Bawo: London’s underground MC making lo-fi rap for the masses

Getting hold of Bawo is quite difficult these days. In the weeks before the release of his second project ‘It Means Hope Where I’m From’ (out last Friday), the 28-year-old West Londoner is engaging with his fans in Japan. What was intended as a trip with friends culminated in live performances in Osaka and then Tokyo, which Bawo says “surpassed my expectations in the best kinda way. People were so engaged, knew the words.”

Delusion and arrogance are often billed as prerequisite traits for artists to bring their dreams to fruition. In that sense, Bawo is distinctly atypical. In fact, his grounded, observational perspective has propelled him to his international status. Lovers of underground hip hop have found comfort in his patent of encasing day-to-day life in fleeting melodies and homely flows: ‘Surf That Well’, for instance, stacks harmonies in his unorthodox askew style underneath references to 2am cabs and keeping his Air Forces fresh.

Bawo’s humble nature is perhaps why he didn’t think he’d appeal to a mass audience. But soon, he’d receive co-signs from Gorillaz drummer Remi Kabaka. Jr, and frequent messages from fans hailing his music for being an aid in tough times. Naturally, this firmed up his belief that “I’m not in my own world, that I’m living in that same world of everyone else, and what I’m doing is worthwhile.”

Since first releasing on SoundCloud in 2016, Bawo has become even more sure of his mission in music. On his debut EP, 2023’s ‘Legitimate Cause’, Bawo pushed his tongue through his cheek at the suggestion that he might get a “proper job”. On the project’s cover, he stands in corporate attire in front of staged colleagues in a conference room. Now, on the cover of ‘It Means Hope Where I Come From’, he’s ripping off his crisp white shirt to reveal the logo of a superhero costume. “I’ll see my t-shirt with that logo on it, and think, ‘I have to live up to that,’” he shares. “So it’s supposed to represent purpose.”

While out in Los Angeles to attend a writer’s camp, Bawo speaks to NME about the theme of being your own hero, Kid Cudi comparisons and being an alumnus of SoundCloud.

Like many of today’s most celebrated rappers, you’re an alumnus of SoundCloud. How did the platform nurture your early artistry?

“That’s quite a cool compliment, ‘alumni of SoundCloud’, I never thought about it like that. It was a space utilised for different types of expression and [where you didn’t have to] worry about rejection. And I really used it as that. I knew I had some sort of artistic block where I needed to stop trying to please people, then I did a series on SoundCloud. I dropped five different tracks called ‘Things’ every two weeks. That was me saying, ‘I’m just gonna be me. Fuck being whatever I think the industry wants me to be’.”

What was holding you back from releasing music before then? Was it that fear of rejection?

“I was afraid to go for it because I didn’t have a certain background. And most people from the UK who were doing well in music, to the best of my knowledge in hip hop, had a certain… let’s say ‘hood story’. I didn’t fit in that way – I didn’t think I had a story, basically. But I knew from when I was writing grime bars and pop songs at 14 in my room that it was what I wanted to do. I would do it all day.”

You grew up in a Christian household, surrounded by different types of gospel. What pulled you towards rap music initially?

“Partly, the brainwashed side of me that had watched too much MTV Cribs wanted a humongous mansion… I wanted to be 50 Cent as a kid, so there’s a bit of that in there as well.

“But the more I did it, the more my actual motivations showed themselves. I don’t care about having a huge house or anything like that. I want to be financially comfortable, for sure. But I want to be a part of something that helps make people happy and add to the database of creativity that humans are constantly making, and be a positive contributor to that space.”

“I’m now even more confident in vulnerability and unapologetically being myself”

You take a very warm and distinct melodic approach to rap – has anyone ever likened you to Kid Cudi in the way you marry rapping with hummed harmonies?

“I get [compared to] Sampha, Cudi and yesterday, someone told me I sound like J Hus when I sing, which was a first. But the Cudi thing is interesting because his tapes – ‘Man on The Moon’ and stuff, that missed me when I was growing up. I was an Asher Roth fan, I wasn’t a Kid Cudi fan.

“The humming is just – I’m just African! I’m not gonna lie, I’m kind of fresh. So a lot of the singing is chant-y vibes, it’s definitely inspired by the tribe I’m from, Itsekiri, and Itsekiri worship music and old school R&B. Probably a merge of the two.”

Tell us about the process of making ‘It Means Hope…’

“It’s been really fun and it’s been stressful at some points, because the nature of the tape has changed from ‘let me just put out a mixtape of 10 songs because I have quite a lot of songs that haven’t been released’. A whole identity started to form, visually and sonically, and then it became more and more serious. To be honest, I wouldn’t call it an album. It feels a bit unfair to call it a mixtape. But overall it was fun, I really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed feeling like I was actually levelling up in my skill.”

On the cover of ‘It Means Hope…’, you’re now revealing the superhero suit underneath your corporate suit you wore on your last project. Tell us about the thematic evolution between the two bodies of work.

“I’m now even more confident in vulnerability and unapologetically being myself. But it’s also another way of saying that that was a shell. Now you’re getting closer to the real me. So those are the parallel things. In terms of what the logo represents, it’s been really effective, even for me. There’s been times I wake up and not want to go gym, but I’ll see my t-shirt with that new SN [Say Nothing, Bawo’s independent label] logo on it, and think, ‘I have to live up to that’. So it’s supposed to represent purpose.”

There’s a political undercurrent to this project, has that always been in your lyrics?

“When I did take the standpoint of having something to say, basically I was still writing to these ’90s beats. It was very intense, the way I would write. So I found a way to make engaging music, but still have the thread that I think we can do better as a people. I think we should feel like we’re allowed to believe in ourselves. There’s 7billion of us, and the state of it, it just could be a lot better. That’s a lot of minds to put together and make some good happen.”

Bawo’s ‘It Means Hope Where I’m From’ is out now. He tours in support of the project in February 2025

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