Written By: Mapesho Kyakilika
London-based singer-songwriter and producer Reuben Aziz caught up with GRM Daily ahead of the release of his second mixtape, mind the gap. Quickly emerging as one of the UK’s most compelling new voices at the intersection of hip-hop and R&B, Aziz has steadily built a genre-bending sound that fuses melody with grit. Equally at home over guitar-led ballads or hard-hitting 808-driven rap records, his music often carries the self-produced essence that reflects both his instinct and precision.
Raised in Southampton and now based in London, Aziz’ sound continues to unfold in real time as his sense of purpose becomes increasingly defined. A former athlete on the verge of a professional basketball pathway, Aziz brings a unique discipline into his creative process, approaching music with focus and intent beyond his years.
The 14 tracks that make up mind The gap see the singer-songwriter sonically navigate identity, ego, faith, and dreams – unfolding the inner thoughts of someone actively in pursuit of theirs. Sharing the same name as the familiar TfL announcement, the double entendre-titled mixtape sees Aziz acknowledge the distance between who we are and who we want to be, a gap many spend their lives trying to close. Feeling less like a continuation of 2025’s How Did We Get Here and more like a shift in perspective, by the end of this mixtape, we’re assured of the fact that the space between our dreams and reality is smaller than it seems.
As we board the journey that is mind The gap, Aziz takes us through a body of work that moves between introspection and aspiration, mapping out the emotional and psychological stages of becoming. Only a year after his first mixtape, Aziz has already been propelled by viral moments and notable co-signs, including acclaim for notable single “shotgun”, which earned a co-sign from 4batz and reinforced his ability to balance vulnerability with momentum . Recognition from platforms including HYPEBEAST UK, Clash, and wider culture has further cemented his rise as one of the UK’s most compelling emerging voices.
As Aziz closes the gaps in his own life, he steps into a more defined and assured chapter—one guided by clarity, intent, and self-belief. “I’m assured of my purpose, I know what I need to do, and I feel like I can do it—and I want people to take that away from this mixtape.”
It’s great to see you back for your second mixtape, mind the gap. Talk to me about what took place in the space between How Did We Get Here and mind the gap, creatively and personally ?
“It’s been interesting. There was quite a big chunk of time where I probably felt quite lost in what I wanted to do artistically. I was still releasing singles and still making music, and still enjoying it – but I didn’t really know where I wanted to go. Because I produce my own music, I like to rap and sing, and make music from different genres, I reached a point where I had to pick a lane, stay in that lane, and build a world.
“I ended up going with this sped-up alternative underground R&B sound. Once I decided on that, I made all the songs. I made “we’ll get married in the end” first, and then “shotgun”. After that track accomplished what it did, and I knew that sound was something that I liked, that people liked, and that I could build a whole mixtape around it. That was around November last year, so this tape didn’t take that long to make. Usually the process can take up to a year and half but this mixtape came right out of me all at once it feels like.”
Why did you name this project mind the gap?
“Mind the gap ‘is an on-the-nose London reference. Sonically, I wanted this to feel like a British project, as I’m inspired by everything going on in the underground music world right now. As well as that, I feel like everyone has gaps that they want to close in their lives. There’s a gap between who I am as an artist, and who I want to be, even a gap between myself and God. I want to make people feel like they can close these gaps and be who they want to be.”
Both How Did We End Up Here? (2025) and mind the gap feel connected by this idea of movement, transition and journeying. Was it intentional for those themes to connect across both projects?
“That wasn’t intentional at all. mind the gap feels different to How Did We End Up Here? – that EP felt like searching, and me trying to find myself, while mind the gap is more about me knowing what I want and what I’m aiming for – but it is interesting that they both have that same notion.”
Playing into the title, you threw a listening party on a London bus – down to the posters inside the bus with tracks names on them, and tickets given to people, it was so creative and intentional. It’s refreshing to see artists take such care with their roll outs. How did this come about?
“I have to give credit to my management, and the friends I have around me, because they’re always trying to push me creatively and encourage the different ideas I have. It’s so important to give people experiences, as well as the music.
“I wanted to give people something they could remember, that made them feel like they were part of something bigger. With the mixtape being called mind the gap, it was quite on the nose with trying to base everything around that TFL aesthetic. We played the music in the double decker bus , while riding through London, and it was really great.”
On “ego death”, there’s a sense of escape in the lyrics – how did that track come about?
“I’ve learnt that when you’re with someone, you have to die to yourself in order to love them properly, that’s just the truth. I had written down the phrase “ego death”, and I knew I wanted to make a song with that title at some point. My friend also told me that the phrase is used to describe people taking drugs – people will take it the way they will, but my intention with the title was to speak more on killing pride, which is something I’ve had to learn to do the hard way.
“As an artist,I went through a stage of feeling quite prideful – because I produce, engineer, and make the music, I think I subconsciously thought that I was the shit – when I wasn’t. As an artist you have to come to terms with the fact that you’re not that guy yet, and you have to work harder to get there. It’s important for me to have a track like that on the tape because I want to be emotionally vulnerable in my music, and want people to feel a connection to the topics I speak about. Not a lot of men specifically have spoken about that so openly.”
This is your second project, and second mixtape. A lot of artists would have jumped straight to making an album by this point – what’s your stance on the right time to make a debut album ?
“I don’t want to rush my debut album. I also know that I don’t want to completely and self-heartedly self produce, I would love to explore and expand who I work with. Mixtapes are an opportunity to show off what I can do. I always say I’m a rapper first, and I grew up on rap, and mixtapes are imperative to a rappers journey. I also like to include things like the skits – they take me to that place I get to when I listen to old Kanye or even old Eminem. The skits in there make the mixtapes more fun and help make the story of the project feel more fun.”
I know you self-produce – How did you know when these songs were finished, especially as someone who can probably keep tweaking forever ?
“With the last EP, I had like twelve versions of each song. With these songs, most of the time after the first two demos or so, a song would be done. I was very intentional about it. Because it’s sonically so thick and has so much rap influence – the 808s, the hard hitting drums – a lot of the production was already carried just because of the nature of the sound of these songs.
“The mixtape as a whole is around 40 minutes. It’s going back to that idea that I explored in “ego death” – knowing that I overthink a lot, and knowing that I’m a perfectionist, I didn’t want to bring that into this mixtape, so if I felt like something was done, I didn’t try and second guess myself, I just let it die.”
On “psalm 55” you sing ‘If I could grow wings to fly away from all this I would’. That feels like it was written from a moment of complete overwhelm, especially with Psalm 55 being about casting our cares. Where were you writing from when you made that song?
“My relationship with God has really developed since the last mixtape, and I wanted to make a song on this tape representative of that. Obviously, in Psalm 55, David is going through hardships and told God that if he had wings, he would fly away. I thought that was relatable, and I loved the idea of that line being a lyric.
“I listen to a lot of gospel music as well, and a lot of gospel music is based on Psalms, so I took the inspiration from there. My relationship with God, and the bible, have been quite a centrepiece for me while creating this music. I’ve been listening to more gospel music than I have any other genre, so subconsciously, I think that’s where my mind was gravitating towards.”
You have quite an extensive wider creative identity – we spoke about the listening party and I know you’ll be involved with activation in partnership with London Hoops and AND1, and a tube activation. How does it feel to be doing these things because you just leaned into your passion for making music?
“I love meeting people who listen to my music. Talking to them, spending time with them, and knowing where their heads are at, what they like and dislike is something I really enjoy. It’s so important to me to understand the types of people who listen to my music. Doing something beyond the music where people can leave their homes is exciting, and as a music fan myself, I try to do things I’d want to see if my favourite artists were in my city.
“I like things that make the music feel more real, and I think we’re missing real life in this digital age. With the barriers to making music being so low these days, almost everyone is making music – and doing things like the tube activation, bringing my guitar and performing songs live – actually shows people that I actually love music. It’s important to me that I’m not put in a box with people who just do it for the swag. As for London Hoops, basketball in London is something I’m quite passionate about. I think we have real talent here and I want to help put us on the map, and if I can help with exposure, I definitely will.”
What was it like to place each of these songs in their respective orders?
“I knew when I made “we’ll get married in the end” that it would be the track to finish the mixtape. I knew I wanted the skits to be spaced out, and “ego death” also presented itself as feeling like the first song on a project – dying to yourself so you can ‘be somebody’, which is the song that follows after “ego death.” I create from feeling a lot, but with the sequencing I was also trying to tell the story of someone who is trying to aspire to greatness – letting people know that if you aspire to be great and if you have big dreams, these are some of the stages that you very well may go through. Understanding where I wanted to put the singles that were already out was quite hard, as I wanted them to be spread out so that people don’t hear everything they’ve already heard all at once, so I’m really pleased with the way it sounds.”
If this project was a journey on a plane, train, or bus, and listeners got on at the start, where would you leave them by the time the 14 tracks end?
“I think I’d leave them on the moon. For me, this tape is all about the aspiration to be great and the fact that you can do whatever it is that you aspire to do – so I’d leave them somewhere that sounds impossible.”
What’s next for Reuben Aziz?
“I’d love to do a few more shows and then after this, return back to some more traditional R&B and Rap, and see how those two genres blend. When I was in the US recently, I was already working on some things – I don’t want to take my foot off the gas, but keep pushing things out. This game is all about stamina, staying consistent and creating new music for people that they hopefully gravitate towards. I’m assured of my purpose, I know what I need to do, and I feel like I can do it – and I want people to take that away from this mixtape.”