Brandon Nembhard, a rising star in London's rap scene, captivates audiences with introspective lyrics, smooth flow and distinctive voice. Raised in Jamaica and influenced by its vibrant music scene, his creative output reflects authenticity. Brandon explores love, friendship, heartbreak, and social justice with raw honesty, showcasing his dynamic flow, intricate wordplay, and storytelling talent. With a growing following, he's an exciting voice in London's rap scene, approaching each project with dedication and staying true to himself.
Where did your vision start and how did it progress?
“Ya’ll don’t wanna hear me, you just want to dance.” This quote from Outkast’s song ‘Hey Ya’ is one of the driving forces behind my music. My vision has always been to make music that’s sonically sound whilst also having a blatant message of reflection, positivity and presentness without the latter aspects being overbearing. It progressed at the start of the pandemic where I was more or less confined to my home with a Logic Pro X free trial and one day I thought “Why not? Can’t be as hard as poetry.”
Describe your sound in 3 words?
Introspective, poetic and present.
What do you like to do for fun outside of making music?
Acting, gaming and cooking are all things I find as equally challenging as they are therapeutic and I imagine they will be things that will be with me in the time to come.
Who or what has been your biggest inspiration in your career so far and why?
I can’t name any one catalyst as it’s an accumulation of experiences and interactions that have led me to where I am now. The things I create are often a compilation of what I’ve felt, read and heard in proximity to the time I put it onto paper. I’ve always been stubborn with my pursuits, happily so, and “inspiration” as a concept is a pretty foreign entity to me due to the fact that uncertain times such as these often leaves optimism to dwindle. Not to say I’ve lacked support or people to inspire me - but I will say I have a lot
more of that now in comparison to back then. It’s why I had to learn how to do more or less everything by myself in the first place.
What do you hope listeners will take away from your music?
You can do it. Like, literally. You might not have all the tools but learning to work with little will only help you when your time comes to work with more. Get your stuff out there! It’s always good to have a point of reference from your growth and creativity is endless. A lot of people operate as though that if they start creating now whilst they’re not fully optimized - it’ll be a waste and that they’ll run out. But creativity doesn’t belong to me or anyone else. It’s always there... just waiting to be tapped into.
Is there a certain place where you feel most creative?
My release ‘Canon’ was written throughout the commute between my home and my part-time job. So to be completely honest? No. But maybe I just haven’t found my space yet.
We’re all about new music discovery– who is an artist that you think everybody
should be listening to right now?
Deema. ‘I WISH I HAD TO’ is a morning requirement. Would absolutely recommend it. How do you approach writing lyrics and what themes do you like to explore? I take bits and pieces from conversations I’ve had over the past week where something is said in a way that holds layers. It’s why conversation and discussion is so important to me. It’s never one-dimensional to me. But I like to write from the conclusion and work around the general outcome that a listener could take from the song. My themes generally consist of DIY, healthy human connection and the progression of self.
What’s been a highlight in your work so far?
I’ll be honest in saying that nothing comes to mind. I’d like to put emphasis on there being so much more to come and that I feel as though I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of what I’d like to create. These are just things I quickly put together in my bedroom typically a week after a snippet I put out has a good response. I’m working with what I have but when I start working with what I want? Yeah, plenty of highlights.
What can we expect from you next?
An EP and a few beautiful things to accompany it. I look forward to sharing!