- Words Cal McIntyre
- Photography Charlie Chich
We get to grips behind the scenes of the latest collaboration between Thutmose and Rema on the set of their explosive new video for "Love In The Morning".
Thutmose, an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, is now being given a second lease of divine life through the Nigerian-born rapper and songwriter Umar Ibrahim. After immigrating with his family to Brooklyn at the age of 8, Thutmose grew up finding himself tethered to a place that didn’t match the American he thought he was going to.
Finding solace and inspiration of those who came before him – particularly Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z – found him recording freestyles over iconic tracks and uploading them to Soundcloud. Soon after, success came knocking on his door and launched him into a trajectory set for the stars. On his latest track, ‘Love In The Morning’, Thutmose teams up with fellow rising superstar, Rema, in an undeniable anthem that has cemented these two artists as way more than ones to watch.
It’s clear that Thutmose’s soundscape is one created from a melting-pot of genres blending together effortlessly that is much bigger than world music. Yet to have a name, Thutmose is an artist leading the way into an exciting new era of music with artists like Rema carrying their own torch too.
We needed to meet up with the new boy wonders of music and catch them while we could. Check out the exclusive interview below before digging into ‘Love In The Morning’ below!
How does it feel to have your EP out in the world?
Amazing! I’ve been excited to give this to the world, and just seeing the early reactions just makes so happy, I truly feel like this EP is a masterpiece.
What is your creative process like when it comes to making music?
I love to create from scratch, not all the time but probably like 95% of the time. I just love to create a sound and lyrics with intention, so I know it’s truly coming from within – guitar or piano chords to start off, then I lay some melodies and build it out from there
Who would some of your dream collaborators be?
Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Sade, Rihanna and Akon. I have a few more but these are just artists that meant a lot to me at some point in my life.
What was it like working with Rema?
Rockstar level shit – felt like God made this happen. His melodies are just outta here and plus I get to live vicariously through him since I haven’t returned to Nigeria since I left 16 years ago and he’s lived there practically his whole life.
How did you first get started within music?
I’ve been obsessed with writing poetry from a young age and always had a love for words, but my mom bought me a laptop while I was in high school, around the same time Kendrick Lamar started to buzz. I became inspired and just started digging deep and free styling on my laptop which had bad recording quality haha, but that’s pretty much how.
What is some advice you would give to your younger self?
None at all, everything happens for a reason, I wouldn’t change anything because who knows it might have led me to a different path.
What has been one of the highlights of your year so far?
Dropping my new EP that also has my song ‘Memories’ which was in the SpiderVerse soundtrack, dropping a hit with Rema and the biggest one is coming up in a few days where I’m performing in Paris for League of Legends which is going to be bigger than the Super Bowl!
What else can we expect to come from you?
I’m continuing to build my sound and truly take this worldwide, I just want to keep inspiring people across the world.
If you could choose one, what is one album that you could only listen to?
Damn, that’s a hard one, probably Good Kid Maad City.
Any advice you have been given that has stayed with you?
Don’t be afraid to take risks.
What is one fact people may not know about you?
I use to study Computer Science at school haha… and I can dunk on you.
Where do your creative ideas for your visuals come from?
Films! My first two songs were actually named after my favourite movies, I’m just inspired by cinematography whether its horror, comedy, drama or just beautifully shot music videos. Films just know how to take you on a journey and give you an experience so I try to bring that mentality into my visuals.