U.K. artist Esscloud ENZ opens up about his musical journey
Growing up in a Jamaican household, he was heavily inspired by reggae music, in particular, bashment or dance hall as it is known. Artists such as baby Cham, ninja man, mad cobra and bounty killer were big influences on him and later on Vybz Kartel. His dad had tons of videos of these artists and he used to watch and imitate them Until he decided to start writing himself.
This was when the U.K. garage and pirate radio scene was flourishing in Birmingham and he and his friends would get together doing “sets” where MCs would rap lyrics to instrumentals their DJs would mix. This eventually progressed into having a two-hour set every Tuesday on the then popular pirate radio station “passion FM”
This was his first introduction to the music scene and he knew that he wanted more. The U.K. hip hop scene started to take off and this is when he released mixtapes/albums like “daytime drama” “semi-auto michAel” and “E’s Back” to name a few.
ENZ came into the game very young, just as the YouTube era first started he used to feel it was a case of coming into the music game too early but he has learned in life that things happen as they should and that alone has given him the resilience to adapt to the ever-changing environment that music culture brings.
From birth he was very close to his grandmas, in particular “Nanny Barrett” on his moms side and it was always his goal to become successful so she could retire and live the rest of her life doing what she loved to do in particular making stuff (sewing).
She moved back to Jamaican to look after her father who later passed, and Tragically in 2017 she was shot dead over a petty local dispute. While he never got to fulfill his goal to her, he still has a plan to keep her name alive through his music & clothing brand “Esscloud” with plans to eventually start a label giving young up and coming talent a platform to reach their goals. The name of the label which hasn’t yet been launched will be called “Milly-cent” records named after his grandma.
ENZ’s latest EP project “All Eyez On E” is set for release on October 1st. The Ep has a mix of Uk rap/dancehall melodic tones to the lyrics and sonically boasts a soulful but new age dancehall element in the beat selection. Producers on this Ep are Dre minor, Beatzbydb and Wavy SZN so just by the line up this project sounds like one to look out for.
“This is my best work to date and I can’t wait for the people to hear my growth!”
It’s safe to say that this artists chapter has only just started, let’s see how far he can take it!
Website: http://www.esscloudcity.com
