Entertainment

Fekky On Life Before Rap: 'Cinema Was My Classic Date Spot. Now It's Nobu'

In our latest Share Location, we caught up with the UK rapper to talk first kisses, fighting in school and throwing up everywhere.
Ryan Bassil
London, GB
Fekky Share Location interview
Image provided by PR

Maybe best known for his huge, Dizzee Rascal-featuring single "Still Sittin' Here" and its behemoth all-star remix (feat: Tempa T, Skepta, JME, Chip, Frisco, Tinchy Stryder, Meridian Dan, Jammer, D Double E and… *breathe*, Kano), Fekky has made his mark as a much-respected member of the UK music scene. Importantly, he also has a great catchphrase: "Buh-buh-bang-bang-bang!"

In 2019, he kept himself busy drip-dropping new singles ahead of the release of his new mixtape, 4LIFE, due on the 31st of January. I caught up with him for our Share Location series, to chat about his younger years, his first kiss and other moments from his upbringing in south London.

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VICE: What's the worst job you've ever had?
Fekky: The worst one? Probably cleaning offices. I used to help my dad do it when I was younger – when I was 15. We'd go to West End in the city. It was crazy. Depending on when the job was, I'd go in before school and after school.

You're lucky you didn’t have to do the toilets.
Yeah, I hate germs – they're annoying.

Where was your first kiss?
That's a good one. Cinema, you know. It was a girl from school. I don't remember what we were watching, I was 13. Cinema was my classic date spot, though – it was either that or bowling. Now it's Nobu.

You've levelled up. What was your first experience with smoking weed?
I thought I couldn't breathe! I went into a panic attack. My cousins used to smoke a lot and they gave me some. Now, obviously, I know that I was just high. But when I was younger, I dunno… I thought I was having a panic attack, I couldn't breathe; I was at the window with my mum, she was all panicking, trying to get me to calm down. I didn't know what was going on – I was feeling dizzy, thinking I was going to faint, you know what I mean? But now I love it. Trust me.

What's the worst night out you've had in the UK?
You know what it is, yeah? There was this time I went out with my friend to meet some girls. But literally, when we got there the girls were nothing like what we thought they were. I didn't want to be out of order, though, so I went through with the night. And it was a bad night, man! It felt like I was doing a cleaning job again! One of them spewed the whole night and I had to go through with the evening for about four hours.

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Where were you?
We were in the West End – at the W Hotel. I had to play the wingman.

Where have you thrown up in the UK?
Everywhere. I used to drink everything when I was on tour, go on stage and jump up and down, then come off stage and… yeah. I never used to want to eat when I was on tour either; I used to run on adrenaline.

I guess you don't want to go on stage with a full belly.
I don't know. I just used to drink, drink, drink, drink. Then I'd throw up.

Who's the worst British person living in the UK?
That’s out of order, man – I can't do that. Ticket inspectors, though – I hate them. I've paid a grand before for parking fines. It's like they're sitting around and waiting for me to come and park my car.

Where’s your favourite place to perform in the UK?
Reading and Leeds Festival. It's the sickest. It's always lit. Everyone is involved. The tent is filled up – literally.

What was the biggest mistake of your teenage years?
What can I say? Um. The amount of time I wasted in trouble with police. I could have avoided a lot of it, but I didn't know no better. I feel like I got into a pattern and came into myself late because of it. But it's fuel to work harder now. At first you feel like you're catching up. I feel like I've caught up now, though.

Do you remember your first physical fight?
Yeah, I've had loads of fights. Millions! Our school used to fight a school up the road – we'd have bus beef. There were two buses, and if you went on the wrong bus, you'd get it. I didn't know the rule, so I got on the bus I wasn't meant to get on, it kicked off, and I had a one-on-one with some kid. You know what, though? I'm not going to lie – the fighting days didn't feel so serious back then. When we were coming up it was one-on-ones. There was knife crime, but it wasn’t as frequent. So many people I had fights with, I've beaten up, and I'll see them now and we're cool because it was a fair one-on-one. But with the way kids are going these days, it's a point of no return. It makes it worse. It's a cycle.

@ryanbassil