ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: NE-O
Newcastle rapper and producer NE-O returns with ONE, his first EP in five years. Writing and producing all five tracks himself, he links up with Hull legend Chiedu Oraka, sells out merch-fueled shows, and takes Reading and Leeds by storm, proving the North East rap scene is loud, proud, and thriving.
1. ONE is your first EP in five years. Be honest, did you miss the chaos of putting a project together or were you enjoying the peace while it lasted?
• Honestly, I think it might be the opposite way round. I think the years between my EP’s felt a bit more chaotic. When I dropped my last EP I was still part of a collective, since we split in 2022 I spent a lot of time finding my own unique sound again, then once I finally picked up FL Studio and started making my own beats, last year it all started falling into place.
2. You wrote and produced all five tracks yourself. When you're in the studio, are you a more mad scientist or don't talk to me till I'm done?
• I’m very much a don’t talk to me till i'm done person. Or at least until I want a bit of feedback. I live with my sister who’s also a musician, so I’ll be running into her room to show her a tiny aspect of a beat that I’ve changed until I think it’s perfect. But other than that, it’s very much do not disturb.
3. North East One is literally your name. How long have you been waiting to drop a project that finally explains it?
• I came up with the idea not long after I dropped the Wave EP in 2019. I’ve always felt like I was ‘the one’ up here. I just wasn’t sure if I had the credentials yet to really put it out there in this capacity. But once I got the Reading and Leeds booking last year, I knew it was time.
4. You have only one feature, Hull legend Chiedu Oraka. What convinced you he deserved the sole golden ticket onto the tracklist?
• Chiedu’s somebody that I look up to a lot. We both have similar backgrounds, being rappers from northern cities that don’t really get much of a look in as far as rap goes. He took me on tour last year, and he changed my perspective on a lot of stuff music/career wise and reminded me that community is much more important than numbers. I started producing the EP right after the tour ended, and decided I was gonna try to make a ‘Chiedu type beat’, which I think worked out pretty well!
5. Goat Freestyle 2 dropped with a video full of fans in your merch. Did you expect the buy a t-shirt to get into the video plan to turn into a full on takeover?
• Honestly I dunno what I expected! I wanted the EP launch show to feel ‘exclusive’ and to make sure that my biggest supporters got priority entry. So the idea of giving people free entry if they bought the new tee just felt like the natural choice. I didn’t expect 90% of the entries to be from buying tees though! I made a ticket link on fatsoma and had to keep removing available tickets because the t-shirt sales just kept coming in. The idea to shoot the music video came kinda last minute, I had kind of planned doing a more traditional ‘freestyle video’ in front of a mic in a studio or something like that, but when I realised that the room would just be a sea of NE-O merch I knew we’d have to shoot something properly there!
6. You said seeing that crowd made you feel the North is building something special. Whos the most unexpected person youve seen rocking your merch?
• That’s a tough one, it’s become expected now I guess. But I have a fan in Greece who bought the Miley Cyrus tee, knowing that my merch made it to another country just blew my mind! He’s since gotten the Phineas and the ONE EP tees as well. I just find it crazy!
7. Newcastle is having a moment with the MOBO Awards and Mercury Prize celebrations. If the city could talk, what do you think it would say about your EP?
• I think they’d be proud to hear an authentic northern voice making music like I do! The project is very true to my roots, I don’t shy away from rapping in my accent or using Geordie slang. I think they’d agree that I do a good job representing the northeast!
8. You performed at Reading and Leeds and Kendal Calling last year. Which festival moment made you think yeah Im actually doing this?
• I think Reading felt like the biggest ‘wow’ moment. Kendal came first. And it was my first show outside of the northeast, so I was buzzing that I felt like my music could resonate with people away from home. But when I started my set at Reading and people just kept floating in from the other stages I actually felt like I’d made it. I’ve had doubters tell me that southerners just won’t vibe with me because I ‘talk too fast’ or the accent just doesn’t work. But that crowd gave me so much love and energy!
9. You have had support from BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra and Kiss Xtra. Whose reaction to your music secretly gets you the most excited?
• It has to be 1xtra, I grew up watching pretty much every video on the 1xtra YouTube channel. From Fire in the booth, to that iconic 60 minutes live set with Tempz, BBK, General Levy. Every time I get played on 1xtra I feel like I’m a step closer to being the artist that I dreamed of being as a kid.
10. Lyrics on ONE circle back to family. If your mam had to review the EP with star ratings, what would she give each track and why?
• Firstly, I know that my mam would give every track 5 stars no matter what, so it’s hard to think about this objectively. But, I do know that No. 1 hater is definitely her favourite, I showed her the full EP a few months ago in the car and she was just sat bopping along, it made me so happy.
11. You and Nifty Struggle mixed the whole project at The Radge Tank. Whats the wildest or funniest thing that has ever happened in that studio?
• This may be the hardest question of the lot. Working with Nifty has been a pretty crazy experience for me, I’d never worked with an engineer in this capacity before because I’d never really felt very comfortable in that sort of setting. So I suppose for the people that know me, the wildest part is probably the fact that I took his constructive feedback, didn’t get offended by it and ran with it instead!
12. Losing Focus is one of the more reflective tracks. Whats the most random thing that actually helps you focus?
• I’m not sure if it’s random. But staying away from my PS5 definitely helps. Sometimes I get annoyed at myself because I notice that I haven’t been creative for ages. Then I realise it’s just because I’ve been smashing Ghost of Yotei or something, once I get the PlayStation out of my system I suddenly start focusing on music again.
13. After selling out your headline show and your merch drop, whats harder performing live or choosing the next merch colourway?
• Merch colourway definitely! I absolutely love performing live, I think from day 1 it’s been my thing. Even when my music was objectively canny bad, it worked in a live setting because I just threw myself into it every time. So these days, when I know that I have a core following who come to my shows, some of them knowing the lyrics just as well as me, it makes performing that much easier!
14. Newcastle rap is finally getting louder. If you could form an Avengers style North East rap squad, whos getting called first?
• Eyeconic, anybody that knows me and my music will know Eyeconic because I pretty much never jump on stage without him at least making an appearance, and vice versa. He’s probably Captain America and I’m Iron Man. Honourable mention, Nic Coaker can be Nick Fury cause she pulls the strings.
15. ONE feels like a full circle moment. Now that it is out, what is the next thing you want everyone in the North and beyond to be shouting about?
• I think I’m gonna focus a lot on collaboration for a while. I’ve got a bunch of collabs lined up, some with some of the GOATs of the north east who I grew up listening to, others with some of the best from the newer generation (literally were in primary school when I first started out). I want people to see this huge wealth of talent we have in the northeast rap scene and start respecting what we have as a region, from Northumberland down to Teesside I think we have some of the best spitters going.