It’s 11AM, and Theodor Black’s phone is going straight to voicemail. I try again ten minutes later, and get the same thing. I try again after pouring a glass of water, but still no answer. Eventually, around lunchtime, he picks up. His voice is low, bleary-eyed, as if he’s been awoken from a deep slumber. It turns out he has. He puts his phone on aeroplane mode before he sleeps because it’s “too distracting” otherwise, which is why it went to voicemail. He’d prefer to read books, or else watch cartoons on Netflix.
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As the conversation flows, Theo seems to slowly charge up with energy, like a phone regaining battery power. The south London artist / rapper, who is now just 20 years old, has an open, relaxed manner about him. You can easily imagine sitting in the garden and sharing a smoke or something. We chat about our favourite Quentin Tarantino and Larry Clarke films, and laugh about how weird the novel Of Mice and Men is, how we all had to read about main character Lenny crushing a puppy with his bare hands while we were at school. “Oh man I forgot about that,” he says, cackling.The reason we’re speaking, of course, is because he’s got something new out – a woozy, blue-tinged ambient hip hop track called “WEEKENDS” – which we’re premiering alongside a video below. His voice is deep, drawling, far-away, as if you're hearing him under an ocean, or in a half-remembered dream. “People say I always make the same mistakes…” he half-sings, his voice lulling, before spidery beats clatter in over synths.This isn't his first release. He came out with Black Boy Blues a few months back, a six-track EP of hip hop that almost sounds like spoken word, smoky electronics and spacey beats. But you might not have heard about him yet. So because we all like easily digestible information, here are 10 things you should know about Theodor Black. Who he is, what he's about, and why you should care:“My primary school in Blackheath [south London] had a music room. You know when you’re a kid and you do little music sessions – we used to do those. Those are my earliest memories. I used to have so much fun, messing around with instruments. And then I eventually started playing the drums when I was in… year five? And that fed my love for music a little bit more. It developed into writing, and I started producing years later.”“I started writing poetry probably in year eight. That’s when I started taking it more seriously. It was a form of expression. I’ve always loved English Lit. It was one of my favourite subjects in school. I find it so amazing how you can convey emotion purely through the use of words. The fact I can create a whole scenario and invite people into that world is nice man. ”
1) Theodor learned how to play the drums aged nine…
2)… and got into poetry around the age of 13.
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3) He’s studying graphic design at UAL, but that doesn't define his output
4) South London is at the heart of his sound and energy
5) He used to be part of a the Reservoir music collective
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