Just under a decade deep into creating, Finn Foxell is anything but a facsimile; the West London rapper’s aptitude for lived-in truthtelling has been the greatest marker of his artistry thus far. Over a series of solo and collaborative projects, no more evident than on 2020’s ‘Talk Is Cheap’, the intangibility of young adulthood was captured through spoken-word; smoky jazz and house shuffles home to free-flowing meditations on dreaming through malaise and the menial nature of everyday life.
This year represents a shift in Finn’s output; one that pivots to stadium-sized ambitions. On timely single ‘Leaders’, Finn invoked the unruly spirit of punk progenitors, taking aim at bureaucratic systems in an anthem that doubles as a dose of hedonism, and an invective against those that seek to mislead the disenfranchised.
In conversation, Finn reflects on the seamless transition from lo-fi rap upstart to a true genre-anarchist.
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Lets start with your influences and inspirations. From the world of rap and beyond, which artists and which records shaped you growing up?
A record that always pops to mind is 50 Cent’s ‘Get Rich Or Die Tryin’. It’s more influential than people let on. I love that not only would he rap in this sick braggadocious way but he’d be so good at creating melodies and hooks. I always appreciated that versatility. There’s also artists like Plan B, who made me realise this blend and mishmash of UK-derived genres could work. To me, this versatility was the most exciting aspect I was drawn to when I was younger.
You’ve been writing songs since you were eight and have developed into a lyrical storyteller with a keen eye for observational detail. Where do you go to seek inspiration?
Initially I used to write more out of expression and emotion: when I was sad, annoyed or angry. Over time, as I started releasing music around the age of 16 onwards, I’d write on public transport. I’d get on the bus on my way to college or on the train, and be writing because the visual stimulation around me fed into it my process perfectly. It always felt like the right place to be doing it.
Now, my process has developed into something where I reserve my energy a bit more. I don’t write anywhere near as much as I used to – I’m not writing on trains and buses all the time anymore! I run around and wear myself out for a few weeks trying to live some life and then I’ll get in the studio for a couple of days and get it all out at once. I think all of those methods have been beneficial to me over time, but has been ever-changing. It’s never just been one thing.
Your early projects ‘Talk Is Cheap’ and ‘Good Tea’ dealt with what it means to be on the precipice of your twenties, exploring that angst-ridden uncertain stage of your life and career. Talk me through that chapter and how it fed your creativity...
I released ‘Good Tea’ when I was about 18 and it was a little milestone mark for me. That EP actually just hit 10 million streams on Spotify, which I’m really happy about because it was a real DIY experience. It was just me and my friend at college – also my manager at the time – releasing this project together with a budget of £500. 10 million streams later….it’s a satisfying one. It’s a moment that validated the hard work and made me think I can create a career out of this. As soon as I started treating it this way it started becoming it.
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You followed that up with ‘Alright Sunshine’, an end-of-pandemic project released last year. How did you cope with being insulated from your surroundings and external stimuli?
I was very blessed that I was actually making a living in some way off music when lockdown hit. That was a first for me. Off the back of that I was allowed to create at home in isolation, just writing and making tunes. It was God’s timing on that one because I’d never had the opportunity or the freedom to get stuck in and do that on the level that I was during the pandemic. In a weird way, I’m very grateful for the way that it all panned out because it allowed me to hone my craft and get in my mind about it more.
The track ‘EOTM – Employee Of The Month’ – unpacks the grind of low-grade work life whilst having bigger aspirations. Lyrically this is you at your potent...
It’s one of my favourites. It tackles this idea that it doesn’t matter what you’re doing right now, you can build your life to the point where you’re your own boss. Timing is everything. The amount of little jobs I’ve worked, the amount of things I’ve done for money, have led me to sit here right now doing this interview. I just had to reassure myself that the pay off is coming. I guess ‘EOTM’ is me trying to articulate that with a little bit of flex and panache, but also with a degree of modesty and humility. There’s not too much ego on here. I’m saying I used to stack boxes, do you know what I mean?
Let’s talk about your new era which commenced with the acerbic anti-establishment single, ‘Leaders’. When did the seeds of this timely track start to grow?
It was created as a response to the shambles which has been ongoing for quite a while. It’s not something that’s happened recently and it’s not one individual thing: it’s a result of what we’ve all felt is the consistent shafting of the public over the course of multiple leaders within the same government. ‘Leaders’ is about the mess itself: it’s about the mask they’re putting on, the role they’re playing together to shaft the majority. I love ‘Leaders’ as a record. I’d like to think that if at any point people feel like the government aren’t being truthful with them, this song will resonate and amplify that point.
This track is a response to an era of reactionary politics. Is trying not to preach and trying to convey a universal message personal to you a tough balancing act for you as an artist?
It’s a fine balance, for sure. It comes down to the point where you’re making sure you’re reflecting a general feeling of unrest but not in a way where you’re necessarily speaking for them as a voice for their grievances. I’m just a musician and a filter, nothing I say really means anything in a purely political context but if I can articulate just a fragment of how everyone’s feeling, then I think I’m doing the right job. That doesn’t mean I’ve got to go preaching, it just means that I have to capture a moment.
‘What’s Your Poison’ continues that anarchic punk spirit. Lyrically this song points inwards as opposed to capturing the outward-looking sentiment of ‘Leaders’…
Exactly. ‘What’s Your Poison’ is much more personal in that it’s talking about the relationship with yourself and your own vices. What’s that thing? Is that thing going to take over you or are you going to fucking curve it? Again, it’s a universal feeling and I’d like to think a lot of people can resonate and relate to that.
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The video plays on patriotism but through a lens of inclusion and nostalgia. What were you wanting to convey with the visual? Were you responsible for the treatment?
I worked with a director called Alia Hasan. He came up with some fantastic ideas, bringing to life a lot of the feelings and energies that I’d had in mind. We wanted to push some buttons and touch on the mask iconography. We tried to show the energy of the youth right now and how we’re feeling, really highlight a little bit of hypocrisy whilst doing that as well.
Ultimately, it’s just me and my boys having jokes outside Wembley Stadium, me wearing a St. George flag on and pissing some people off the process. In the right way of course! No one could look at us and not think these are a good bunch of lads. For that reason, I think the video did its job; it showed a little bit of raucous anarchy, but also showed the collective energy that people from my age group are all coming with.
These songs are more guitar-led, there’s a caustic grunge element differing from your embrace of lo-fi melodic rap. What were your musical references for this version of Finn?
It’s always been there. As much as I was someone who grew up listening to a lot of rap-focused music, I was also hearing other things in the house: My Mum was a punk when she was younger, listening to the likes of The Clash and The Sex Pistols. No one around me had ever picked up a guitar and made a type of song in that way, so I just didn’t know where to start. I found someone – big up Jacob Manson! He helped put me in that pocket. As soon as I screamed in the mic like I was in a stadium it just clicked. That part of me was waiting to get awakened man, and it ties in with everything else I’ve done before.
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You’ve been invoking that energy on a nationwide tour. What does this tour look like and how is it different from what’s come before?
I was performing a mainly rap-based set before and there was a lot of energy in that; there were certain songs where I was really bringing something out of people, but with these new ones, it’s truly anthemic. These are good records that people can truly have a great dance to. That’s been coming across on tour, whether people had heard the records or not, the response has been insane. Now they know the words and it’s a beautiful sing-along. There’s this collective release; letting out energy, letting out frustration, whatever they got going on at the time. They’ve come to that event and we’ve chucked it and had a fucking sick time.
Later this week, you’ll conclude your tour around UK and Ireland. Which crowd thus far has given you the biggest feedback?
Manchester was insane. I love Manchester every time I go, they just radiate great energy and they receive everything so well – there’s no egos in the room. Equally Glasgow, they were up for chucking it. It was brilliant. The Scots always have it large.
You’ve come up with Elevation Meditation – this interconnecting community you’ve built with Louis Culture, p-rallel, Lord Apex and more. Talk us through being sustained by a collective…
They helped me get into music. I would not have had the development, support or validation from people around me to have the confidence that I had if it weren’t for them. That collective energy is what we’ve all had from the time we were teenagers when we first started making solo music; it’s been integral, regardless of what we’re all doing. I feel so blessed to have that network around me. Some of them I’ve known since we were kids, now we’re grown and we’re all coinciding with our beautiful solo careers. I don’t think there’s anything that can compare to that in the UK right now. When you’re independent, you need that community.
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You collaborated with Lord Apex and Flowdan on the project, ‘Stuck In Motion’. It’s an under-the-radar project that people should seek out for after-hours version of Finn Foxell...
So Apex, that’s my brother! We’re on some Cheech & Chong energy. Rapping together, we just go off, we could make tune after tune after tune together. We made that a few years ago all in one room, doing sessions every other week for a few months. It just came together so naturally. At that point, there wasn’t a team around me, no budgets, no nothing. It was just me and the two of them having a shared belief that we’re going make a dirty mixtape and we did.
I’ve been told you have new music coming in January, which will continue this run of anthemic singles. What can you tell us about 2023? Is a debut album in the works?
Man, I’m trying to work slowly and delicately towards my first full LP. These singles have been something of a starting point for that. It’s given people a taste of where we’re taking it but I want to assure people there’s other sounds that I haven’t released yet. I’m so excited for them to be out. There’s going be a lot of shows next year. I’m trying to push this live energy and hit as many festivals as possible and give them the soundtrack they need.
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Words: Shahzaib Hussain
Photography: Cicely
Styling: Sabrina Soormally
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