The South London rapper, G FrSH, has finally released a visual for “Darlin,” and we love it! This track is off the successful top 5 charting, MOBO nominated EP ‘Alfie‘. This smooth and arguably romantic track features Sonny Reeves on the vocals. Its a simple but beautifully shot black and white visual of a London night with one of it’s top rappers and his beau.

Check out RESPECT ‘S exclusive interview with G FrSH here.  Check out the entire 11 track ‘Alfie’ EP

The post New Video: G FrSH – “Darlin” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Now, with a new EP, Aflie, and single “Falling High,” G FrSH is ready to take rap’s inchoate fury and commandeer it for the greater good. Here, RESPECT. speaks with the artist about finding his voice, the transcendent experience of Alfie, death, female fans, the problem with rap, and about life itself

I’m having a tough time deciding how to address you. Should I call you Mr. G or Mr. FrSH?

G on it’s own is cool, you don’t need the Mr.

Any complaints about UK rap that you’d like to get off your chest?

I think I’ve expressed most of it on the song “Falling High.” I think that was my moment of therapy there, if I’m honest. At the end of the song I said, “They wanna cut our scene, believe that, but these cameras are still rolling.” I feel like we’re not really wanted here in the mainstream. I mean, we’ve had success but I wouldn’t say that we are desired or considered necessary.

How about phobias? What are you afraid of?

I think probably failure, judging by my own measures.

So, what’s your job description?

I’d say my job description is being G FrSH. It’s more than just me rapping, because I’m very hands-on and instrumental in everything I do. For example, from the actual production side of things to the visuals and art work, everything you see has a lot to do with myself, personally.

Do you remember the last time you were unemployed and were looking for work?

Yeah. I think when I was 16. I was looking for part-time work, just retail stuff. At one point, I did actually work in Halfords and JJB Sports.

What should rappers never, under any circumstances, do or say on a song?

They should never be dishonest. I think listeners bank so much on our honesty to the point that it sometimes determines actions they take in their own lives. It would be a bit of a pisstake to mislead people. So, yeah, I’d say never be deceitful.

You wake up one day and your hometown south London is completely deserted — what records do you have with you? You get three.

[Long pause.] I’d have Michael Jackson [starts singing] “Wanna Be Startin’ Something,” Tracy Chapman “Across The Line,” and Drake “Worst Behavior.”

If G FrSH was a fragrance, what would he smell like?

Refreshing like an air freshener [laughs.] He’d probably smell like vanilla.

Talk us through the concept behind the “Falling High” video.

It’s taken from the EP, Alfie, and it’s based on the film of the same name. In the movie itself, there’s basically, a scene where the character thinks he’s got testicular cancer and believes he’s going to die. So he starts reflecting on his life and what he’s done and that’s the concept of the song. In the video I wanted to put that across, by looking at myself in a coffin, showing that I’m also reflecting on my life and expressing how I feel at this point in my life.

When are you most satisfied with life?

I don’t think my personality would ever allow me to be, but the time I feel most at peace is when I’m with my daughter.

How do you tread the line of what you believe to be you at your best versus different opinions that people might have?

I suppose it’s one of those things — as an artist you just have a perception of yourself and other people’s perception of you. The struggle being an artist is trying to make sure those two things match up with each other, but I kind of do feel that “Falling High” is me at my best. It’s very personal and I really get my feelings across in a very clear and concise way. I hope that whatever perception I have myself is the same other people share.

What’s the trick to becoming the kind of rapper that girls love, too?

I think with this project as a whole, I wanted to tap back into my female audience a little bit. I didn’t want to directly make a female song, in terms of “Oh baby, I love you. I just want to kiss you.” Basically, I just wanted to take an honest approach talking about women and that’s why the EP is called “Alfie.” The character himself is known for his relationships with the opposite sex and I wanted to explore that in-depth. I also think the vocals on “Falling High” appeals to females, it sounds a little angelic. I think topic wise—women like a man that’s in touch or who is at least self-aware.

Do you ever have expectations for yourself? I mean, do you ever hear any voices in your head demanding that you act a certain way because you’re a rapper?

I think sometimes when you engulf yourself in your emotions they can takeover, so it’s not something that I dip into very often. In the world that we live in you have to protect yourself to a certain extent. I’m not a very emotional person. I’m just very aware of my thoughts but at the same time I don’t allow them to takeover me or affect my actions. You would never see me having a breakdown on Twitter. No self-loathing.

I’ve come across a few people recently who, through the spiritual world, have met themselves when they were younger. If you could go back in time, what would you say to your14-year-old self?

I would probably tell myself to never grow up. There’s a song on the EP called “Take Me Back,” which is about me going back to try and regain that mindset that I had in my youth, and where I honestly believed that everything is possible. So I would tell myself, ‘Never stop and never doubt yourself.’ As we get older, we see the timeline of our lives getting shorter. When I started music I just believed a hundred percent that I could make it, where as now as time goes on you start to countdown — ninety five percent, ninety percent, and so on. So again, I’d tell myself to never grow up because that’s where it all goes wrong.

Are you afraid of death?

No, it doesn’t bother me. I don’t believe that you have any consciousness after you die, so whatever you think and feel about how you’re going to feel, the fact of the matter is, you’re not going to feel anything. It doesn’t matter, it’s irrelevant.

Your debut EP, Alfie, is your first iTunes release, but that’s funny because you’ve been making music for a while, right?

Yeah, but I’m actually nervous about it. Because I’ve been here for so long, there’s a certain level of expectation that has been placed upon me. I don’t know what is going to happen. I think the pressure of my peers and how well and how bad some of them have done is something that I think about. I’m hoping that people will buy the EP and actually listen to it. That is the whole point of me making music.

How do you feel you contribute to hip-hop as a whole? What makes you relevant?

Again, I think it comes down to my honesty. When I tell my story it’s very unlikely that someone else out there is going to match my thoughts word for word. For as long as I can continue to tell my story in an interesting way and through the music I choose, I think people should continue to expect the unexpected. I don’t ever want people to feel like they know what to expect from me. I know there are a lot of people who were once relevant and who people don’t care about anymore—so I just try and stay on top and be open to change.

And, finally: What’s next for you? Do you have a 12-month plan?

I mean, studying economics at university. I’m generally a very organised person. I try to predict and plan things in advance, but with music, you really don’t know what will happen next. That’s why I said on “Falling High,” “Fuck knows what the future holds.” All you can do is keep working and hope that you’re progressing.

The post Interview: G FrSH Discusses Alfie, “Falling High,” and UK Rap appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.