- Words Cal McIntyre
- Photography Cal McIntyre
- Grooming Aimee Twist at Creatives Agency using M.A.C Cosmetics and got2b
- Production Studio Notion
With the release of his highly-anticipated EP 'Nights Before Treehouse', we get to grips with the UK MC Kirby Forest who is making waves from London to Atlanta.
You’d think Kirby Forest is beyond his years with his effortless ability to spit emotive and mouthful flows over experimental and Lo-Fi soundscapes.
At 21, Forest has already garnered a mass amount of eyes on him over the years – patiently waiting for what is to come next. With the release of his latest EP ‘Nights Before Treehouse’ is exactly what we’ve all been waiting for. The idiosyncratic EP encompasses everything that Kirby does excellently; his eccentric stylisation, vulnerable lyricism and unwavering lyrical flow.
Forest continues to blaze his own path with his refined taste for tripped out beats wrapped between bars that seem to pour from Kirby’s soul. What makes the UK rapper so distinct in his lane is the sound he seems to be crafting for himself. Born in Radlett, Hertfordshire, at 12-years-old Kirby moved to Atlanta, Georgia in the U.S. with his family, this was where he discovered hip hop and his passion for music. Little did he know that years later he would be successfully blending and intertwining his references from the UK scene with Atlanta’s historic and unbeatable rap game.
In his latest EP, Forest tackles the endless journey that is self-discovery. Particularly, on the track ‘I Don’t Care’, produced by Tambala, which perfectly epitomises Kirby’s quiet yet powerful confidence in his ability to carefully and intelligently articulate the inner-workings of his mind over melodic and nostalgic beats. We could all take a leaf from Forest’s book, so we thought it was time to meet up with the man himself as our latest Internet Crush!
How has London inspired the music you create?
London has inspired the music I make in a big way, UK music is special and you can’t replicate it, there was a time where I would only listen to grime/garage instrumentals, and just wheel them back and freestyle constantly, there’s also a lot of young people coming up and just that inspires me to do more!
What is your creative process like when it comes to making music?
The process is different each time, recently the process has been all-day studio sessions, but on the EP a few of the songs were sent over email, and just finetuned until we got something we were super happy with.
What has been one of the highlights of your year so far?
The highlight of the year so far is a show that I did earlier at the beginning of the year, the energy was crazy, but we are going to have way more highlights to come with a show on the 31st and more after that!
What is something people may not know about you yet?
One thing people may not know is that I have a song with Willow Smith and others and it’s currently online.
What are you listening to you right now?
I’m currently listening to Lil Keed ‘It’s Up Freestyle’, literally again and again, other than that Octavian’s new project is hard, Bakar’s new song is great but I’ve just been listening to a bunch of UK music.
What are the main messages and themes behind your latest EP?
For me the EP is just depicting a moment in my journey, messages through the project are just to go for what you want, and don’t sit around and wait for it to come to you, and having belief in your steelo, and what you do.
What is your dream venue to perform in?
Dream venue is 02 arena in Greenwich, there are a few others that would be amazing though I wanna perform at as many as I can!
Something that inspires me is to go harder is watching all of my people succeed, friendships like that are good cause you bounce the positive energy on each other and you naturally set the bar higher each time.
What’s your favourite flow or lyric you’ve written so far?
Favourite flow is “Sip straight from the rose bottle, I’m a boss like Ross, call the shots yeah I do, who are you out my way I’m coming through.” BAAAAAARZ.
