It’s a Thursday morning in central London and we’ve just met up with UK rap legend, Giggs, for an exclusive interview. The building is cold – Giggs, wrapped up in his winter coat, is feeling peckish and requests beans and chips to be delivered to the interview location.
For an artist of Giggs’ stature, it’s hard to predict who you’re going to get on the first meet: ostentatious diva or a humble family man? Luckily, it’s the latter, as Giggs reflects on the earlier stages in his life eventually led to him being labeled “The Landlord” of UK rap, inadvertently creating Britain’s “unofficial national anthem.”
Giggs grew up in Peckham, south-east London, and was originally nicknamed the “Giggler” because he tended to laugh, even in the most inappropriate situations. Since spawning into Giggs – following his release from prison in 2005 – he can be credited with (almost) single-handedly birthing a whole new sub-genre of UK rap, creating a sound that steered away from the fast-paced jungle and garage sounds that dominated pirate radio stations at the time.
Giggs’s approach to UK rap reflected the reality of his life whilst navigating his youth in inner-city London. His lyrics painted a rough-and-ready account of what was really happening in the most crime-heavy areas of the English capital, laying his personal experiences bare on American-inspired hip-hop instrumentals for the whole city to listen to.
During the earliest phases of his music career, Giggs released a slew of mixtapes, such as the 2007-released ‘Ard Bodied,’ ‘Hollowman meets Blade,’ and ‘Welcome to Boomville,’ while also reforming SN1 as a record label. This consistency and eagerness to better himself in music eventually led to the release of his debut album, ‘Walk In Da Park,’ regarded as a bonafide classic for thousands of fans and critics alike to this day.
15 years on since the release of his debut album, Giggs is regarded by many as a legend in British music history. Now five studio albums and several mixtapes in, as well as creating collaborative records with the likes of Drake, Meek Mill, Ed Sheeran, Busta Rhymes, and more, Giggs is working at his own pace, evolving as an artist, businessman, and father.
This brings us to Giggs’ latest endeavor: an unexpected new collaboration with Oatly. Giggs, who is lactose intolerant, approached the Swedish oat drink company to share his frustration with the lack of shelf space given to dairy-free food alternatives after he struggled to find his favorite products for both himself and his son. After several meetings and conversations, Giggs is now presenting “Custard by Giggs”, using his personal story to raise awareness of lactose intolerance while showing that those with similar ailments shouldn’t have to sacrifice their favorite desserts.
While this is the first collaboration for Giggs in the food and drink sector, his DNA is still there for all to see, as he takes his latest collaboration back to his home of Peckham, tomorrow, and the local bakery he used to visit during the earliest phases of his life.
With this in mind, Hypebeast caught up with Giggs to discuss music, fatherhood, his new Oatly collaboration, and much more.
How much has life changed since releasing ‘Walk in Da Park’ compared to now?
Life is so much different now compared to then. Then, I was still in the streets. That seems like another life. I got into music late, I was around 26 or 27 when the music started popping off. A lot of people are in their teens when they start. In that time, I went through a lot in the streets, I have stories forever. The streets were so crazy, three mad things would happen in one day. I’ve seen enough to write albums for years. I’ve also seen enough where I’m not afraid to grow up. Now, I’m not afraid to talk about how I’m doing business, moving around, or time with my kids. I’m still tapped in.
With a lot of the music out there today, a lot of these people who are rapping are young, they haven’t seen much. Not even a disrespectful thing, but like a 21-year-old drill artist, if he was gang banging, he’s only been gang banging for about a year or something, gone through some stuff, and then got famous through music. Now, he’s struggling for things to write about because he’s probably seen one or two things in a year, and now he’s famous. So, they’re still trying to talk about those things, but they’re not really in that anymore. That’s what I mean when I say you shouldn’t be afraid to grow.
“My son’s 23, and my nieces and nephews, they’re all young, so I always try and help younger people out where I can. Some of them could’ve been me, so I always think back to when I was younger, I didn’t have any information or anyone to tell me things – my information was all wrong.”
Hypebeast: How has this collaboration come to life?
Giggs: Basically, I’m lactose intolerant and so is my oldest son. We’ve always been looking for dairy-free replacements, whether that be cakes or sweets for him to have, and then I remember buying some soy custard for him and he was still allergic to it. But while I was looking for stuff for him, I was looking for myself. My son was a lot worse than me, though. Then I found the Oatly custard, and it was good, I wasn’t ill or anything – and I started getting on the old-school desserts I would have. Then, I couldn’t find the custard for months before one day I found it randomly and decided I needed to work with these people and make this thing pop off, so I don’t end up losing the custard again.
Do you feel a sense of responsibility to help younger musicians coming up?
I don’t feel like I have a responsibility, but I’ll try and help them because they could be my kid. My son’s 23, and my nieces and nephews, they’re all young, so I always try and help younger people out where I can. Some of them could’ve been me, so I always think back to when I was younger, I didn’t have any information or anyone to tell me things – my information was all wrong.
What was your relationship like with garage music when you were coming up?
I wasn’t really into garage music too much, I was more into hip-hop. I would flirt with garage a bit, songs like “21 Seconds”, you’re seeing people from where you’re from on TV. They were one of the first to make it onto TV. So, I used to rate it but I wouldn’t roll to it. I take inspiration from it like Ashley Walter is my brother, I used to see him on Southampton Way in Peckham. I used to see him on Grange Hill before So Solid, but you could always see these people doing amazing things and it made me realize that I could do that. It makes me proud to see so many people doing these things. But when I think about it, I did listen to grime music a lot, like Dizzee Rascal, Wiley… I did for like five minutes then jumped on the hip-hop.
Would you consider yourself a legend?
I don’t think that’s a question I can really answer… I could say that I am, but I have so much more to do. I think if I said it now, it wouldn’t hit right. I might as well see how far I can take this now and how “legendary” I can make things. I don’t have an end goal in mind either, things change every day. When you look at the likes of Jay-Z, they’re still doing things. He’s in his 50s and he’s one of the first in this age group in hip-hop that is still relevant. That’s never happened before, we’re seeing it happen in real-time. So, I’m just going to keep going and see where I can take it.
You’re taking your new collaboration with Oatly to your hometown of Peckham on Wednesday (November 20), what can people expect from the in-person event?
Just cake and custard really [laughs]. We’re giving away different kits, cakes, custard, and vibes. The bakery we’re pulling up to has been there my whole life, it’s sick that’s going to be involved. I like looking back at things. With Peckham, it’s a weird one. If I go through every corner, street, or alleyway of Peckham, every part of it has memories, and a lot of them are bad, more bad than good. But, it’s good to look back, I guess, because I’m here. That was then and this is now.
What’s next for you?
You’ll never know, my guy, because now we’re doing custard [laughs], you just never know. There’s always new music, I’m still here dropping bangers.
