‘5 Questions With’: Cicero
Meet CICERO, West London’s rising star who’s about to take over with her individual, genre-defying style – the songstress, who’s enchanting and captivating sound can be described as House Trap, is blending Hip Hop, Garage and R&B and taking influence from a vast variety of artists, including SZA, Jorja Smith and Katy B.
Last year, she entered the scene with her acclaimed debut EP ‘Made It Through The Night’. Now, she finally returns with a brand new project, ‘Ultraviolet‘, which finds CICERO embark on a personal journey. Loaded with honest and profound storytelling, tantalising vocals and hard-hitting beats, the EP cannot miss on your playlists.
Read the full interview below…
EQ: Hey! First of all, what’s the background behind your artist name?
C: Hey guys, what’s good! There are several reasons for the name aha. But the first would be that I grew up watching loads of Italian gangster movies with my Dad, my favourite being Goodfellas. One of our favourite characters was Paulie Cicero, he was just the best at everything and I always wanted to be the best at what I did. The other side is that I live for Musical Theatre, and that definitely comes from my mom. One of the first shows I studied and loved was Chicago, I took sound and style from there through the song “Cell Block Tango”…and I didn’t wanna call myself Velma (who is the baddest girl around) I used the word she said “CICERO”. So it’s homage to both parents and to my duality. Being beautiful, artistic and creative but also being tough and rough around the edges. All whilst being the sick at what I do. All caps in memory of MF DOOM.
EQ: You describe your sound as House Trap, whose artists do you draw most influence from?
C: I’ve taken a lot of influence from house artists from the 90s, so Crystal Waters, CeCe Peniston. They were so bold with their vocals and you knew the voices straight away. The way they attack the beats they’re singing on always enticed me. I definitely took a lot of inspiration from ladies like Azealia Banks and Katy B, who also had house vibes in their music.
The trap aspect comes from the culture of London, and the grittiness of our way of life here. My choices for beats are influenced by Channel U and Pirate radio station sets I’d be desperate to go to as a kid.
” I’m kind of a spiritual person and a dreamer, so the deeper meaning of things even down to colours is of importance to me. Trusting my intuition meant getting back to chasing my goals and having faith in myself. “
EQ: You have just released your debut EP ‘Ultraviolet’, can you tell us more about the personal journey theme you’ve addressed in the project?
C: For me Ultraviolet was a way of starting up the other side of my journey in finding myself. We are always searching for self but I felt like when I created this it was the close of my darkest chapter in my life. I was growing and educating myself on who I am, learning to trust her all over again. I’d gone through some serious loss a few years before, and was unsure of who I was and who I wanted to be.
I’m kind of a spiritual person and a dreamer, so the deeper meaning of things even down to colours is of importance to me. Trusting my intuition meant getting back to chasing my goals and having faith in myself.
EQ: What do you want listeners to take away from your music?
C: I want them to learn to love themselves and to understand to be patient with themselves and the process. Sometimes life can be overwhelming and your mind can travel 100mph trying to figure out what move to make next. It’s okay, take time with yourself and love that person.
Trust your gut and trust the process.
EQ: What else have you got coming up this year?
C: I’ve got a collaboration coming up with a European house producer, that I can speak of too much just yet. And some crazy features I’m working on, that are sounding amazing right now. And you know I’ve just finished my 2nd project, which I can’t wait to get out there. So let’s see what summer holds.
Listen to ‘Red Eye’ off ‘Ultraviolet’ below…
Youtube/CICERO
Stream ‘Ultraviolet’ HERE
Follow CICERO on socials:
Instagram: @whoiscicero
Twitter: @whoiscicero