Antix

As a rapper, Antix doesn't tick the usual boxes. Born to a Jordanian father and an Australian mother, he spent his childhood living between England and LA, listening to everything from Foreign Beggars and Wu-Tang Clan to Cat Stevens and Harry Belafonte. Now he serves up poignant messages over soulful, cello-enhanced beats, and angry sparks fly when you ask him about the state of modern hip hop.

He's currently working on a new album with producers Jeff Bova and Steven Rinkoff, the team behind recent single Come Home, which was released in conjunction with mental health charity Mind. Here's what else you need to know about him.

Listen to an exclusive Antix playlist below.

He was all set to be a lawyer
We used to just mess around making beats, when I was a teenager. But then my mum died when I was 17. I'd been accepted to do law at university but I decided, you know what, life is short, I'm just going to do what I love. I started developing a lyrical identity, and my mouth started being able to actually do what my mind was telling it to.

Come Home is addressed to his brother
When you see someone you love with all your heart, who you would literally die for, who you grew up with your whole life, and you look in their eyes and see that something is deeply wrong… it's heart-breaking. I remember sitting in my room thinking, I wonder if anyone else is going through this? My experience is with schizophrenia, but it could be depression, or heroin addiction, or just that unspecific feeling of being isolated, out there in the darkness. It doesn't make you weak, it doesn't make you a loser. I want this song to be a beacon.

He’s fed up with people questioning his kind-of-American accent
I recorded gospel choirs for Come Home, I recorded trumpets, I spent hours fine-tuning melodies, producing back and forward for weeks, and then some editor comes back and says, “But this guy's got an American accent.” I'm like, “f**k off! I don't mind if you don't like my song, but don't come back to me talking about my accent. You've lost touch with what music is about. Good luck to you, go listen to the new Soulja Boy track”.

He reckons the UK has failed hip hop
The UK scene is fickle. The radio plays grime, drum 'n' bass or garage, but not hip hop. The artists who are, like Tinie Tempah, move very quickly into full-on pop. This is what I'm trying to do: generate some support for UK hip hop artists, rather than everyone just playing the new Drake track every five minutes. I also want to take it beyond just a DJ and a rapper. I love musicianship and I want to explore cross-cultural influences.

He’s not in this to make money; he just wants you to smile, to take care of your grandma…
When I started I thought, I'm not going to become one of those artists who just talks about bulls**t. Every song I hear on the radio is the same s**t over and over – the party's here and the sun's come up! It has a place, I get it. But it's everywhere. People say to me: “I was going to kill myself and then I heard your song,” or “Your song got me through my heroin addiction.” It's humbling. And it's exactly why I decided to be this kind of artist. I want my legacy to be something more than, wow, I made a lot of money. I want to have an impact.

Antix plays Field Day in London on Saturday, June 6. - Red Bull Music

From director Lukasz Pytilk comes the visual for London-based hip hop artist Antix’s track Is it Too Late For Us? While Antix has made his name primarily with traditional rap beats and slick rhymes this track marks a slight deviation from the norm with a soft melodic but powerful spoken word piece. The slow motion and high contrast images of rural and industrial areas from Pytilk compliment Antix’s lyricism and poignant message of living in the moment rather than the past. - Hunger TV

Instantly grabbing your ear with a dark but beautiful cello motif that underpins the entire song, this wonderful track by London-based hip hop artist Antix is a real statement of intent. Feeling fresh and unconventional in genre which is so mainstream these days is often impossible but, using influences from classical music, name-checking cultural mavericks like Dali and Picasso in the rhymes, and staying away from the swaggering misogyny that can so often put people off, helps him stand head and shoulders above many of his peers. Since releasing his debut You're Crazy last year, he's notched up more than 1.5 million YouTube views, regularly featured on Music Week's Urban Charts, been shortlisted for MTV's Brand New 2014, and seen support from cool tastemakers including SBTV, Spindle and the Huffington Post. Catch him live in London on September 12 at Camden's Jazz Cafe as part of their monthly Supa Dupa Fly night. Antix makes quality, thought-provoking music, born from the UK's familiar urban decay, but somehow manages to not fall into any of the conventional stereotypes we normally experience musically and lyrically. For that alone, we whole-heartedly applaud him. - Record of the Day

Antix releases new single Smile on 5 May 2014. Smile follows Antix’s widely successful release Bad Dreams, which entered the top 10 of the Music Week Urban Charts in February 2014 and saw video exclusives with VEVO and SBTV. New release Smile features the outstanding vocals of newcomer Nomakhosi – who was a contestant on this year’s The Voice UK. The combination of Antix’s unique flow and Nomakhosi’s melodies are simply a step above, creating a style that has been lost in UK hip hop for some time. Smile addresses how Antix has always proudly stood outside the norms of his contemporaries, and is a letter of gratitude to those who have dismissed him on his musical path. Shunning the bravado and materialism of his contemporaries, this message of determination draws from everything from golden-era hip hop acts such as Nas and Wu Tang to World Music and Classical instruments. With his inclusion in this year’s MTV Brand New shortlist and continuing support from VEVO, Antix is now ready to enter the mainstream consciousness. Smile is out 5 May 2014. Smile saw its exclusive video debut with VEVO in Feb 2014. “His talent is genre crossing, in a very honest, grown up sense" - Huffington Post UK - Music Week

“His talent is genre crossing, in a very honest, grown up sense” - Huffington Post UK

Antix released Smile on 5 May 2014, which entered the top 10 of the Music Week Urban Charts in April 2014 and saw its video exclusive with VEVO. Smile features the outstanding vocals of newcomer Nomakhosi – who was a contestant on this year’s The Voice UK. The combination of Antix’s unique flow and Nomakhosi’s melodies is simply a step above, creating a style that has been lost in hip hop for some time.

Smile addresses how Antix has always proudly stood outside the norms of his contemporaries, and is a letter of gratitude to those who have dismissed him on his musical path. Shunning the bravado and materialism of his contemporaries, this message of determination draws from everything from golden-era hip hop acts such as Nas and Wu Tang to World Music and Classical instruments. With his inclusion in this year’s MTV Brand New shortlist and continuing support from VEVO, Antix is now ready to enter the mainstream consciousness. - GRM Daily

He’s had over 600 thousand Spotify streams and over a million views on YouTube- if you haven’t heard of Antix yet, we’re asking exactly where you have been? Based in London, Antix is a hip-hop artist with a bit of a difference, choosing to focus his content on social issues. Last year his singles Bad Dreams, Smile and Breathless gathered a lot of support and he was even a part of the MTV Brand New Shortlist.

This year is very much the same with his track Come Home already impressing and giving a refreshing stance on hip hop, as the track looks towards helping someone suffering from mental health issues. Furthermore, early last month he headlined the stage curated by The 405 and Tradiio at Field Day Festival and so we’re pretty sure there will be much more to come.

Obviously eager to see where Antix would next to be heading, we spoke with him about Friday night antics, the benefits of London and anticipated music with Steven Rinkoff and Jeff Bova.

Talk to us about Field Day Festival, what went down?
Well, I got to play there through an online platform called Tradiio. It was the first time ever that a music stage was curated by an app. I was their highest streamed artist in the hip hop genre and the first to be announced for their stage. I turned up, had a really great day, met some awesome fans and just enjoyed the whole experience so much.

You’ve said that the game is going to change soon as you’re working on songs with Steven Rinkoff and Jeff Bova. Please elaborate!
These guys are some of the most talented and visionary people I have worked with. We are taking the songwriting and production to a whole new level. I think we’re carving out a very unique sound and a group of songs that will open a lot of doors. It’s focusing on fusing hip hop with huge melodies and a lot of world class musicianship, coming in the form of some absolutely amazing session players.

Come Home has done exceptionally well since it was released in March; can you tell us more about the meaning behind the single?
This was a song that I wrote in the depths of some dark times that we went through with my brother. It’s a song of hope and love that I wrote for him, to let him know that we were waiting for him to find his way out of the darkness. I can very happily say that he has and he is now doing great.

How has London helped your career?
London is the centre of so much creativity. New sounds and talent emerges out of this place all the time. Just being here is fuel for writing. I have also been able to connect with people who have become integral parts of the team and shape the course of my career.

What does a Friday night look like for you?
Fridays are usually recording nights. I am in a period right now where I spend as much time as I can in the studio or at home writing. I like going out and having fun but it’s completely secondary to getting the work done and giving ideas and content to the production team.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve rapped about?
I rap about anything that I feel like. A couple of years ago, I wrote a song called Our Father, which was a pretty vivid and hard-hitting account of a young man sexually abused by a priest. That was strange to some people. To me, however, it needed to be written. I had seen so many reports recently about the Catholic Church covering up these incidents of abuse and it was disgusting to me. So, I did my part to bring attention to the subject.

What drew you to rapping?
I have just always loved the art. I love how raw it can be and how honest it can be. The whole form of expression appeals to me and I grew up listening to some incredible hip hop, which changed my perspective on what music could be. I started doing it for fun in my teens, and it soon turned into a passion and then into my life.

Who influenced you growing up?
Everything around you is an influence, whether you realise or not. I was influenced by my very diverse upbringing, by my parents and their unique lives and backgrounds. I was influenced by the friends I kept, the schools I attended and the music I listened to. Life is such an interesting journey, I just try to take it all in and process it.

Why do you choose to "challenge social issues" through your music?
It’s never really been something I have consciously thought about. I just talk about things that interest me. I have no interest in making songs about cars or clothes, or pretending to have lots of money, or anything like that. I want my music to resonate with people, not just because it sounds nice but because it makes them think a little or feel something. I have had letters from people saying things like “I never thought about it like that” or “that song changed my life”. That’s what makes me proud.

Can you tell us about any new projects you’ll be a part of which focus on challenging social issues?
We have a song about a friend of mine named Afshin Nagouni, hitting VEVO on 12 July. Afshin is an Iranian painter and the song is about his early life in Iran. It is set on top of traditional Middle-Eastern guitars and a haunting Iranian vocal for the chorus. He’s a controversial artist, subversive and bold in his work, which deals with political, religious and sexual topics. The song talks about his life and the political context of Iran at the time of a great tragedy that he underwent. It is quite an epic ride.

Where are we going to see you next?
Next up is the Play It Forward night at Queen of Hoxton on 23 July. These guys have put on some great acts that I really admire at the moment like Alyusha and Cleo (formerly Mz Bratt) so looking forward to that one. Come down and hang out with us! - 1883 Magazine