Artist Spotlight: Wax
The word ‘underrated’ is a scathingly overused term in modern UK music. Often, it’s a phrase wrongly accustomed to an artist who is successful in their own field but struggles to find a mainstream appeal. For me, an underrated artist is someone who is under appreciated within their own specific sub-style. Someone who should be receiving love from their scene, but perhaps sometimes gets lost in the masses, despite deserving to have a light shone upon them. Wax is underrated.
A bonafide spitter and intrinsic creative, Wax has grafted to ameliorate his craft. If you delve deep into his discography, his earlier work showed promise, but the level of improvement in terms of writing, production and the artistic big picture is monumental. Only appearing on the scene in 2020, Wax has begun to forge his own sound, and has been consistently developing and refining it since, progressing in flair, guise and style with each passing release.
Last month, Wax unveiled his masterwork to date, Hunger or Greed, an EP that meticulously manifests the movement, motivation and mindset of the rapper. The six-pronged body of work is multifarious, cinematic and at times celebratory, with the cocktail of splashy samples, bouncy rhythm, slick sparring and thought-provoking lyricism proving a piquant experience. Wax further flaunted his motley artistic capabilities with an accompanying short film co-written by the artist himself, which recounts a lively night out for Wax and his boys, emblematically questioning where the line is drawn between the desire of hunger and the lust of greed.
I caught up with Wax to chat about the new tape, his come up, his heritage and his evolution.
Who and what influences you?
Life influences me. I’m an observer, I soak a lot of things in. I like stories. Everyday inspires me. In terms of musical influences, I grew up on grime; Skepta, JME, Frisco, Chip. When I got older it was names like 50 Cent, Kendrick, Anderson Paak - that west coast funk sound is what I fell in love with.
What’s your musical origins?
I was always good at music as a kid. I was always in the creative sectors, but I didn’t take it seriously when I was a kid. Then I went to a youth club in the ends and that’s when I started using Logic for the first time and producing, trying to rap over beats. It wasn’t until I saw my boys, NSG, blow up that I saw that you could really make a living off this. It was always just a hobby before then.
Was there a moment where you knew you wanted to be an artist as a career?
I feel like there was a series of moments. As a creative, you always have doubts in your head, everyday is different. A lot of moments in my career when I’ve achieved something remind me that this is what I want to do.
Your style has evolved a lot with your recent work - how would you define it?
It’s just a representation of me. All the music unreleased is a further representation. It’s a balance - I can have a bouncy, groovy beat and the flow can be mad catchy, but then come out with lines that could make you wonder about life differently. You’re not just hearing about money, women and cars. Balanced is the best way of putting it.
Underrated is a word that is overused in the industry, but for me you are the epitome of it. Does it ever frustrate you that you’re not quite the level that you could be?
Sometimes it does, but I try not to dwell on it. I know what I’m sitting on, I know what I’m capable of. It’s just a timing thing, I’m not really stressed that people are still sleeping, they’ll wake up eventually.
In the UK scene there is a definite lack of rappers with Asian heritage. From your point of view, why do you think that is?
Culture I guess. Traditionally, Asian people are more shy and behind the camera. You see a lot of Asian photographers, videographers and producers. Being an artist, you have to go outside your own box even more so. As an Asian your family is often very traditional. I’m blessed as mine aren’t, so I don’t feel uncomfortable to rap and express myself. Also, because there’s not a lot of Asian rappers, there’s no one to really look up to.
Do you think that your heritage has effected your rise and the way that you create?
It hasn’t effected me as such. I’m the type of person who doesn’t get labelled or boxed in. For me, it’s music. If you like my music, you shouldn’t give a fuck about what I look like or where I’m from.
Talk me through the creative process of the new tape?
Last year, I was dropping a song every 4-6 weeks. It got to a point where I was just stacking so many tunes. Even now, I’m sitting on so much that I wish was out now, but it’s a process. I got to a point when I wanted to put tracks together and fill in the gaps for the EP. The first couple of tracks were written about a year ago, and then in December/January, we started writing the script for the short film. The short film was actually finished before the EP, we kind of worked backwards. It was a year long process - the short film played a part in the EP itself.
Did the idea for the short film come from ideas from tracks for the EP or where they two separate entities?
It came from stories, moments that I’ve had in my life. Certain songs just fitted in really well into the film. It all just fit in like a puzzle, it was very smooth.
Stylistically, the tape is really diverse. Did you focus on being more eclectic or was it natural in your artistic development?
A bit of both. The artists I admire are people like Kendrick and Hus, who pretty much do everything. When I’m making songs, I do notice my growth. When I’m in the studio, I don’t like to just make one type of song every time, I like to experiment with different producers and different styles, so naturally I’m going to make different kind of tunes. It’s definitely something that I strived to be.
What do you want listeners to take away from the EP?
I want them to go through a journey and experience the tape like a journey, and come out of it feeling inspired and motivated to do something. Maybe I’m biased, but I feel like my music is quite inspiring.
With the visual, what are you conveying? What’s the deeper meaning?
It was the hardest thing to get down because we wanted to make something that was visually pleasing and engaging, but also have a message behind it. We didn’t just want it to look cool. Hunger or Greed is the question, and the point is that there is a thin line between the two. For example, the scene in the Uber when my boy asks why we left the party that was lit and gone to another, it’s an example of me being greedy and wanting more. Also, when I’m on the way to link the girl and you see the homeless man get robbed and then the guy jumps in the nice car, it’s another example of the greed. We want audiences to take away that you can’t get caught up doing everything, there’s consequences to wanting it all. We wanted to do it in a way that wasn’t corny too. None of us are actors and it’s hard to put your point across without being cringe. That’s why we added the narrator to ease the tension and bring humour.
How did you find the acting personally?
It’s definitely something I’m trying to get into in the future, just film in general, whether I’m writing or acting. When I’m watching my idols, they always drop movies, so I’m trying to be on that level.
If you were introducing yourself to a new listener, what track would you play them?
Either GREASTYLE or Figure It Out. In GREASTYLE, I’m singing in the hook and that’s the only reason I say that. Figure It Out is poignant, there’s a catchy flow. The hook as well, saying I’ll figure it out - how many times in a day do you say that? If a sentence could be me, it would be that. I always pattern it in the end.
Where do you want to take your artistry?
As far as I can. I want it to open doors for me and my people. Everyone in the short film is my friend. Even the launch party I did, all the other performers were my friends, I had my girl on the decks. I want to be able to do that all the time for everyone.
What’s next?
More music. I’ve got a couple of features coming. I just came back from Tenerife and we shot a little freestyle over there, which is not your typical freestyle video either. Then October/November will be my next big single. I feel like I’ve already got music till the end of next year, it’s just about when and how I’m going to release it.