A month ago I saw a tweet from an artist named Che Lingo, which stood out to me. The reason it caught my attention was because he had named his top 5 British artists. Four of the artists he mentioned were musicians I was fairly familiar with. His list included Kojey Radical, Ghetts, Shakka and Chipmunk. However there was one artist I did not really know too much about. That artist’s name was Levelle London.
Curiosity got the better of me so I immediately typed Levelle’s twitter name on twitter in order to find him. Once I found his Twitter account I then pressed the Soundcloud link, which was on his page.
After a few minutes of listening Levelle London’s music I began to see why Che Lingo mentioned him in his top five list. Levelle had a great voice, which merged really nicely with the instrumentals. However what really fascinated me was how Levelle wasn’t hesitant in shedding light on the harsh realities of life. You could hear the sincerity and pain in his voice.
I wanted to find out the concept behind Levelle London’s new E.P “Traits Of An Empath” and how felt about being mentioned in Che Lingo’s top five list of British artists. Within the past couple of years there has been a lot of talk about RnB music being “dead” I was interested in hearing his thoughts on the matter.
Where did the name “Levelle London” come from?
Well my real name is Levelle. In 2011 I remember hearing an artist on the radio named Levelle and being confused. After that I felt that I had to either change my name or add something to it. Levelle London eventually came to mind. That name means a lot to me because I was moving around London at that time.
How long have you been making music?
I started making music back in 2005 when everyone was doing Grime. I was a typical school kid who loved grime. When I came back home from school I tried to make beats while doing sets and performances. I always sang when I was little and people kept telling me that I could sing. So in 2007 I made my first RnB type song and it just grew from there.
“When I heard Grime it literally just took me”
Switching from Grime to RnB is a massive jump. What made you want to make that switch?
It’s mad because there were two different sides to me. I was at home and singing the slow jams and be writing bars as well. When I heard Grime music it literally just took me. From a young age I knew I always wanted to be a singer but as a teenager I thought “This Grime thing I’m killing it”. I was one of the best spitters in my school. My MC name used to be Crisis.
I used to write bars back then but the producer I worked with wasn’t really a fan of Grime and suggested that I mainly focused on the singing. He was the only person to have said that to me. That guy was the one who really showed me the ropes. We happened to be the same age but he was just ahead of his time.
Che Lingo mentioned in you in his top 5 UK artists. How does that make you feel?
That was very heart warming. I’ve gotten to the stage where I know that I’m a good artist. A lot of people have told me that as well but when another artist makes statements like that I start to believe in myself and my instincts.
What inspired you to add your own style to Desiigner’s song “Timmy Turner” could you feel you could relate with it?
A lot people I know related with it because life in London is not easy. Too many people I know have been kicked out their houses and can’t seem to get jobs. I saw Panda’s freestyle on XXL and liked what I heard. So I just made the beat and I just started getting ideas. I then thought to myself “How am I going to make this track relate to me and London?”.
In that song I was talking about a guy from London, which has some point been me. There was a time when I lived in a hostel and signed on. Some girls had this false perception of me because I was an artist but inside I was struggling and thinking of doing a madness. There are many issues in my community but no one talks about them. I use my music to express what is really going on.
“ I was the kind of person who said what everyone thought but were too afraid to say out loud ”
Would it be fair to say that living in London shaped your approach in making music?
I’ve had so many up and downs and I felt like I had to go through them to make the music you hear now. I started being self-aware as a person and that also changed my approach to music because I became much more purpose driven. From a young age I’ve always been opinionated. In school I was the guy who expressed how I truly felt about particular things. I was the kind of person who said what everyone thought but were too afraid to say out loud.
In secondary school all the boys had beef with other guys from different schools and wanted to fight them. Everyone was on it but I was just like “You lot need to be honest and just admit you’re scared innit”. I told them that I was not about it and didn’t want to risk getting arrested or end up dead. Since then I’ve approached every situation in the same way and started putting that honesty into my music.
When did you realise you wanted to pursue being an artist fulltime?
From a young age I always wanted to pursue this but there’s a point in life when you realise you have to do things to get money and provide. Parents or other people can be a big factor in trying to tell you that being an artist is not a promising career.
I remember going to an interview for art college and being told by lecturers not waste years of my life studying art instead of pursuing music. I then realised that I could go to college and do music. Doing music at college gave me a taste of what of what it’s like to be an artist.
“ When you speak in a certain twang you’re actually touching someone’s soul ”
When I listen to your music I seem to hear a little mix of an African & Caribbean twang. Are you trying to infuse elements of your half Ghanaian and Jamaican heritage in your music?
Yeah definitely, I’m so glad you noticed that. When It comes to me finding my feet and finding myself as an artist I literally do I really feel every single thing I do in my music . I feel like music is a spiritual thing. When you speak in a certain twang you’re actually touching someone’s soul.
Do you see yourself as a new school RnB artist?
I think my constant battle as a creative is trying to title what kind of artist I am. Earlier in my career I would have easily described myself as an RnB artist but now I don’t really know. I can’t place a finger on it.
As a young RnB artist it must have felt amazing supporting Jagged Edge and Mario right?
Those moments reminded me exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I remember me and my dancers had done rehearsals for Mario’s concert with a band. However a week before his concert Mario told us none of the artists could have a band with them.
He also didn’t want too many people on stage for an opening act. So we had to cut down on the number of dancers but two of them decided to stick by me and we ended up making a whole new routine. It was crazy but I loved every part of it because it built me up to be ready for anything.
Dream collaborations?
It changes all the time for me because back in the day I would have said Michael Jackson and Tupac straight away. I would also have said Usher as well. The more I grow and develop my dream collaborations changes.
A lot of people claim “RnB is dead”. Do you feel that is true?
Everything is always going to change and you have to accept that.
“ We need to realise that new generation will see RnB differently to how we see RnB ”
Do you feel that people expect you to be a certain way because you’re a male RnB artist?
A hundred percent. Right now I’ve realized it’s all about giving the crowd the right energy and making them feel good. When I first started performing I wanted to all the typical RnBish stuff like lifting off my top, spinning around and just sing about love. That’s what I saw growing up but what happens is that a shift of culture occurs.
I went to a Tory Lanez concert and he got us to sing along to old school RnB songs. So I think we all still know the sound of RnB that we love. Those sounds that were made will always connect with people born in the late eighties or early nineties. We need to realise that the new generation will see RnB differently to how we see RnB.
What did you listen to growing up?
I used to listen to loads of slow jams, had all the playlists you could think of (laughs). I listened to a lot of Grime. I didn’t really listen to too much hip-hop but I jammed to Ja Rule. If you follow me on Snapchat you can hear Ja Rule playing in the background.
“ If you heard my E.P and typed traits of an empath on google you’d know exactly who I am ”
What was the concept behind traits of an empath and why that name?
I was trying to figure out a name for the ep and I felt like I needed to make my E.P a complete body of work that made sense. I’m a very spiritual person who connects with energies and God. I’m not too religious but I want to be who I am and connect with the most high in my own way. I’ve always wanted to get into weird things like healing and other stuff.
I was on the bus one day and I started feeling funny. I couldn’t understand the feeling and thought “Imagine if I’m feeling something from somebody else?”. I ended up searching up on google traits of an empath. After reading two or three pages on google I saw a lot of information and every single thing I read was about me.
Traits of an empath could be getting drained in public spaces, sensitivity to people’s emotions/energies, good intuitions and being interested in humanitarian things. Another trait could be having a lot of anxiety. I felt like this explained a lot of what occurred in my past relationships. If you heard my E.P and typed traits of an empath on google you’d know exactly who I am.
What inspired you to make shooter?
With a name like shooter I knew that people would have preconceptions and be thinking to themselves “Ooh a track on Link Up TV called Shooter let’s hear this”. I wanted those very people to listen and hear what I’m saying. I wanted people to understand that I’m just like them and I can be real with myself. We all go through these insecurities but some won’t even face or challenge them. Some people’s mind sets are all over the place and don’t even know how to treat others.
What are your next steps?
Well the E.P is out and I’m just going to keep releasing a couple visuals of the E.P. A volume two will be coming out at some point. I want to keep the ball rolling and try to build until I travel the world doing what I love.
You can listen to Levelle London’s music below on Soundcloud but his Traits of an empath E.P is available to purchase on Spotify and iTunes
Follow Levelle London on social media.
Twitter : @LevelleLondon
Instagram : @LevelleLondon
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