Hailing from the heart of Harlesden, BIG ZEEKS aka “The Fresh Prince of Harlesden” is an independent, universal dancehall lyricist. Following the release of his Frisco-featuring single, ‘Toppa Top’, we caught up with him to get familiar…
What five words define your sound?
Distinctive, vibes, uplifting, UkDancehall, Harlesden
Tell me something unique about your creative process?
I have never written any of my songs, I make them all up on the spot. I go off energy and how I’m feeling in that precise moment. Creating music isn’t a hard thing to do as I only TTT (Talk The Truth).
Which song of yours would you like people to hear first?
Honestly, I want the people to listen to the whole body of work from track one to 13.
What inspired you to make ‘Toppa Top’?
At that specific time when I made ‘Toppa Top’, before I went to a session I was having with Ironryanbeats, I was listening to an old skool soundclash and DJ Firelinks played Buju Banton’s ‘Top A Top’ on dubplate, and it tore the clash down. So Buju’s ‘Top A Top’ was just on my mind. I can easily say this hook was inspired by the living legend himself!
What’s the most vulnerable you’ve allowed yourself to be when writing/making music?
Maybe making a tribute song for my mum who sadly passed away, it was really hard for me to do and took me about three years to have the confidence to make the song.
What’s the best/worst experience you’ve had on stage?
Best experiences I have had on stage are performing at Splore Festival in New Zealand, performing at a sell out tour in Australia, performing at festivals like Glastonbury, Boomtown, City Splash, SXSW in Austin Texas, also Britjam in Jamaica, there’s many more I could mention.
What is your favourite song to perform?
I believe one of my favourite songs I love to perform is ‘#HAPPY’
Which artist/song/album made you want to make music?
DJing was my passion until I made a song called ‘YO!’ And it went viral so was then signed to a major label. You could say music chose me.
What’s the meaning/story behind your name Big Zeeks and The Fresh Prince Of Harlesden?
I started DJing at a young age, at 13 years old I had my own radio show. I was DJing at events and my name was Likkle Zeeks. As I got older the name then changed to Big Zeeks. The ‘Fresh Prince of Harlesden’ title came from Mr Northweezee himself Diggy Ustle, I was also crowned by Harlesden’s musical king Gappy Ranks.
If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing instead?
I’d probably still be DJing and doing sound engineering with my team Strikeforce Sound.
What’s success to you?
Success to me is progression, progression is everything.
Was there a moment in your life/career that forced you to change direction?
None at all. I stay in my own lane and move at my own speed , I’m always setting personal goals and aiming to achieve them at all times.
Where can people keep in touch with you?
Follow me on all socials @bigzeeks.
