‘One of the best Grime artists around’
Kevin Nika is a Bartender.
Before knowing anything:
Akala. I already know him. I know him well. We come from the same place, you know? We grew up in the same neighbourhood. Everything he experienced, I experienced too… Kind of… He’s black and I’m Albanian, so we experienced different sorts of racism, but racism all the same. I think he’s one of the best artists in the country right now because everything he says is relevant and resonates with me. I think this is one of this best songs as well because it isn’t focussed on England like his other songs. Yeah he talks of the ‘corrupt government’ but who knows which corrupt government. My favourite line is ‘who leads? It don’t matter they can’t make change’ because it’s true. No one is in power… The people question you and you question the people. There’s a good beat and hook to this song as well which isn’t always there in Grime, it can be hard to access because it’s quite an internal form of artistry, but I think Akala makes it accessible.
After being informed:
The Western world are to blame. That’s his point. And he’s completely right. To be honest, I get behind everything that Akala says because he means what he’s talking about. It isn’t like he stops rapping and stops caring like so many artists… He goes out and speaks to people and tries to get the message out. I know Akala isn’t as popular as other Grime artists out there, like Dizzee Rascal and Stormzy, but are they really grime anymore? They seem more concerned with money and grime isn’t about the money – grime is about the message.