Rising rapper Spaceman has captivated listeners with an adventurous range of releases over the last few years. Previously based in Brooklyn for many years, he re-established his tie to Freeport. Surrounded my creatives here, including breakdancers, graffiti crews, rappers and DJs in the community, where legend MF DOOM produced his ‘Operation Doomsday’ and Afrika Bambaataa made appearances in the town amongst the Zulu Nation moulded the multi-faceted talent.
His alias 'Spaceman' derived from the artists love for hip-hop, punk and electronic music. Incorporating a different blend of genres with innovative percussion, his latest release 'Law' from his highly-anticipated album 'Annihilation' is an extremely notable release from the ever-growing talent, which is also inspired by Charles Bukowski's poem.
We caught up with Spaceman to discuss the production process behind his exciting new album, greatest rappers of all time and upcoming projects.
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Hi Spaceman, thanks for joining us here at Flex. Let’s start by talking about how you started your career as an artist - what influenced you to become a rapper?
I've always been very musical, I've always loved putting words together, I've always loved rap and I've never been shy so it all came about pretty naturally. When I was in high school I was strictly into making beats for my friends to rap over but as I got older and I realised I couldn't count on anybody else to perform my idealised notion of what a rapper should be I decided to be that person myself.
You’ve recently dropped your latest track ‘Law' with an incredible official music video and the accompanied project 'Annihilation' - what does this release mean to you?
Thank you! The song and the video both to me represent a sort of ruthless dedication, an expression of the instinct to make your mark whatever the cost.
Can you walk us through the production processes behind ‘Annihilation’ - how did you create it and what inspired the music video?
I actually wrote this project while on Covid unemployment. I had been delivering for Amazon during the whole first year of the pandemic and got so fed up with the conditions at work that I resigned in January '21, and with some strategic negotiating, I managed to do so while retaining my unemployment eligibility. I took that opportunity (and the acute frustration I felt then) and channelled it into the material that became Annihilation. The idea for the video just came to me, it felt like a natural representation of the energy of the song.
We know you lived in Brooklyn for a few years before moving back to Freeport - can you tell us about your time there and why you decided to re-establish your ties back to your home city?
I initially moved to Brooklyn for college, which was where I met most of the people involved with the group I was in while I lived there, that and the Hypebeast forum (RIP). We were very active, often doing multiple shows a week between the whole group, but eventually, I began to feel a sense of creative stagnation which, combined with a breakup I was going through, made a radical change a pretty logical conclusion. Being back home allowed me to reconnect with what hip-hop had always meant to me, removed from all the pretence and self-importance that go hand-in-hand with "the scene". I like authentic, real, honest people, they inspire me, and while there are still plenty of them in Brooklyn they're getting harder and harder to pick out from the relentless waves of entitled gentrifiers.
We’re really enjoying the genre-bending vibe that you bring to your releases. What would you both say are your strongest influences in the scene right now?
I appreciate that so much, I knew I was pushing certain boundaries on this project so it's reassuring to hear that the sound is being well received. As far as influences in the scene right now it's hard to name particulars because I think at this point in my journey I'm drawing more from my own instincts and experiences than anything my contemporaries are doing. Most of my songwriting stems from a pretty solid framework of rap,, electronica and punk/hardcore textures and themes. There are definitely other people working in a similar mode but I think generally I try to block that sort of thing out, I wouldn't want my style to get diluted.
Who are your three most influential rappers of all time?
MF DOOM, Yasiin Bey and Nas
Other than being an artist, what other passions or hobbies do you both have in life?
I love movies, films, cinema, whatever, in general, I love a good story. I try to stay fit. Blazing trees, hanging out with the homeys at the bar. I listen to a lot of music. Nothing too crazy but generally I'm up for some excitement, like I said I love a good story.
What can we expect to see next from Spaceman? Are there any upcoming releases or collaborations you’d like to mention?
Got a few more videos of Annihilation in the pipeline so look out for those coming sooner than later. This is my third project I've released with no features so you can tell collaborations aren't really my style but I do actually have a pretty cool record with Fatboi Sharif that I'll probably release sometime this year. Past that I've been sitting on a whole project entitled Execute 2 that I finished years ago, people close to me assure me it's on a different level so I'll be waiting until the Spaceman stock rises a little more before that's released. In the meantime I've already started writing my next project, it's very early in the process but I'm already pretty happy with what I've been putting down so we'll see where that takes me!
Check out Spaceman's official music video 'Law' from his new album 'Annihilation'
Follow Spaceman on:
Instagram | Spotify | Soundcloud | YouTube