasa, Kapil Seshasayee, Randombrownkid. & Bee Asha just to name a few! In terms of upcoming artists and the next big thing, i'm loving artists like Ace Vision, Madani, Aine Currie, 55, Dxims, Mind23t, Enji, Alx Romance, SeeYouTmr, Ilyas at the moment and I think every single one of them have huge potential. There's honestly too many to name but there's so much diverse talent coming from Scotland right now which is amazing. 

I really love finding new artists in Scotland, and I'm always digging on Instagram and Spotify for unknown artists that I think people need to know about. There's so many talented artists on our door step, so I'm always looking to promote local artists and get as many people to local shows as possible!

Tell us your three desert island albums.

Another super tough question because I listen to so much music, but I would say:

Bob Marley - Exodus

Nirvana - Nevermind

Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy 

If you could collaborate with anyone on future music, who would it be?

I would say Nas or Kendrick Lamar because they continue to motivate me every day with their music, vision & forward thinking mentality. They are both the definition of legacy, authenticity & longevity which is so inspiring to me & something i'm aiming to be as an artist/producer.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians who are looking to establish themselves in the Scottish music industry? You've also been a speaker and attendee at Resonate in the past, do you find this an important resource for producers, promoters, and students looking to start a career in the industry?

I would say keep working hard, consistency is key, going to local shows to see & network with local artists in the scene, use social media to your advantage and get to know people in DM's on a personal level, and going to industry events like Resonate to learn about the industry itself. Conferences like Resonate are vital for younger artists to find out more about releasing, management/PR opportunities & more. It's definitely something I recommend for any artist in the scene at any level. 

And finally, what can we expect to see from Supermann on Da Beat in the rest of 2024? Do you have any announcements with Hip Hop Scotland you want to share?

For the rest of the year i’ll be releasing singles every weeks across genre, releasing a number of EPs and hopefully performing more with my collaborators across the year. Also there's some cool collabs with a couple of UK legends as well as tracks with artists outwith the UK! 

In terms of Hip Hop Scotland, our next show is CMPND at SWG3, Poetry Club on May 17. Keep an eye out on our Instagram for some big announcements coming very soon. It's going to be a really exciting year!

Follow Supermann on Da Beat here.