Hailing from East London, the 23 year year old rapper Yems01 has long been at work formulating a fresh new sound, combining a hyper unique mixture of modern ‘rage’ style instrumentation, (popularised by the likes of US artists Playboi Carti, Trippie Redd, Yeat and more) mashed up with his vintage grime flow reminiscent of artists such as Novelist and Skepta, to create a style of atmospheric, colourful and spacey UK rap which we’re yet to properly come across.
Speaking on his current progress Yems seems content, “This year has probably been the year of my life where I learnt the most about myself. A lot of self reflection at the start made me realise I had to up the standards of the work I put out and really lock in on doing what it takes to get where I wanna be.”, this work rate has seen a continuous and organic rise in the UK underground. Stepping into the music scene in late 2019, Yems has already proved to be a distinct force, with his single ‘Jamie Vardy’ music video release via GRM Daily amassing over 30,000 views on YouTube and over 100,000 streams on DSPs,
There are no rules and formula books for Yems01, only a desire to create and form a connection between art and consumers. This is shown perfectly in his atmospheric and intoxicating new video ‘Carhartt Cargos’. The visual really compliments the music and shows Yem’s creative direction, “I really wanted the video to feel like a dream. That was the main aim, using the colours and effects to try reflect the emotion in the lyrics and production.”
Speaking on where Yems sees his music taking him, he states “To be honest I got no clue, but that’s the beauty of life. A year ago I didn’t know I’d be here, so I have no idea how the next one’s gonna go. Only thing I’m sure of is that I still wanna be making music. I love this shit.” This fresh new sound that Yems is creating by fusing together two sounds with each side of the pond has turned heads, it’s clear that he’s heavily influenced by a lot of different types of artists. “Jheeze, where do I start? Growing up I was a music nerd. I literally used to collect music as a flex. My first favourite artist was probably Lil’ Wayne but a lot has changed since then. I’d say my biggest influence lyrically right now would probably be Skepta. But in terms of the whole feeling/ambience of the music I’d say Kanye West/Travis Scott.”
If you want to catch Yems perform live, you can go to the New Cross Inn, South East London, on December the 23rd. and with a project on the way, it’s clear that 2022 will be an exciting year for Yems. “Moving Madder [the project] will be out very soon. Literally been working on this project for the past 2 years and I finally think it’s ready. Hopefully it’ll be out next month but if not, January LATEST.
