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Lifted feeling so gifted lyrics3/28/2023 ![]() ![]() It’s a harder, longer and less obvious route for an artist to do the opposite. Traditionally, the ‘negative’ message sells. Matey Bob at the major label isn’t interested in the message of the music, he’s interested in the numbers. What happens in the music industry is anything that’s working is invested in, because it’s all about money from the majors. So either they’re not taking the time to try and understand the other side of all that, or maybe they just don’t want to hear real shit. People follow the badman persona in music, because it might look attractive. They’re all talking about what’s on the surface. Why do you think that pocket of rap is not being represented? And lyrically, he represents a pocket of rap that I feel is not represented much, especially in the mainstream. ![]() When he opens his mouth it’s like a human alarm clock! Musically, he’s got a natural gift for rapping and singing too. He has the most addictive energy I’ve ever come across. When we met in the studio, it was instantly fun. It’s almost a duty for me to work with people like J, as much as the people who are gonna get awards and plaques and all that shit. If we combine these two things, it’s very exciting and interesting. So here’s this young person who’s saying some fucking great stuff, and he’s a great rapper. Because if I’m sending just one narrative out of this room, I don’t think I’m doing service to culture or society as much as I would like to. TT: I think for me, it’s important to balance what comes out of my studio with different messages. Toddla T, why were you compelled to work with Rippa? It was about making something that you come away from feeling like you’ve been in a room with J and experienced him. For me as the producer, it was super important to give the project cohesiveness, so it gives a sense of personality and place. Rippa: Toddla was as big a part of creating it as I was. Was it a collaborative piece of work between artist and producer? Sonically, Night Time Walk is a really smooth listen. ![]() HUCK caught up with Rippa, Toddla T, and Ciaran to talk about the project, representing an alternative message in rap, taking ownership of where you’re from, and more. Toddla T’s euphoric, warm productions evoke London through the eyes of a young person who’s moved beyond the invisible barriers of the block they were raised on. His sessions with Toddla T shaped those lyrics into his debut EP, Night Time Walk – a clear-eyed, concise collection of tracks that detail his unwaveringly hopeful vision. ![]() Lockdown had temporarily silenced the city’s incessant noise, and he was inspired by experiencing parts of the capital that often feel inaccessible to young people like him. Rippa arrived at Toddla T’s studio with a notepad full of lyrics he’d written during a series of night time walks around London. I just loved his outlook on everything,” Toddla T says. “ Here was a young person who’s experienced that kind of trauma more than anyone else I know, and he has more answers than any of us. The book offers a careful analysis of the complex economic and social factors that keep serious youth violence raging, and makes a compelling, human argument for a public health approach to addressing it.įollowing the book’s release in 2021, Rippa connected with veteran producer Toddla T after appearing on his wife Annie Mac’s ‘Changes’ podcast. Rippa’s story is at the centre of Ciaran’s book ‘ Cut Short: Why We’re Failing Our Youth – and How To Fix It’, which details Ciaran’s experiences of working with vulnerable young people in and around Brixton from 2015 to 2020. “My responsibility is to bring hope through my music,” he tells HUCK. It’s a mission he’s determined to continue as he begins the next chapter of his life, as a gifted rapper with a positive, progressive message. Instead, it shaped him into a fierce advocate for young people in his community. His courage, coupled with the close bond he’d developed with his mentor – author and youth worker Ciaran Thapar – meant that the experience of losing Michael didn’t set him on a path of violent retribution. In November 2017, his older brother Michael was murdered in a South East London park. Twenty-year-old Brixton native Rippa, AKA Jhemar Jonas, is acutely aware of the devastating consequences of serious youth violence. Rising Brixton rapper Rippa talks to his mentor Ciaran Thapar and producer Toddla T about the value of youth work, reclaiming London, and presenting a positive message on his new EP 'Night Time Walk'. Brixton rapper Rippa talks to his mentor Ciaran Thapar and producer Toddla T about the value of youth work, reclaiming London, and presenting a positive message on his new EP 'Night Time Walk'. ![]()
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