19 Year Old London Rapper HEN$HAW Is A Rising Talent | We Have A Chat about Life & Latest Track COZY
19 year old London-based rapper HEN$HAW is a rising rap talent. He started making music with best friend, frequent collaborator and producer goodbyechase in school— they both had big dreams and knew they had to work hard on their craft to be successful. A versatile rapper and MC who has combined multiple genres such as drill, garage, grime, emo rap and trap metal in his music.
Despite being relatively unknown to the mainstream world, he’s becoming one of the most sought-after emerging rappers around— one that is capable of achieving great things. Having released countless underground tracks online in 2018 which were met with a warm reception from fans, HEN$HAW has built a solid and loyal fan base in the UK and around the world in countries such as Australia, Germany, the US, Russia, Belgium and more. Since then, he has released memorable tracks such as “Paper Planes”, “LOWKEY”, “McCARTNEY” and the much anticipated new single “COZY”. With sold out headline gigs in his hometown Camden, being handpicked to perform at a Music for Youth gig, supporting artists in and around London, and performing in Belgium with his own collective LOVE SEPT., HEN$HAW’s live performances have been known to be, both electric and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
What is the new single Cozy about?
I wouldn’t really say Cozy is about anything, in particular, it’s like my reintroduction to the world in a way because I'm telling the listener who I am and what I’m capable of all while maintaining a fun bounce throughout.
You made this new single with a close friend, how have you found differences between working with close friends and other collaborators?
Firstly, shoutout to my G and partner in crime goodbye chase, without him the hen$haw you know and love wouldn’t be here. I love working with my close friends and I'm still working with Chase after 3 years of making music. I like it because it’s a lot easier for me to explain things and bring things to life with someone who understands you and you already have a bond with, I feel like it shows in the music.
What first made you decide to make music?
I’ve always loved music, it was around me ever since I could remember, my grandad would play all sorts of records and I would always find myself getting lost in them from a young age, but it was rap music and urban music that made me want to start taking part, I would be in awe of other artists cadence and flow patterns and it just took over me. I wanted to tell my story, and here I am.
How has your home in Camden influenced your music?
Camden has definitely made a huge impact and had an influence on my sound, walk through there once and you’ll see why. I feel like a lot of people see Camden and instantly think of the market and punks, but it’s funny because Camden is as hood as they come and a wrong turn will land you in the wrong places, but that’s part of the beauty of it. Growing up in and around Camden taught me a lot and also helped me meet a lot of people throughout my life who I don't think you’d find anywhere else!
As a young and emerging artist, what are your long-term goals in the music industry?
To be honest with you, I have a love-hate relationship with the industry, I want to see major success and have people from all over the world to listen to my music, come to gigs and buy my albums and so forth, but I don’t want to sell out and become some robot pop star whose sole purpose on this earth is to make their label money. I also want to stand out, because everyone and their mum wants to be an artist now, throw TikTok into the mix and we have the mess that we’re in now. So I’d say my biggest long term goal in the industry too is be recognised for my art before anything else, as I feel the focus has switched to image and sex appeal, to be honest.
Since you are rapping a lot, lyrics play an important role, what is your routine of finding the ideas for rhymes?
It’s always sick finding a new rhyme scheme or pattern that you think is cool, writing lyrics is one of my favourite things to do on this earth and inspiration for that can come from anything and everything, even as simple for going for a walk around the block, there is an inspiration in everything to me. I soak up the world's energy mixed in with my own personal vibes and it comes back out as the words you hear on my tunes. there’s a lot of depth to my lyrics that I feel like even after the 10th listen you’re still noticing things you didn’t before.
Talking about social media in another interview, how do you think social media is affecting artists, especially during the pandemic when there is no tour or other physical promotions?
As much as I bashed social media and stick by my criticism of it, I do believe that it’s very clever and in situations such as a global pandemic can be a lifesaver. Allowing people to comment with other artists in this case, or go live and show some of the work they have been doing, or even as simple as just having someone to talk to, I know social media is crucial to artists like myself and although I wish it wasn’t, it’s the key factor in every artist comes up in this age.
Recently, you did a live session recently, how do you find performing live?
Performing live is something that I hold incredibly close to my heart, and I'm really pissed off that we can’t do proper gigs right now because it’s all I want to do. But I did recently perform on a virtual gig on Instagram live which went down with a bang.
You posted some cool photoshoots and videos on social media, how does your visual style contribute to your musical and personal identity?
Well with any rap artist in 2021 the way you present yourself is important, and I feel like it’s very easy for some people to force something that isn’t them, I see it all the time. But for me personally, I think that my image definitely contributes to my art because that’s what a lot of people first see when introduced to you, so it’s gonna have an effect on a person's opinion of you.
How has the pandemic influenced your music journey?
Well, although being super depressing and frustrating throughout, the last year for me has been nothing but lessons. I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and this is no different. I learned a lot about myself during this pandemic due to being alone with thoughts a lot more often than I might want to be, but it helped me grow as a person because I've learned things that I feel like never would've learned if Covid never spread.
Who are your favourite artists or musicians?
Some of my favourite all-time artists are Eminem, Amy Winehouse, Skepta, The Streets, Chip and many more.
What's your plan for 2021?
My plan for 2021 is to get back out into the world hopefully and continue our journey properly without the stress of a global pandemic
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Interview | Eva Leung