The art of storytelling preservers when it draws on life experiences which are ready to be told. Executing this consistently to a high standard is Watford-born songstress MORGAN.
With a catalogue that boasts a host of established artists from Rudimental to Byron Messia, she has been inspired since a young age and takes pride in setting a standard as a writer and singer no matter what genre she is exploring.
Having stated the limelight was a destined career, the manifestation is evident as she gears up for the drop of her anticipated project Emotional Gangster.
The new project dives deep into every side of the versatile singer. From her deep-rooted backgrounds of Jamaica and passion for the dancehall scene, to the vulnerable, soft side, which is ready to be unleashed, Emotional Gangster is a heartfelt body of work which also provides listeners an opportunity to hot step to the finest of productions.
Ahead of the anticipated drop, GRM speaks exclusively to MORGAN to dive into the imminent E.P, the process of song writing, staying consistent after viral moments and much more.
Let’s start with your EP Emotional Gangster, what can fans expect with this new body of work?
“The reason why I called it Emotional Gangster was that I grew up with my friends calling me that as a joke. One day, one of my mates said I should call my project that! It literally embodies me as a person. I can be very vulnerable and emotional. On the flip side, I have a very logical, non-emotional, tough side to me. Emotional and gangster don’t really go hand-in-hand and I kind of like that. My music varies so much emotionally. I don’t stick to just one genre; I dabble in and out, it might be more of a ballad song then more of a dancehall song. That versatility comes through concepts as well as genres.”
Relating to the title of the project, did you have to be in that mood to produce your best body of work?
“When I make projects, I create music whenever and put together projects. For me, unless I’m directly focusing on a conceptual album or a conceptual EP, each individual song has to be a part of my life. It has to be a different story in order for someone to be able to step into my brain whilst listening to this project. I just wanted it to feel like you’re stepping into my life at different points of my life.”
How long was the recording process? Were you in different locations to record the E.P?
“Some of these songs, I wrote and recorded three years ago. It’s just a timing thing. My song “Bum Bum” and “Wheel Up” with Byron Messia, I made those this year. “Lost Myself” was very much about my breakup of five years, talking about it how it was nobody’s fault and how I lost my identity being in the relationship. It kind of just all came together over a long amount of time which I kind of prefer because it shows different parts of my life at different times.”
Speaking of your new single “Wheel Up”” with Byron Messia, how was that experience shooting the visuals and did you manage to record in the same session?
“We didn’t record in the same session, so I hadn’t actually met him yet. We had spoke online and our teams were talking. We were speaking about the concept of the song. I wrote that song in January this year and it felt like we knew who we wanted to feature. We wanted someone from a small island, that Caribbean influence, because I dabbled into my Caribbean heritage in that song. One thing is that he was so receptive as he actually liked the song. Sometimes labels put together features and it doesn’t feel organic. We had a conversation, and he really wanted to know why I wrote that song. That gave him more insight into how he writes his verse which I think is the most healthy way to collaborate with someone. It was a great process and recording the visuals was great. We got to meet in person, vibe, have a little drink of Hennessy! It’s nice to catch a vibe with someone when you have a song with them.”
When it comes to song writing, is the priority finding a catchy hook or more about the detail in the verse?
“I think the hook is the most important part. If you start the song on a hook, it needs to be catchy. If you start on a verse, the opening line needs to be super powerful and engaging. You want people to listen to it and want to hear more. I always reference this, Central Cee’s “Doja”, I’m going to click that and say ‘Rah, did he just say that?’ Those engaging lyrics, whether they’re deep lyrics or just fun, it’s something that draws people in straight away. There’s definitely more of a formula to creating music then people realise, but you don’t always want to stick to the formula because sometimes it can mess with your creativity.”
You’ve explored different genres within music. When would you say you are in your element in terms of writing and finding your best sound?
“I write for so many artists from K-Pop to dance, that I’ve found my song writing through that. For a while, I was writing for other artists so much that I became so self-critical about writing my own music. I realised the more I write for other artists, the better I was getting at writing my own music. It gave me different outlooks into how songs should be written. It opened my mind to different concepts that I never would have faced. When it came to creating music for myself again like this project, it opened up my mind to a lot more different things to write about. I’d say I feel like I’m in my element when I’m writing for other people because it inspires me to write more interesting concepts for myself.”
I want to speak about viral moments; your single “ADCT” was well-received. How does it feel when a song is loved by the masses and does this make an artist want to make the same type of song or explore a different sound?
“I think where people mess up is that they’ll have a hit and think they need to make another one that sounds just like that. What ends up happening, is that you put this expectation on the next song because it sounds like the previous and you think it’s going to do well. The reality is, you’re only going to do that once. That magic you had for that hit was for that song. You can’t recreate that. You need to focus on staying in your creative bag. Everyone wants to make a hit. It’s normally those that don’t aim to make hit that end up making them! I saw an interview with Tyla where she said with “Water”, they didn’t think it would be a hit. It’s the biggest song of the year! It’s changed her whole life. You need to love it because the fans will pick up on your energy towards the song.”
What would you say has been a career highlight for yourself so far?
“For me, it was my garage track that I did with Rudimental and Digga D, “Be The One”. It was nice because we were all in the studio together when that was created. It was a proper good vibe. The energies in the room. It charted. It went silver maybe even gold now! I wrote that hook in my car on the way to that session!”
What’s the best advice given to yourself along the way in your music career?
“To persevere. It’s so easy in this day and age with the culture of how music is being blown up, it’s very much like people come and people go. There’s not a lot of artists like the generation of Beyonce’s and Rhianna’s. It’s now one hit wonder culture. It’s very easy to look around you and see people’s songs blow up and be frustrated. The truth is, I have to give myself that talk and say ‘Their song has blown up, but are they going to be here tomorrow?’ Some of the artists that I’ve looked up to in my life, it always takes them longer to get to the top because it’s going to mean something. The music will be timeless. The career is going to be something they can retire with. I’m not interested in my song blowing up, I’m interested in me blowing up as an artist and people connecting with me, rather than people connecting with my song and don’t even know who sung it because they’re listen to a TikTok sound. Just persevere and don’t let all the noise get to you. Just stay focused.”
What memory first comes to mind when you think about music?
“I’m going to say playing the piano in my bedroom. My dad had a home setup because my dad does music to. When my little brother was born, he had to move the home setup out and make it into a bedroom. The piano got moved into my room and I self-taught myself. I play the keys fluently now. That’s my earliest memory. Also, seeing my dad produce and write music. That’s probably what got me into music. I do want to learn guitar too, but my nails are too long for that!”
When did you know you had a talent for singing? Did someone push you to make music a career option when they heard your talents?
“My whole drive has come from me. My family is so supportive. I dropped out of school so young. I didn’t work well with education. I was so passionate about music; I didn’t want to sit in a classroom every day. My parents supported every decision that I made. I was the driving force. I remember signing up for talent shows when I was 10 without telling my parents! I just had that drive. I used to watch Jennifer Hudson, Beyonce and Rhianna videos. From a young age, I was go, go, go. When I look back at videos of myself as a child, I definitely had main character syndrome! Some kids, you can see their performance and that was definitely me. When I look back at it, I was extremely animated, always wanted to be on camera, always singing into a hairbrush!”
When did you make your first track?
“I started writing music from when I was like 10. I’ve got videos on my phone of me playing piano on my dad’s camcorder. I used to write raps as well. I used to watch Jme video’s and then try copy them!”
What advice do you have for those trying to make a career in the music industry?
“You need to be able to walk into a room and people fill your energy. You need to make an impact everywhere you go. You don’t know who’s watching you at what point. I’ve been in studio sessions with people I didn’t know was well connected. I’ve made an impact and before you know it, I’ve got labels hitting me up. You never know who you are performing in front of, so you always have to make an impact at every single point. It can become stressful and pressurising but it’s worth it in the end. Even if you’re not performing and you’re just stepping into a room, be the brightest light in that room. You have to stand out.”
Emotional Gangster will be available on all digital streaming platforms from October 25th.