Digital Cover Story 11: Big Zuu

A conversation about contemporary Grime and how to ‘Navigate’ success...

Big Zuu is having a non-stop kind of day. When I grab the rapper for a phone call, he’s jumping out of the rain into an Uber, having just wrapped up an interview on Good Morning Britain promoting BIG ZUU’s BIG EATS‘; his first cookbook. I know – it’s not what I was expecting either.

Given his long-standing stature as the assertive ‘middle child’ of grime music’s golden days, 720p images of SBTV ‘Warm Up Sessions’ and nostalgic Rinse FM sets circa the 2010s are what first spring to mind whenever the West London hailing wordsmith-cum-broadcaster is mentioned. Not quite a toque blanche and double-breasted jacket. Neither of which Zuu dons on the cover of his new book might I add, nor on his BAFTA nominated cooking show of the same name. In fact, when it comes to Big Zuu, whether he’s shelling down a grime set or hosting comedians for dinner on prime-time television, you’ll usually find him in some Nike Techs; being his unapologetic and authentic self.
If you aren’t familiar with Zuu’s musical beginnings, just know that he came up amongst grime’s hopeful third generation, within a cohort of unbelievable lyricists such as Dave, Capo Lee and AJ Tracey. Spare a few names, these emcees represent a class of UK rap talent that had to navigate the turning tide of the sound’s mainstream resurgence with a trailblazing approach to genre-blending. Operating entirely in a lane of their own forging, today Zuu and his peers sit comfortably at the fringes of drill music’s current chokehold on contemporary British sub-culture. Thus, releasing music not simply for the moment, but for the wider purpose of expanding on the scope and legacy of a burgeoning Black British sound.

Words by Tahirah Thomas

It’s Zuu’s multiplicity of talents that sets him apart in any crowd. Never content with the mundane, he’s been known to step correct across a plethora of creative mediums, allowing his larger-than-life personality and natural artistic flair to guide his path. As his familiar, full-bodied growl greets me across the phone, our conversation goes us from reminiscing over legendary grime moments together, to discussing the current state of the UK music scene, before arriving at the rapper’s eager anticipation to shake up his own status quo with the drop of his long-in-the-works debut album this September.

“I think the scenes in a different place right now”, Zuu tells me when I ask his perspective on grime’s future. “It’s all about how you keep your ears to the streets. I know from experience that with grime it only takes one big moment for people start paying attention again”. Speaking from a place of self-awareness, he explains that whilst he knows UK drill is having its moment, that doesn’t mean grime’s far-reaching influence has ever been obsolete; not least when we’re talking about the ever-developing UK sound. “When Stormzy sends for Wiley, when Ed Sheeran wants to do a grime song with Aitch and Jaykae, or when Ghetts drops a fire album - those moments show you that grime can still be the biggest thing in this country” he clarifies.

Zuu’s right in highlighting that grime has always operated somewhat like the sonic beast of the UK’s underground music scene, constantly bubbling aggressively under the surface, only coming into the light for its most explosive moments. I ask if there are any standout grime moments that he cherishes to an animated response. “When you had Skepta and Section Boyz (now the Smoke Boyz) headlining festivals – it was a mad time! That whole 2015 to 2017 era was a mad time for grime in general” he says. As he begins sporadically listing off some of the era’s most game-changing records, from Stormzy’s ‘Shut Up’ right through to JME and Giggs’ historical team-up on ‘Man Don’t Care’ - he’s describing his highlight reel of grime “moments you can’t recreate ever”. It strikes me then, that the reason these poignant grime moments Zuu speaks of are so perfectly encapsulated in memory, - dare I say in a way that drill’s most popular heaters of late can’t be -, is that they were lived out by fans at a time before virality and streaming took centre stage in the internet age of music.

When I put this to Zuu, he momentarily lingers on the reality of grime having lost the attention of music corporations as a result of UK drill’s mammoth surge in popularity. “I feel like people’s perception of the game has changed” he ruminates. “Grime has always been underground like you said, but that mainstream success we had back then – I’m talking the Boiler Rooms, Rinse FM sets, BBC 1XTRA sets - that was all very important in pushing the scene forwards; it’s sad that those platforms don’t seem to be here for grime in the same way these days”. Still, Zuu’s nature won’t allow him to approach the topic with an old-head, grime purists’ demeanour. “You’ve got to let other genres speak” he asserts, “just because drill’s popping off right now doesn’t mean R’n’B’s not sick right? I think people have to let go of this mentality that grime’s on its way out because they’re looking at everything from a commercial perspective”. He concludes this line of thought eloquently, saying, “for the people still pushing the sound, it’s really always been about timing anyway; like I said, in moments”.

I’m curious to find out what Zuu thinks his own biggest musical moment has been so far. Surprisingly, he tells me that he “hasn’t had one”, neither does he think he needs one. Zuu doesn’t cap, he rarely feels the need to flex. Over the course of our conversation, that self-awareness continues to pop up. It’s factual that more than any one moment, his musical journey has been defined by a consistent delivery of poignantly thoughtful lyrical incendiary, allowing him to ebb-and-flow freely between genres, collaborating with grime’s greats along the way, whilst simultaneously carving out his own space in the British rap sphere. “I was never the main guy for the scene like that”, he says with a cool nonchalance. “Still, I’ve always had love and respect for what I do. I touch sets and get my wheel-ups, I always shell down a dance, I always come through with a new dub plate, a new riddim, I’m ready to clash any MC – I do all the works; I’ve done it all” he says. It’s clear that he prides himself on being an artist that’s comfortable with drawing up his own metrics for success and it’s working for him. “That’s the problem in this ting…” he states candidly, “everyone feels like to be a sick artist you have to have at least one moment where you’re perceived as being the guy. In my mind, you don’t have to have that at all”.

As talk turns to his upcoming debut album “Navigate”, I wonder out loud where he’d possibly need to go next, having achieved so much success in all facets of his creative repertoire of late. At the time of our conversation, we’d already caught an early glimpse into the project’s sonic direction with its glistening lead single “Variation”; graced by the legendary D Double E. Though, we hadn’t yet heard the projects afrobeat-infused sophomore single “Magical” featuring the rising Zimbabwean singer Donel. It seems this next chapter is shaping up to be one of even more far-reaching sonic exploration than Zuu’s ever attempted before. What he didn’t refrain from mentioning during our chat was an adamance to stray from his comfortable ‘grime box’ musically, describing the overarching sound of the up-coming record simply as “just twelve Big Zuu moods really!”

“When Stormzy sends for Wiley, when Ed Sheeran wants to do a grime song with Aitch and Jaykae, or when Ghetts drops a fire album - those moments show you that grime can still be the biggest thing in this country”
- Big Zuu

When I ask what his mindset was going into shaping these moods sonically, considering the climate of recording it during a global pandemic, he breaks it down for me. “How you put it is one way to look at it, like yes, I’ve achieved all these things and we’re doing sick - Alhamdulillah, I thank God. Still, there’s another way to look at it where’s man’s still learning to navigate through it all. Asking myself how do I work with all these different avenues? How do I juggle all these new opportunities, but also still make music”? I pose whether this makes “Navigate” not only a debut album, but also a meditation into Zuu’s journey towards self-actualization as an artist. “That’s it” he responds, “this project came about because when I was making it, it became my soundtrack for getting shit done whilst also having fun along the way”.

Emphasising that for him music has always been about having fun, he tells me of the recording process, “I made a bag of tracks with a deeper message about working through mental barriers, then made a bag of tracks where I was having fun, all the while finding things that tied them all together. It’s well-balanced body of work in that way, one that I know I’ll be able to look back on in the future and say I gave my all for. I made it for the people who support my music, hopefully they can take it in and use it to navigate the things they go through in life themselves”.

As our conversation comes to a close, we chat briefly about his upcoming performance at the Eskimo Dance in Amsterdam. By then, “Navigate” will be out and I’m curious to know what kind of energy he’ll be bringing to the stage for his first show out of lockdown. All seriousness melts from his tone as he details with a funny braggadocio that he’ll be basking in the competitive atmosphere that the event naturally conjures up in rappers. “Come on! We aren’t there to be friends” he jests, “I’m there to look at man in the eye and go, ‘your song is bigger than mine – yes’, ‘you have more tunes that I do – yes’, but when I perform my ting live…you know you can’t touch it. That’s what I’m there to do”. I catch a glimmer of Zuu’s grime beginnings in this satirical outburst. Although I’m confident this next chapter will see him conquering new sonic landscapes, it’s clear that he’ll continue to pay homage to his musical roots with the kind of integrity his supporters know and rate him for in years to come.

We leave it with Zuu hilariously swerving off on a tangent about converting his haters in the dance by attempting to do backflips on stage. When I burst out in laughter he challenges me playfully, “Oh what - you’re not believing in my backflipping abilities?” he asks. I tell him that I’ll believe it when I see it. “Fair…don’t count me out yet though” he replies. I won’t. Knowing this guy’s track record for making shit you’d think was impossible actually happen - that would be utterly foolish.

Watch his most recent visuals, ‘Magical’ ft. Donel, below!