It’s that time of the week again. New Wave Wednesdays is back for yet another edition, where we introduce you to the hottest young prospects coming out of the scene. Sitting down with us for a quick interview, the wavy individuals to pass through this feature already include AJ Tracey, KwolleM, Tiggs Da Author and more.
This week, we’ve got a really new wave for you to ride with. Yxng Bane, the mask-wearing wolf who has been hitting six-figure views on his first ever tracks, sat down with our guy Griff to answer the need-to-know questions about him.
With only a small amount of music in the public domain right now, and even less information about the man himself, we thought it was very necessary to get the lowdown straight from the source. Check out the question and answers session below.
What ends do you rep?
I’m from Custom House, near Canning Town. East London.
What or who is your biggest inspiration and why?
Biggest inspiration in music? Chris Brown, I can’t lie. Because look how many situations he’s come across and he’s still continued to remain on top. His longevity is stupid. Anything he touches turns into gold man, put him on your feature and he’s spinning you on there. If you look at the numbers, numbers don’t lie. It has to be Chris.
What do you want people to take away from your music?
From the first time when you click on a Yxng Bane link, I need you to have an open mind and not to expect anything, because I could just drop something totally different to what you heard previously. Just let it hit you from the first drop. If you don’t like it from the first drop, then don’t listen to the rest of the song. If you like the drop, then keep listening man. Keep your ears open… From the time I dropped “Lone Wolf”, that’s when I found my sound. Some of my new tracks will be similar to “Lone Wolf”, but they are all real life experiences and will be expressed in different ways.
What are your goals for the next 5 years?
To be here for the next 5 after and the next 5 after that. I’m gonna be here for a long time, whether they like it or not. Gonna be here for a very long time man. I just want to make the people happy. Whatever rewards come with that, then I’m just gonna take it.
Who would your dream collaborator be?
If I had a choice, I can’t even lie to you, then Blade. Or Future. And Chris Brown.
What did you buy with your first pay cheque?
The money I got from my show, I just went back to the studio with it.
What was the first CD or MP3 you bought?
The first one that I ever, ever bought, I will never forget. It was 50 Cent, ‘Get Rich Or Die Tryin”. That is the first album I ever bought, ever. “Many Men” on there, “In Da Club”, few bangers on there. That was a good album.
Who are your top 5 MC’s of all time?
Blade. Wretch… Future. Meek Mill. Biggie. OH WAIT, hold on, let me do that again. Woah. Top 5 of all time yeah: Wretch, Biggie, Jim Jones…have I said Blade? One more init… 5th favourite of all time, Jay-Z, woosh!
Hold on, I need to do that again. Jay-Z, Jim Jones, Rick Ross, Wretch and Biggie. That’s my 5. With Jim, I love his fashion talk. Not a lot of people like his rap style, but me, I love his adlibs and his cockiness on a track. You can feel his aura as if you were in the studio with him. Wretch 32 is a different level. Fuck me blud. If I could add one more yeah, I’d say Chip as well. The ‘Transition’ album Chip and ‘London Boy’ Chip. I like Chip when he raps, man. Chip is too cold. He was my favourite growing up.
Can you explain your name and the mask?
The story behind that is, when I first started doing music, I wasn’t going to show my face at all. Before rap, I wasn’t known as Yxng Bane, it was just G Mula. When I started doing the rap thing, I didn’t want to show my face, I just wanted to do it for the music. Because I got love for music and I got stories to tell and things that are happening in my life. So let me just put Yxng Bane out there, with the Bane mask. To be fair, I’ve never watched the Batman movie with Bane in it, never watched it in my life. I quickly Wikipedia’d Bane and I read up on his thing and it’s a decent story. I changed my mind on not showing my face at all when I went to the video shoot (for “Lone Wolf/Pronto”). I was like, “Why am I hiding my face?! Let me take off my mask” and just tossed the mask away. I thought, fuck it, now there’s a face behind the voice… but I am gonna watch the movie, definitely.
Other than Bane, who is your favourite “Villain”?
Jimmy Conway, from ‘Goodfellas’. Or Tony Montana. Jimmy Conway is too slick man, I think he’s too fly.
What’s next for Yxng Bane?
You can start expecting a whole bunch of visuals, and I’m gonna start working on a project soon. When I say I’m gonna work on it soon, I’ll probably get it done in a week and just give it to you. I could start working on it next week and you’ll have it by the end of the week. I’m not saying it’s gonna drop next week, but I’m saying it’ll just be a quick one and I’ll just get it out there. You can expect it either the end of this year or early next year. Not too far. I just need to get back in the booth and let the booth flame.
Looking forward to that. I think we’ll wrap it up there.
You know how you gotta wrap it up, yeah? You gotta howl man. Hooooooowwwwwwlll! Roll safe.
Words: Alex Griffin