Kofi Stone has managed to carve out his own niche within the UK Rap space. After breaking out back in 2017 thanks to his cult classic, ‘Stories In Pyjamas’, his unique blend of old school hip-hop instrumental influences with a raw, accountable style of lyricism differentiate him from a scene that has been predominantly focussed on drill and its subgenres. Kofi meanwhile has tapped into gospel and spoken word, most recently evidenced in his latest album, ‘A Man After God’s Own Heart’.
CLASH sat down with Stone whilst he was on tour to discuss his new project, his upbringing in Birmingham, his greatest artistic asset, and working with Benjamin Zephaniah.
—
—
Can you talk to me about growing up in Birmingham? How do you think that has shaped your music?
Growing up in Birmingham was cool, man. It was very interesting. There was this after school club that we used to go to called 641 in Selly Oak. I used to play out with my friends and we’d go to different areas.
A lot of my youth was music. I would be going to different studios. I was also playing football for a bit, and then had a kind of transition into music. From about 13 onwards that was when I really became focussed on music. It’s an interesting environment, Birmingham. It’s got a lot of grassroots level musicianship, or at least it did back then. I was kind of in the middle of it.
What triggered that interest in music for you?
I was surrounded by music growing up. Lots of different family members were avid music listeners, and I was sort of inspired by their collections and what they listened to. My uncle had this big collection of music records that introduced me to a noughties sort of vibe. I was just a young kid taking in all of that.
I basically moved from London to Birmingham at five years of age, and because all the family was in London, we used to go back quite a lot. Dad used to drive us back to see the family, so he’d be playing a lot of music in the car. We would listen to a lot of Hip Hop, a lot of Blues, and yeah – that kind of just stuck with me. It was probably around 11 or 10 that I consciously took in hip hop. It was a song on Grand Theft Auto, either GTA three or Vice City, where ‘The Message’ by Grandmaster Flash was on rotation. I just remember consciously taking that in, and that had a big effect on me. That was the moment where I knew I wanted to rap. I wanted to do exactly what this guy is doing.
From then, I tried to start rapping my poems, because I was writing poetry before that. I was encouraged by family members, because my granddad was a poet. He was really taken aback at the fact that I could write them really quickly. This was around the same time I heard that song, and then I just saw myself finding my way in the music industry; going to different studios, putting stuff online, on YouTube, I was just trying to be seen.
—
—
How much inspiration did you take from your granddad?
I was heavily inspired by him. I wanted to emulate what he was doing, and started there. I guess my love for words started there, going back even further to reading with him. I loved reading stories as a child. Because of that, I had a real love and a knack for storytelling. All of these things came together and gave me an angle that I wanted to come at in my music.
Your first real breakthrough moment was ‘Stories in Pyjamas’. What does that song mean to you and why do you think it resonates with so many people?
I’m describing the innocence of being a child and how children don’t think about things too much. Sometimes it’s good to have a child’s mind, because they don’t think about things, they don’t worry about things, and that can make them fearless sometimes. When you get older, you almost lose that mentality. People sometimes lose it quicker than others, too.
I wanted to capture the innocence of being a child and growing up – you changing and life changing you. I was fascinated by that, because I think it happens to all of us in different ways. I feel like maybe that’s why people can resonate with it, because they might see themselves in the message.
Since that point in your career to now and your new album, how do you think you have evolved as an artist?
I think that the sound has become more of my own and I’ve done more of what I wanted to do. I think I always do that. I don’t like to follow trends or go with what I think people want to hear. I kind of just do what feels right to me and I feel like I’ve done that with this project. In terms of evolving, I kind of leave that to the people. I think I’d be blowing my own trumpet to say I have, but I hope that people would say I have.
This new project, ‘A Man After God’s Own Heart’ – what does that title mean to you?
It means being the best version of yourself you can be, for humanity. Ultimately, the better we are, the better humanity becomes. I believe God is the standard, and if we can strive to be like God, then the world will be a better place.
I went through a time of understanding my faith and growing closer to my roots to God. As an artist that speaks about everything that happens to me wears my heart on my sleeve, I thought it was important to speak about that. More so for myself, knowing that this is a topic that might not be for everyone, but it was something that felt right to me.
I would say the two overarching themes of the album are faith and family. You can hear a lot of Gospel influences. Is that something you grew up around?
Yeah, mumsy was playing a lot of gospel, so I heard that in the house growing up. I always wanted to do something that had that gospel influence. I take huge inspiration from my family in terms of my career and in terms of my faith. I take inspiration from the moments I share with them. I’m grateful for them and I’m always grateful for my interactions with friends and family.
On the project you work with the late, great Benjamin Zephaniah. He was obviously such a huge cultural figure in the UK and Birmingham. What was that experience like for you?
That was an honour, a great honour. I believe that sort of the way it came together was just incredible. It was bittersweet as well because he passed but we managed to make it happen and it was just a real moment for us.
It felt great to meet him. He’s just such a great man, someone that means so much to Black Britain, to Britain as a whole. What he stood for was incredible, and for someone to believe in me and what I do was very heartwarming for me in this industry. I really owe a lot to him as a man.
—
—
Elsewhere on the album I thought that ‘King David Flow’ was a standout. What do you think your greatest asset is as a rapper?
I think it’s my vulnerability. I wear my heart on my sleeve and I’m able to speak about topics that might not be spoken about in the wider genre. Where elsewhere it’s more about toxic masculinity and competing against each other, materialistic stuff, I can allow myself to be vulnerable. I think that’s probably my greatest strength.
You’ve been touring as well and I saw you sold out Birmingham, that must have been a huge moment for you…
Yeah that was amazing. It was really good to play these shows, and just to know that people resonate with your music is quite unbelievable. I’m still taken aback that people are showing out. I’m just really grateful.
It’s been tiring, man. I think I need some rest but I love seeing the people, and seeing how they react to how the music makes them feel, and hearing about it. I spoke to basically everyone that wanted to speak after each show. I waited and and came out and spoke to everyone, and so I think that was probably my favorite part of the experience.
Finally, what’s next for you in the near future and where do you want to see yourself in the next five years?
What’s next for me is more music. I’m working on another project – a shorter project that I’m hoping to release before I tour. I’m going to tour in April again and doing some bigger venues than what we did this time.
I’d like to get to the O2 level, and still keep my integrity and remain true to myself. I think that would be great, if possible, and if I can do it independently, that would be incredible as well. That’s one of my goals to create a scene of more classic style Hip Hop within the UK. I think that’s a platform I’d like to create. Also leaving something for people, a trail for people to follow within the music scene, within Birmingham. I just want for people to hear the music and want to be better and do better for themselves, within themselves, for the people around them, and for the world as we know it.
—
—
Words: Joe Simpson
—
