Ceebo: I Dare To Be Different

Photo by Zara Rashida

British musician Ceebo champions his flair to be an artist who is bold and takes risks. Hailing from South West London, the young creative is forging a music career that encapsulates artistic expression and a passion for music. We sat down with him to discuss his journey in music so far and what we can expect to see from him in the future. Meet Ceebo …

KAM: As an emerging creative, what would you want the world to know about Ceebo?

CEEBO: My main message as an artist this year is about introducing myself to the industry and announcing that I’m here now. I want to be someone that subverts the norm, not necessarily as a contrarian, but one thing I always say is “I dare to be different”. I’m not afraid to do something that's outside of the mainstream or say things that aren’t normally said which is true to who I am as a person. 

KAM: How would you describe your sound?

CEEBO: The best way to describe my sound is cinematic. The reason I say that is because I tend to add different elements to existing genres, like my next track coming out (Before I Was Ceebo), it’s a drill track but I’d say that I slightly subvert the genre’s norms by adding live instruments. I say cinematic as well because the sounds I use in my music help set the stage for what I’m about to say as a lot of my lyrical content focuses on who I am and where I’m from, specifically my environment and my music mirrors that. 

KAM: What inspires you to make music? 

CEEBO: My general motivation to make music is expression. I’m not the type of person that speaks about my feelings at a great length which is why I started making music in the first place. It started as an outlet for me and has grown into a passion. I say in my music what I don’t tend to say in conversation, so the sounds I use to channel that are all a part of me expressing who I am. I tend to draw from media that expresses a description of an environment, an example would be my favourite TV show ‘The Wire’, which in short is an encapsulation of the city of Baltimore. I value that show a lot because it mirrors what I’m trying to do with my music. 

KAM: Who are your strongest musical influences? 

CEEBO: When it comes to artistic influences there are many musicians I draw from but if I had to list my favourites it would be: Vince Staples, J Hus, Nines, Outkast, Kendrick Lamar, and Youngs Teflon.

KAM: When you’re making music, what does your creative process look like? 

CEEBO: If I’m not looking for beats on Youtube, I’m in direct contact with producers that I work with consistently and usually I describe my vision to them. Generally, my process is me looking at a genre I like and adding something I think is missing. Drill is a genre I listen to often and it doesn't have many live instruments, so that was my creative approach with my upcoming single Before I Was Ceebo. Regarding my lyrical content, I’m not on a drill track talking about drillings, simple things and little tweaks that change the experience for the listener and can transform a song entirely. That’s my approach. 

Photo by Zara Rashida

KAM: What is life like for you outside of music?

CEEBO: Outside of music I’m a uni student, so that takes up most of my time. I have other important commitments but above everything, I’m an older brother which is another thing that takes up a lot of my time because I'm heavy on family. It’s music, uni and family for me really, as well as making money to invest in my music. 

KAM: What is the end goal with music? 

CEEBO: The dream is to have a discography that stands the test of time. I want to look back and say this is real good music. Also, just to be able to push my own boundaries with music, with each project I want to progress in terms of my lyrics ability, how much input I have in production and my technical music skills. I want to be hands-on with the music and also commercially successful, making enough money to live off the music that I make, that’s the goal.