PHOTOGRAPHY Theo Cottle TEXT Thomas Hobbs FASHION Emily Davies T SHIRT Puma SHIRT T It’s hard not to warm to Big Narstie. Within minutes of meet- sional booth.” ing the 32-year-old grime star (real name Tyrone Lindo) out- He adds: “None of the emotions on this album are side a studio in Hackney, we’re sharing a joint the size of the same, which is why I called it BIPOLAR. I reckon I am E.T.’s index finger (“It’s filled with that Jaffa Cake Cookies undiagnosed bipolar, as my mood swings go from happy to strain, innit!” Narstie proudly tells me) as well as a pile of sad, and the world right now feels a little bipolar as it’s so up bacon sandwiches, Ribena and Lucozade Sport. As he flips and down, you know what I mean? I am a prime example of between enthusiastically telling me why UK celebrities need not being normal – just look at how I look! But I managed to to do more to support the NHS and the benefits of writing make it work for me. A lot of artists are scared to be them- lyrics on the toilet (“I write my best songs while taking a shit selves or to say they are depressed as they fear they’ll lose between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m!”), it’s easy to see how the gentle a shoe deal, but I don’t give a fuck. I want to walk down the giant’s ebullient charisma has helped him transition into a street and not be telling a lie.” beloved TV personality. In his BRIT Awards performance in March, Stormzy It’s already been a blockbuster year for Big Narstie. attacked the government for not doing enough in the after- In January, he presented the weather on ITV’s Good Morn- math of the Grenfell Tower fire. Meanwhile, grime artists in- ing Britain, where he described Scotland as looking like “a cluding Skepta, Dave and Novelist have spoken up against big bag of snow” to the nation. The Guardian described it police racism and social inequality. So are Narstie’s intro- as the moment Narstie became a “megastar.” His documen- spective lyrics on BDL BIPOLAR another sign that grime has taries with VICE continue to rack up millions of hits and his grown up? “Age is behind it.” answers Narstie. “You gotta re- Uncle Pain YouTube series is comedy gold. The show sees member, when I first made grime music I was 17 and living at a stoned Narstie transform into an Agony Aunt to answer my mum’s house. I didn’t expect to live to 24. I expected to questions such as “My friend stole my PSP and sold it to end up in a dustbin as when you’re doing it big at 22 where I CEX, what should I do?” (FYI: Narstie answers: “You need come from there’s only two outcomes; you end up dead or in to smash the microwave in his forehead!”). Sensing that he jail. Yet here I am talking to you and I’m 32. I’d say grime has might just be the perfect conduit to connect grime culture grown lyrically [into something more socially conscious] and with the masses, Channel 4 has even green lit an upcoming that’s because with great power comes great responsibility. Big Narstie chat show. “This will be the blackest thing you’ve Grime is a huge business now.” seen on TV for a long time,” he predicts. Narstie’s reference to the past is a timely reminder Yet despite looking more and more like a national of just how far he has come. Starting his career back in 2002 treasure, Narstie admits his fun-loving personality is “both a as part of grime crew N-Double-A, the Brixton native has gift and a curse,” and that he fears it is distracting from his been grinding on the independent scene for the best part of music: “Remember, I don’t plan to be funny, I’m just smoking 16 years. Back in the day, Narstie rapped dark political lyrics a joint and living my normal movie. Finally, I’ve got this plat- about “just being another statistic” on the raw “Spun A Web” form for people to take in and hear my music, but because and had a style that mixed Major Ace-inspired flows with the I’m known as this funny person, the people think my life is Jamaican-enthused syntax of Bounty Killer. Yet with a pop- just one big joke and I get boxed in.” heavy new album that counts Craig David – who appears This could explain why Narstie’s new album BDL BI- on the pop chart-ready “Sunshine” - and Ed Sheeran among POLAR is so intensely personal. While it’s still littered with its high-profile guests, it’s clear Big Narstie has evolved into Narstie’s trademark silly humour (on mellow highlight “Cel- something a lot more polished. He insists that staying in- ebrate” he raps “Leave these niggas to the side like Nan- dependent has been the key to this transition: “I have been do’s rice”), there’s also plenty of evidence that Narstie has independent my whole career. If you see my catalogue, I’ve matured into a more serious songwriter. On the reflective got songs with Wretch 32 and Professor Green. I just didn’t “Blood” he talks about the complicated birth of his daughter. blow up the same time they did, because I wasn’t willing to And as he passionately spits “I promise I will be nothing like do what they were willing to do to get to that position. I never my dad” amid a garage-inspired beat, it’s clear the Big Narst- want to be performing music on the big stage that I am not ie on wax is very different to the Big Narstie on ITV. passionate about, and people are starting to respect that.” The record also contains references to Narstie’s Narstie also credits the “Mystic Meg-like” advice of many battles with depression and how he feels ‘isolated’ Sheeran, who is the godfather to his daughter, for helping within the grime scene. “My dad died at the beginning of him become a bigger artist. The global star is featured as a the Craig David tour (which Narstie supported) last year and rapper on the remix to “Hello Hi 2” on BDL BIPOLAR, where when my daughter was born, I thought I was going to be a he spits: “My daddy told me work hard or you’ll never be single parent as my missus was in a coma for three days. So shit!” in his trademark soft spoken voice. “Ed has left the on this album, I wanted to use the studio like it was a confes- industry looking like a gaping asshole when it comes to sing- 144 Brick Magazine TOP ASOS ing!” Narstie passionately tells me of his close friend. “I told him God hasn’t just given you a voice of an angel, but also the gift of bars so you need to use that gift too!” However, despite Sheeran’s undeniable success (he’s sold more than 26 million albums worldwide), the Brit- ish singer is still held up by some as the poster child for generic pop music, with Pitchfork describing him as “selling trite innocence by the pound.” Bearing this in mind, is Narstie fearful of a similar backlash now he’s become much more of a household name within the UK industry? The answer is an emphatic no. “Bro, I am from the hood,” he answers as he takes another huge drag of his joint. “I’ve experienced fucked up shit my whole life. I am black so I am just happy to be alive! No matter what you do, some people will never be satisfied and Ed understands that. The key is to not ac- commodate their hate and to just focus on being you as not everyone is going to love you.” Perhaps it’s due to the weed replacing all the thoughts in my head with the feeling of laying in a hammock, but I find myself accidentally repeating the same question from the start of our conversation. Namely, the balancing act Big Narstie now faces being both a musician and a TV per- sonality in the public eye. It’s obvious seeing a black face on Channel 4 will be hugely important, with a whole generation of kids feeling better represented by Big Narstie’s presence. However, his aspirations stretch even further: Narstie be- lieves his BDL (Base Defence League) movement can help to heal the divisions that currently exist within Brexit Britain. “My unconventional face is exactly what this country needs right now!” He explains: “London might be multi-cultural but look at how different West London is to South London [in terms of social inequality]. I want to be the person in the middle bring- ing everybody together! I recently went to Harlow, Essex, and I was the only black person in this white cul-de-sac and I loved being able to bring these different cultures together. But, whenever I leave London, I can also see how divided our country is. I want to bring people together with this platform that I now have - not everyone has that trait but I think I do. If it takes me being Prime Minister to achieve it then so be it!” Considering how far Big Narstie has already come, you wouldn’t bet against it.