BLESS INTERVIEW: Nigeria-Irish artist Bless is rewriting the rules of Ireland’s independent music scene with the release of his genre-blurring debut album, Vice City which debuted at Top 10 on the Official Irish Charts, only the 4th Irish Hip Hop album in history to do so. Get familiar…
What five words define your sound?
Black, Urban-Irish, Authentic, Cinematic, Ambitious.
Tell me something unique about your creative process
A lot of what I do is based on my love for cinema. I’ve an affinity for 80’s and 90’s gangster films and I’ll watch them to inspire my writing. Sometimes it’s the mood and the cinematography of the film or it’s a line that a certain character says that’s good enough to inspire the line of a song. I’ll often do the same with conversation, people will think I’m rude being on my phone but I’m writing down something that they said in the conversation that I think would sound good on a song.
Which song of yours would you like people to hear first?
There’s a song on the mixtape called ‘Luv It’.
What inspired you to make that song?
This was the lead single to ‘Vice City’. It’s brazen, it’s cocky, witty and uptempo. It was the perfect track to bring fans of me into this era that we were creating. Also, we put together an impressive visual that’s representative of Dublin and the streets we grew up on. We took all the cinematic inspiration and gave it a modern-day city aesthetic. I think it’s the most confident and clear that I’ve sounded on a record, the hook is infectious and I think it perfectly encapsulates Bless as an artist. Making this song was also the beginning of me not cringing when people would play my songs out loud.
What’s the most vulnerable you’ve allowed yourself to be when writing/making music?
Because of artists like Drake and J.Cole, vulnerability is a large part of my music. The final two tracks on my ‘Vice City’ mixtape ‘Say My Name’ and ‘The Lady of Dublin’. On those two records I get open about my fears, my vices, my hope and my dreams. I think writing those records and getting honest about who I am and my upbringing was very therapeutic.
“Tryna make a name in a city full of wins,” this line in particular I was proud of my honesty, how maybe right now I’m not the top-guy in the scene but I’m trying my best to change that. I think the ability to feel on top of the world and be cocky but also show a more human and relatable side is a special kind of duality I brings to my music.
What’s the best/worst experience you’ve had on stage?
Hard to think of a “best” experience on stage, I think there’s a certain flow state that I can get to when the crowd is hanging onto your every word, they’re responding, laughing and giving you energy. My most recent headline show to celebrate ‘Vice City’ was like that, seeing Dublin turn up for me, friends, family, fans and the industry all show face to watch me turn up was a special feeling.
Conversely, my worst experience on stage was a headline show I did the year previous. The crowd had looked like I’d forced them to be there and none of our typical crowd engagement techniques were working. At one point we asked them to mosh pit and they refused to move. I was just up there embarrassing myself for 45 minutes.
What is your favourite song to perform?
‘HMU’. A song I made on a whim, not thinking too much of the impact it would have at live shows. The first time I performed it it was in the middle of my setlist and that night I quickly learnt that this song is a closer. Since then, there’s not a single performance I’ve done anywhere in the world where that hasn’t worked. I shout “Hit Me Up” and the crowd sings “Hit Me Up My Baby” and it works like a charm every time.
Which artist/song/album made you want to make music?
Drake is my favourite musical artist by far, his versatility, vulnerability and confidence is everything that I wanted to capture when I first started making music. Although, it was when I first listened to ‘Psychodrama’ by Dave, that I knew that I wanted to be a musician and that I wanted that to be my career. The writing and sequencing of that album changed my life and how I viewed myself as a musician and what I can do for my own country with my art.
What’s the meaning behind your name?
Bless. As a Nigerian, all of our names have meaning. My real name is IbukunOluwa which is Yoruba, meaning Blessing of God. I was in the shower thinking of Rap names as a 17 year old kid, I was torn between ‘Big Dogg’ and some other name and then it hit me, Bless. Yxng Bless for the socials and then it’s stuck with me since.
If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing instead?
Hopefully accounting or something lucrative. The road of being a rapper is not easy and I wouldn’t suggest anyone should do it if it wasn’t for a mix of true passion and drive. I tell my Mom all the time that I wish my passion was in Accounting or Finance. On a more serious note I’d probably be using my Chemistry degree and scribbling down poems on my lunch break wondering what could’ve been.
What’s success to you?
Success to me is my family and friends all [being] good. I’ve tried to dissociate from metrics, numbers and validation cause that’s a very depressing route to place mental stock into. A successful life to me is knowing that everyone is taken care of, I’m taken care of. I try to remember why I started making music, to become a legend and have my name in the history books. That’s what success would look like to me in my career, knowing I came into the game and gave people classics.
What moment in your life/career forced you to change direction?
I’ve worked all year to save up for this trip. I’m sat in a villa in Marbella with my closest friends and Rob Lipsett. Random I know. We’re attending a masterclass for guys that do online sales, everyone is comparing watches, taking bout how they make five-figures per month. I couldn’t even speak. Just absorbed. Halfway through the masterclass they’re talking about the importance of manifestation and chasing what you were put on earth for. It was that moment I knew I was going to quit my corporate job and do music full time. I quit as soon as I got back to Ireland and haven’t looked back.
Where can people keep in touch with you?
Bless on all digital streaming platforms. @yxngbless on all social media.
Yxng Bless on YouTube.
