London born, Birmingham raised, around-the-world performer. You won’t have to travel far to find a Kofi Stone fan. After excelling with two statement projects, it’s time for a third and flowers are ready to be collected.
November will see the drop of All The Flowers Have Bloomed. It’s a moment to celebrate the highs for an artist who always delivers when it comes to album time. Whilst admitting his mixtape era is coming to an end, we are set to see Mr. Stone offer a finale fit to finish, with compelling stories and alluring lyricism gracing listeners once more.
Ahead of the November 7th drop, we caught up with Kofi to discuss new music, touring Australia, early influences and much more.
Your new single “Thorns”. Can you give us an insight into the process of the track and how was it creating the visuals?
“Thorns is about mental health, specifically schizophrenia. With Thorns, it was a story that was quite close to me. Going through it myself with another family member and seeing how it was such a difficult disease and the effect it has on people. I was compelled to write something and the process stemmed from that. It’s something that a lot of people might not be aware of and might not have an insight into. I wanted to highlight that. It came together over a period of time of maybe two-three years. It was a track that I revisited. Initially, I wanted to put it on my last project A Man After God’s Own Heart, but it didn’t materialise in the way I wanted it to. We had the words but not the music. The visuals were nice to create. We shot this single and Heartlands on the same day. We nearly ran out of time, so there was a lot of on-the-spot thinking, and it came together really well in the end and captured the emotion of the track.”
You’re gearing up for your third project All The Flowers Have Bloomed. What can we expect from this project?
“With this project, it’s about growth, it’s about getting the flowers that you deserve. It’s more about the good stage in this journey and highlighting that. That’s what the project embodies. For me, it’s almost like the end of a mixtape era which I felt like my previous two projects were. This is sort of me putting a lid on it and moving on to a different way of making music.”
Can you breakdown the backstory to the project title?
“With this one, it just felt natural. It was time to focus on the positivity and how things have developed. I kind of took a step back and was like this is where I’m at now, almost claiming flowers. We’re at a stage now where you have to speak up to be heard. Now is the time to do that.”
You’ve been touring as well. How has the experience been with your These Years Are Golden tour?
“This year has been cool. It’s been non-stop the past few weekends! We’ve been doing festivals across Europe and someone the U.K. It’s nice to see the supporters in the flesh and what songs they connect with. It’s nice to just be out there and playing the music that I’ve made. I have live in mind very much so when I’m making music. It’s like a whole other dimension when I’m playing live to the record. It’s been nice to do.”
Did you prepare differently when going into live performances outside of the U.K.?
“I think yes. The Australian tour was really something. I just felt like I knew I had to give a really good performance. Like this is the first time they’re ever going to see me, and hopefully not the last. I really wanted to give them something to remember. Going into it, we made sure we had a good sound engineer and we bright him with us all the way to Australia. He done sound on the show, created a set that had different things going on at different times. The meaning of songs, crowd involvement, we really thought about what we were doing and how it would translate live.”
What’s been a personal highlight from the tour?
“I think it would be Ireland, Wade Front? I played a festival there a few weeks ago and they were amazing. They knew every word! They were so tapped in and really engrossed in what I was doing. It’s between that and Brussels. I was on the main stage, and the first one on the main stage. It wasn’t very busy to start with, probably around 60 people. Towards the end of my set, there was maybe a couple thousand. That felt natural and pure. It was like a nobody cares until everyone does moment.”
Can you recall your first memory of music?
“My uncle had this box called HomeChoice which was like a YouTube box on the television. I remember seeing Missy Elliot Get Ur Freak On and that just hit me. Seeing the visuals as a young kid, I was thinking this is crazy. I remember someone spitting and someone catches it! It had an effect on me. The artistry was incredible.”
When did you know you had a talent for rapping?
“I think there was a time when I had a rap battle with an older kid from school one lunch time. I think he was three years older than me, but I just bodied him! Everyone was just going mad, and I realised the energy. I realised that it can be about energy and how you deliver, not always just about the lyrics. I was 12/13, very animated and that contributes to emceeing and rapping. That gave me the confidence to do it.”
If you were to introduce a new listener to Kofi Stone, which song would you begin with?
“It changes quite a lot, but to introduce someone now to Kofi, I would play Frozen Hearts. That’s from the first project.”
What has been the best musical advice given to yourself?
“I haven’t had much advice; I’ll tell you the truth. I’ve seen interviews of people talking but directly, I’ve never had anyone give me advice. In terms of watching an interview, it was in the Kanye documentary. Pharrell said you’re going to be good as long as you keep that energy when you feel something and go and put that down. That resonated with me because I’m an artist that likes to talk about things that have happened exactly how they are.”
When it comes to creating music, do you write lyrics first or hear a beat first?
“When it’s a topic that I might be addressing for the first time, I like to write to music. I normally have an idea of where it’s going prior. I might come with four bars in my mind to start it off and get a flow, but then I wait for the right piece of music to finish it.”
What are three goals you’re looking to achieve before the year comes to a close?
“I’d like to expand the sound to more people. That’s one of the big goals. The stories that I’m telling, black stories that represent us. I feel like it needs to be heard by more people that look like myself. I definitely want to finish another project which I’ve been doing alongside this one. Selling out my tour is my final goal.”
So, you’re working on another project. Will this also be released this year?
“Do you know what? There’s three projects. There’s one E.P, a joint project and another official project. I think I’m going to release another E.P after this project, possibly!”
Finally, who are three artists currently at the top of your playlist?
“Brandy, Tyler, The Creator and Amy Winehouse.”
You can pre-save Kofi Stone’s ‘All The Flowers Have Bloomed’ here. Out November 7th