Get Familiar: Len

Photography and interview by Deveka Davda

Get familiar with Len, a talented young rapper hailing from the vibrant community of Stockwell in South London. With a unique style and an unwavering passion for music, Len has been making waves in the local scene and beyond, capturing the hearts of audiences with his raw lyricism and captivating performances. Today, we have the pleasure of sitting down with Len to learn more about his journey, influences, and future plans in the music industry. So without further ado, let's get started!

Where are you from and how has that shaped you who you are today?

I’m from South London, Stockwell. It’s my home and my heart. Being around a lot of chaos but also just finding a lot of beauty in it definitely plays a part of my childhood and me growing up.

This is also reciprocated in my music as it’s very chaotic and has an element of beauty to it. It’s the hood basically but in a way i’m able to represent people from the hood that don’t fit in. It’s made me the person I am today.

I’ve been to a couple of your shows and I’ve experienced a crazy energy when it comes to the crowd. How do you prepare for a live performance and connect with your supporters whilst on stage?

To prepare for the show I like to drink a couple shots of Henny to keep my body warm and ready. The first song I do has to start off on a high to keep everyone on their feet and warmed up. I feel like i don’t need to introduce myself, the song alone is enough to do that. Towards the middle, I gotta slow things down and let everyone catch their breath before ending it on a high again. In terms of connecting to my fans, it’s just about talking to them. With my shows I’ve invited you to my world and personally invited you understand my brain to find out where my heads at. That is the purest form you can really experience my music. If I’ve invited you to my world it would be weird if i didn’t talk to you or check in to see how you’re doing. People these days are being too shy or think they’re too cool to enjoy but being at a Len show you can’t even do that.

How would you best describe your style of music?

I’d describe it as fly and for the bad b*tches. This is the sort of sound you wanna listen to before you go for a night out, before meeting your friends. It’s fun, sexy, swaggy and braggadocious music. This is the kind of music that describes how everyone should feel. You should feel cocky, bad and cool as hell and that’s what I want my music to do at all times.

How do you stay inspired and motivated to create something new?

Just by living. I don’t put a lot of pressure on me not having ideas. If i don’t have an idea I just think first thing I need to do is go watch a movie or maybe go shopping or even just link the mandem. There’s so many experiences that happen in small moments of life that I just think yeah I can make that into a bar. I had a song where I said ‘I’m smoking some dope outside a Sony building’ and it was actually because I was smoking weed outside the building. I feel like the fact that I can draw an idea from even just being on a flight is amazing to me.

Can you discuss a specific song or project that has been particularly challenging or rewarding for you?

I always focus on the rewards as my songs are like my babies. The streets really seem to love Addiction and it has been doing really well. I don’t know how I anticipated it to go because everyone has been waiting for that one and rode a wave with it.

It’s definitely my favourite song I’ve released. Brazy’s verse was crazy as well.
I even performed it when it was unreleased and people still knew the words and it was a great feeling. I really appreciate all the support and all the love that was given to man.

What interests or hobbies do you have outside of music?

I really like watching anime, bowling, and drawing. I been really enjoying movies recently, Ive been to the cinema twice this week. Ive been also enjoying table tennis. I’ve been getting back into gaming too, I bought a PS5 couple weeks ago and have been enjoying Tekken.

Let’s talk about Devotion. That is my favourite song of yours because it’s got an infectious bouncy vibe to it.

Devotion was a funny process. We actually made the song backwards in a way where we had the loop, then I sang the hook and then did the drums but making the drum 808 sounds with my mouth. We couldn’t really find a drum that could do what I wanted so I went in the booth and tried to explain it and the beat went from there. I record pretty quickly. I don’t really dwell on a song, it takes me like 5-10 mins to record a song. After recording it I went onto record a whole different song.

What are some things you’ve enjoyed about your journey so far?

The money. People nowadays are scared to be materialistic but I like to be materialistic. Mainly, I love the love and support I’ve received through this journey. I love to hear that my music has changed someone or my music has helped someone through a really hard time, It’s beautiful. Obviously the shows too, when I see the lights in everyones eyes when they see me and they hear my songs it really warms my heart.



Tell us how you like to use the internet to promote your music.

I just be myself. I feel like everyone just has this idea that I’m some sort of marketing genius. People keep saying ‘everyone seems to learn from Len’, but I’m just being myself and going online and chatting sh*t because there’s a lot of random things on my mind. I make funny videos to make myself and my friends laugh with my music playing in the background. I’ve never seen it as a marketing move, just me showcasing my bubbly personality. I just like to have fun, so why would I hide that from the whole world. I feel like your music can take you places but your personality will always take you further. The whole being a mysterious person doesn't work.

What other artists do you listen to regularly?

I listen to Femi and Pierre a lot. I’ve been really messing with Ragz Originale and Nemzzz recently, they’re both wavey. Yves Tumor as well. They’ve dropped a new album recently.

What can we expect from Len in 2023?

Just expect more hits and a crazy project drop around summer time hopefully.