Wretch 32 kicks off new musical era with Little Simz on ‘Black and British’
He says his upcoming album is for those who "need soul food and need something to fulfil them, that have messages and will help them grow"
by Kyann-Sian Williams · NMEWretch 32 has returned with powerful new single ‘Black and British’ featurng Little Simz and Benjamin A.D – and described his new album as for those who “need soul food and need something to fulfil them, that have messages and will help them grow”
‘Black and British’ is the lead single from the Tottenham rapper’s upcoming seventh studio album; bravely dealing with complicated nuances and circumstances at the heart of the Black British experience. Produced by WAVSDNTDIE, the song has been released in time for Black History Month in the UK and sees Wretch and Simz explore topics such as marginalisation, heritage, and pride.
Meeks and Frost directed the accompanying music video for ‘Black and British’, in which Wretch 32 recites his lyrics against the backdrop of an exhibition showcasing archival photos of Black British culture at the V&A East museum. Vignettes are weaved throughout his performance, recreating intimate household scenes to capture a rich and multifaceted portrait of Black British life.
Wretch 32’s grandmother Beverley Scott is sampled at the end of the track, taken from the milestone Scenes From The Farm Broadwater Farm estate documentary, first televised in 1988.
When asked a question that implies Black people are “already losing” if they retaliate violently against racism and discrimination, she replies: “If I die today, I just dead because, as long as I know I died to let someone else live.”
In the song, the grime pioneer reflects on his grandmother’s struggles – who was a part of the Windrush Generation – rapping: “Granny came here to build a future, it was based on pure hope, but the road weren’t paved with gold it was paved with ‘go home’.”
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Little Simz provided a woman’s perspective on being Black British, mostly speaking on her mother’s struggle as a single parent: “Raising a teenage girl / No help, no channel of support / No fairy, no tale / Barely could afford no wish or no well / No hands were avail with the hands we were dealt.”
Wretch 32 debuted the music video at an intimate event on Wednesday (October 23) and spoke about the song as well as his as-yet-titled LP with DJ and longtime musical tastemaker Twin B.
“It’s an honour to work alongside a sister who carries themselves in the right way. Someone who puts the art first, someone who’s not cutting any corners,” Wretch 32 said when asked about working alongside Little Simz for the first time. “She’s an artist in every sense of the word. I’ve always known that girl was extremely talented. I’ve always said that girl is a special one.”
He added that “it would be an honour to have a female perspective on a record titled ‘Black And British’, especially hers.”
When speaking about his seventh album, the rapper said: “If you still like your music with music in it – it’s got real violins in there – if you like your music with real raps in it and not just words, [then you’ll like the album]. I compare me to [the chocolate] Ferrero Rocher: I might not be in your everyday life but when you bring that out, everyone goes, ‘Rah!’ This is my time to shine.”
Then, Twin B asked Wretch how he wanted people to perceive the record – especially younger rap fans.
“The world is moving into a fast-paced environment and I feel like we’ve lost patience. It takes patience to listen to an album from front to bottom without looking at the back and being like, ‘Rah! Ghetts is featured on track number five.'” – Wretch made it clear that his fellow The Movement collective member isn’t confirmed to be on the album.
“We had to wait for a music video to come on on the TV, we had ads: nowadays, you can just skip past everything,” he continued, adding: “There are people who still listen to an album from front to back – it’s for them. I’m not trying to drop on the same day as Central Cee and see who’s going to sell the most.
“[It’s for those] that need soul food and need something to fulfil them, that have messages and will help them grow. You don’t even know how much you learn from what you listen to,” he continued, citing that he learnt a lot from Jay-Z‘s 2017 album ‘4:44’.
Looking back on his career, Wretch 32 was also asked what he thinks his position in UK rap is – to which he said he just “wants to be trusted.”
“I want it to get to a point where, if Wretch says that this artist is good, then maybe someone take a listen. If Wretch says that he’s got a book coming out, maybe I’ll take a listen,” he explained. “[And] I think the way that we gain trust in this industry is by being honest and we have to care. It is no longer 10,000 hours, it’s 10,000 days. We always have to try and evolve and get better.”
Wretch 32 kept quiet about the album’s potential release date but it was suggested that it will come out next year. “I want to get back on the ground and put a song out at a time and just get back to myself and whatnot,” he reassured the crowd of friends, family and selected industry folk, “So yeah, it’s coming.”
His next album will serve as the follow-up to his 2019 album, ‘Upon Reflection’. NME awarded the record full marks, lauding it as “one of the best UK rap records of the year” and “prove[d] his pen is mightier than most.”
After releasing ‘Upon Reflection’, Wretch shared a nine-track EP called ‘little Big Man’ – which featured the likes of K-Trap, Nafe Smallz, M Huncho, SL and more back in 2021.
Meanwhile, Little Simz featured on Coldplay’s anthemic single ‘We Pray’ alongside Burna Boy, Elyanna and Tini – which was released back in August.
In an exclusive interview with NME, Chris Martin revealed that the band were inspired by Simz, saying: “Even if you’re making something that you think no one is going to like, you have to be so sure that you do, and that you poured every last ounce of energy into it.”