Soundcheck #11: Mayday

“Mayday” is usually a signal used when in distress. But in terms of Midlands grime, Mayday has everything under control. Be it hip-hop, grime, garage or cloud rap, Mayday kills it. With an intricately designed EP on the way, we get exclusive information on his ‘secret project’, being praised by Novelist, as well as his top pizza choice. Tuck in and tune in.

Soundchecks are all about checking out new sounds behind the scenes. In these exclusive chats with bands, producers, rappers, singers and musicians, those upcoming artists that deserve the spotlight get a chance to shine.

So Novelist hit you up to congratulate you! How did that feel?

“Yeah it was great. It was about my Ruff Sound track ‘Bun Feds’ and he seemed happy that I was showcasing the genre and dropped me a message. Blessings to NOV for taking time out his day to get at me.”

How’s your summer been musically?

“Work affi run, it’s all I’ve been doing, music. Festivals are a few years out of my reach. Only been in the game a year and a half but soon come, soon come. I’m always writing bars but when it comes to crafting songs I put more focus into that. My main focus through summer has been completing my upcoming EP: RAINWORLDKING. The concept is six tracks that are six chapters of my life that work to tell the last few years of my life. I couldn’t count the amount of hours I’ve put into this project. Everything is interlinked; from the artwork to the song titles. I’ve aimed to tell my story and I think it’s turned out exactly as I wanted it to.

“I’m always writing bars.”

“I’ve also been balancing that by working on singles such as ‘2005’ that is due out at the end of August and a secret project too. The secret project is out before the EP and it will make a lot of things make sense.”

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Your track ‘I’m not Normal’ goes in hard lyrically. What’s the story behind that track?

“I was flying out to Jamaica at 4AM and it was 2AM, and I’d been bumping Manga’s ‘Outbursts From The Outskirts’ since it came out. I knew from young I’ve not been normal, in the sense of what interested my peers at that time I wasn’t interested in at all. The way I saw things was different to what them man were doing. Snowy’s ‘Outburst 002’ came on and I could relate to it, a lot. I could relate to a lot of Manga’s project but Snowy’s part stood out to me.

“It’s the most beautiful piece of music I’ve crafted.”

“I’ve listened to Yung Lean for years and I’ve always liked the beats of his project, so I’d been searching for one I could put my ‘grime’ spin on – I found it and the track was created. At that time of writing I didn’t plan on writing at all as I’d just finished another tune. I found the beat and I wrote one bar and it led to the entire tune. But as it was coming from my feelings, it crafted itself, and so far, to me, it’s the most beautiful piece of music I’ve crafted.”

Do you feel a lot of pressure when writing so personally?

“None at all. Like I said previously, I learnt a few years back not to care what people think. If I did, I wouldn’t be making music or having this interview. For me music is my expression, my outlet. Sometimes the tunes I write just help me articulate my thoughts and feelings and sometimes they contribute towards a healing process. There IS a distinction between the two. The way I see it, I write what I feel and I have my own story. Some people resonate with what I say and it’s applicable to something they’ve experienced. That’s cool. Writing and music though, I do it for me as I’ve said, to outlet how I feel. The fact people listen to it and 1) enjoy it and 2) can relate is soooo sick.”

On the same track you mention that you only get texts from Domino’s… what’s your go-to pizza then?

“100% depends where you order. Papa John’s is solid both taste and price and got that double pepperoni. But if I got some spare P then a Domino’s’ ‘Meateor’ it has to be. Pizza Hut wise, BBQ meat feast.”

Nice Frank Sinatra sample on your sick new track ‘Dons’. What producers would you love to work with?

“I don’t have an order for producers and they span across different genres but it is a mixed group: Whitearmour, Sir Spyro, Diamondz, Splurt Diablo, Tre Mission, JVKEBLVZE. I know I’m missing some but if I could work with these people it would be sooooo sick.”

What’s next for Mayday?

“RAINWORLDKING EP is coming out soon, before that is my secret project which to give a Reverb Music exclusive, it’s a project to support my EP and it’s something to look back on in the future. Before both of those come towards the end of 2017/start of 2018, I’m dropping the video to my single ‘2005’. The song is about my life back then and the theme is relationships and growing up confused. If you want exclusives and previews or to just join my journey, hit me up on my social media!”