Photo by Toby Moore
$ebbuku, the moniker worn by Norwich rapper/producer Sebastian Bates. Already picking up nods from the music press, interviewed by BBC local news and performing across UK festivals, the $ebbuku project turns a new corner with ‘Ignorance Is Bliss’.
Recorded with a live band, and teeing up the next EP JUVENILE, the balance between raw live and manipulated sample leads to a blend of jazz, punk and hip-hop. It’s $ebbuku at arguably his most nuanced place sonically to date, reflecting on the state of the world and his emotional state in the same breaths. This disillusionment and tangling of self-worth with how others operate makes for an angsty but poignant delivery.
Seb shares, “To me, Ignorance Is Bliss is one massive vent. The world seems to have changed so much since I was a kid but it also feels like nothing has changed at all. It’s still the same struggles as before, I think people are just numb from being kicked around by higher powers. Making this track gave myself and the crew a chance to actually express the frustration through Hip-hop and Jazz whilst maintaining the overall ‘kick back’ attitude.
Listen to ‘Ignorance Is Bliss’…
