The first thing I wanted to be growing up was a solicitor, because all the people around me needed solicitors! But I never really followed it up. Then I wanted to be a dessert chef because I liked the presentation.
— Slowthai
I don't feel like I should just be a rapper. That's boring to me.
The mystery is cool, but, at the same time, if I'm trying to empower people, I have to be an open book. You can see my flaws, the mistakes I've made. From that, make your own judgment and move on your own path.
I think one of the most important things is just being outside and in touch with nature. You need it!
I don't get all these pop stars who sit on the fence when they're asked for an opinion. People are scared of speaking out. They're too worried about the consequences - like they might lose a few fans if they give a serious opinion.
Growing up, I was a big boxing and wrestling fan. I love people like the Undertaker and Prince Naseem: they knew how to make a big entrance!
I think life's about the experiences, and variety is the spice of life.
The most iconic applause I've ever seen is from a Michael Jackson show in Japan - his entrance is actually 15 minutes long, and the crowd is clapping the whole time.
As long as I'm happy, I don't care about accolades or anything else.
I can find the worst thing in the world funny. My humour is dark. If I'm talking about the worst situations in my life, it's like a comedy - you can laugh at my pain.
I always want to talk about real life, not about material possessions. I've got to tell the story of the people for the people and not for celebrity or fame.
I always felt just that I didn't fit into certain groups.
If you don't embrace the bad, you can never truly embrace the good and be grateful and have gratitude for the tiniest things.
A woman can't teach a man how to be a man. But she can teach you how to nurture, how to care, how to love, and how to give.
I don't believe dying's a sad thing.
I'm about growth for myself. So if I've made a lot of mistakes, and I haven't learnt from them, then I've failed as a human being.
I've never had big diamonds; I never had big cars.
I want to play guitar, piano, drums, write songs for other people. I can do punk - I can do indie - but as long as it has my voice, it'll always be my sound.
I have to carve my own way. Build. It takes time.
I like to have something that makes me want to write. Otherwise, I'm just writing for the sake of it. I feel like if I've got something to say, I'll say it the right way.
I was always inspired by the people I was around, like the older people spitting in my area or in Northampton, but I just always wanted to be better than the people that was around me.
I don't like being pigeonholed. Why would you want to limit yourself to one style or one genre? Labels are something I want to avoid. I've had it my whole life, being pushed into a place, a circumstance or situation I didn't want to be in. My motivation has always been to get away from it.
I just want to put the power back to the people.
I feel like I want to make everyone happy. I want everyone around me to be happy.
My mum is quite young, so we actually have similar taste in music.
I'm about love and unity, always.
I feel like when people are talking about how they make music or how they are the biggest rapper, I don't understand how that's relatable to people.
Anywhere you go, where people are at the bottom, we've all got the same outlook on life and want to strive for more.
It doesn't matter what you believe in or where you're from. It doesn't matter what group you're in: we're all the same. We all end up in the same-sized box.
If I have a voice to shine light on things or draw attention or provoke, as an artist people look to - I should do that.
People feel like they have to hide their true colors to please the people around them.
There's no cowboys in England.
I don't wanna ever make jingles. I wanna do something that changes people's opinions and provokes thought and makes them think about how they should live their life and how they can better themselves and empower themselves.
Life shouldn't be something that's draining and long.
I never want to make one type of music. You wouldn't just eat sushi for the rest of your life - there's so much more food.
I don't want to follow in the footsteps of anybody that went before, because they didn't do what I want to do.
As a man, you will never know how a woman feels.
My music just stands for being true to who you are.
If you've paid your hard-earned money to see a gig, you want to be entertained. That's what I wanna give my fans.
I feel like as long as I bring people together, and we all have a love for life and a love for ourselves, I feel like that's what it's all about.
The first musical thing I remember someone recommending to me is probably Ludacris - the one where he has massive arms in the music video. 'Get Back.' It was recommended to me by my cousin, who's now my manager.
Daniel Johnston is someone I discovered on YouTube that's weird but wonderful.
I've already done things I never believed I would. Even stepping out of Northampton and being in London - London always seemed like the big city I might go to for Carnival, go for a party and a chill and then head home.
I don't believe in the whole thing of staying anywhere - we are meant to explore, to travel, and meant to spread our roots.
Community and families are what we're neglecting. This is what's holding us back as people, and instead, we want to look at everything else.
Spend time in your head and figure yourself out. Start taking note of all the things you do that you don't like, and then you're more conscious of it, and you learn.
Take everything that's bad in your life and look at the positive within it. Don't ever see your glass as half-empty.
I want to connect with people that feel unseen.
I think blood doesn't determine who your family is.
Music's the biggest way of connecting people.
