“Energy Transcends” was the phrase that stuck with me after an insightful conversation with the highly motivated, London based rapper: Kid Bookie.
After watching Bookie’s music video for the single “Who’s Next,” I became intrigued by the UK artist. The image that stood out to me from that video was of a sign reading: “you’ve been brainwashed into liking trash,” because immediately after showing it, he spits bars that would make any Soundcloud rapper terrified. Kid Bookie proved to me in six seconds that he had a deep respect for lyricism in Hip Hop, and that he was not afraid to voice his opinions towards those who mishandle it. After watching a few more of his videos I learned that Books had recently toured with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. This was truly icing on the cake. So I called him up.
The first thing I noticed about Bookie was how hungry he is to be heard. This man truly cares about his art and he told me how appreciative he was that I recognized his talent. Immediately I asked him about his quote from the “Who’s Next” video: “you’ve been brainwashed into liking trash.” And his answer clarified how deeply involved with Hip Hop he truly is.
Books said that “Even if you’re not rapping, but you have an element of musicality because you studied music, and you know what goes in a beat, that shows me that you care. And people don’t care these days, but people who do care, you find them. You have to study your predecessors.”
This is pretty much an extension of the J. Cole/Lil Pump conversation, where people are acknowledging the increasing gap between “clout” rappers and true lyrical artists. But Bookie had no malice for these types of “rappers” in his statement. As he put it: people will find those who put blood, sweat, and tears into their music.
When I asked about the Bone Thugs-N-Harmony tour I was impressed to learn that the group actually reached out to Bookie first. The London MC modestly said that the OG’s respect him, despite being relatively underground. And it was clear the respect went both ways. Bookie described growing up watching his father rap, and hearing Grime artists all around him in. But he made it clear that he is not a Grime rapper, or fully aligned with London’s underground scene. The MC told me that he resonated more with artists like XXXTentacion and those with an aggressive, artistic energy about them. When Bookie and I previewed a track he had been working on I could spot the influence. With a combination of fast paced spitting, melodic singing, and super aggressive scream-rap, it became apparent that the young MC has a strong portfolio in the making.
When I asked Bookie who inspired him growing up, he told me that before he even picked up a rap CD, he listened to rock. System of a Down, Slipknot, Korn, and Blink 182 were just a few of the bands the MC said influenced his music. We spoke about the importance of the rock/rap relationship and how Hip Hop has adopted the energy that was introduced in the 80’s and 90’s via the punk scene. London was arguably at the forefront of this scene, and Bookie proves he is a product of this through the energy he puts out. As I listened to his upcoming tape “Publish THIS” I could hear the rock influence; but it’s his variety of flow, subject matter, and carefully calculated lyricism that makes it an airtight project.
My conversation with Kid Bookie gave me a promising hope that there are budding MC’s out there preserving Hip Hop’s gritty, lyrical roots. With the self-proclaimed underground album: “Publish THIS” scheduled to drop May 31st, Bookie wants you to know before he’s dead, no matter how early or late it be, he will change the world through his music.
