Northampton’s slowthai speaks about new album Tyron ahead of record's release

On his forthcoming album, slowthai is out to prove a point – that there’s much more to Tyron Frampton than simply an outspoken rapper in a pair of boxer shorts.

Next Friday, slowthai releases his eagerly awaited second album Tyron, the follow up to his critically acclaimed 2019 debut Nothing Great About Britain.

Tyron is a record which the Northampton native hopes will help people through difficult and challenging times and also show that actually, we’re all alike.

“I’m buzzing for people to hear this record - more so than the first one I think,” slowthai explains.

"I’m just hyped about it, you know when you just know you’ve got something good.

“I’m one of those people that likes moving forward and until this is out, I can't take steps into the future that I need to.”

Tyron has been carefully crafted as a record of two halves.

The first sees slowthai in somewhat familiar territory – loud, abrasive and in one sense, the slowthai you think you know.

Then, as the album progresses, Tyron becomes something different – a record on which slowthai pushes his boundaries musically and lyrically in ways people maybe won’t have seen before.

“I wanted to give people an insight into who I am, to show people that I'm not just a madman that's so outspoken and aggressive, running around in my boxer shorts,” he jokes, “and actually a quite nice lad who likes chilling at home and doing everything.

“It’s a way for people to know, we’re not too far disconnected really.

“We’re all the same and what you're going through, I'm going through and we go through it together.”

Nothing Great About Britain propelled slowthai onto the covers of magazines and websites across the world.

It led to multiple sold-out tours, acclaimed collaborations with the likes of Mura Masa and Denzel Curry, award nominations, and, on occasions, tabloid headlines for the right and wrong reasons.

Despite the success of the record, slowthai knew where he wanted to take the follow up.

“I wanted to make songs that if we were playing festivals, they would be louder than everybody else,” he explains.

“If someone was on the main stage and we were on a smaller stage - you'd be able to hear us over the main stage.

“I wanted it to be loud and crazy but also have intimate moments - I just wanted to make something slappin'.

“We achieved what we achieved with Nothing Great About Britain and I needed to switch it up a bit and come up with something fresh.”

If slowthai’s debut was the soundtrack to growing up in Northampton, Tyron was inspired by looking more inwards.

While tracks came together at different locations across the world including LA, New York and London, what Tyron shares with its predecessor is again, much of it was made in his mum’s Northampton basement.

“I suppose I’ve been inspired by time outside but it’s more looking inward than looking outward,” he explains.

“It’s more how I’m feeling internally than externally.

“Going from West Hollywood to your mum's basement is a weird transition but it's the best for me,”

“It brings you back down to Earth. No matter where I go, I'm still from here.”

Addressing some of the trappings which come with global success, he adds: “You can go and get carried away and at points I certainly got carried away.

“Not making music necessarily, just enjoying different countries, having all my friends there where we could do whatever we wanted - but then you come back.

“It’s like that Kanye song, No More Parties in LA - you’ve gotta just come home and chill out.”

slowthai again worked with Kwes Darko on Tyron but also with the likes of SAMO, Dom Maker, Kelvin Krash, Kenny Beats, JD Reid, KIKO and Daniel Duke.

On Nothing Great About Britain, slowthai turned to UK talent for guest collaborations but on Tyron, he joined up with rap heavyweights including A$AP Rocky and Denzel Curry.

Skepta returns for the track Cancelled while Deb Never, James Blake and Mount Kimbie all feature on the second half of Tyron.

“You learn from people, that's what life is,” explains slowthai, “It’s about going and meeting people.

“Never in my life I thought I'd make a song with A$AP Rocky when I was in Northampton,” he admits.”

The pair met when Rocky attended one of slowthai’s US shows and Mazza, the track which followed, is one of three singles which have been released from Tyron ahead of the album’s release.

Other recent singles NHS and Feel Away both feature on the second half of the record and the more slowthai speaks about Tyron, the clearer it becomes how immensely proud he is of the record.

“I think the shift in gears will surprise people,” he explains.

“It’s a smooth transition, you think it’s quite abrupt, but it flows nicely.

“I think I Tried is going to be the one that surprises people the most because it's unlike anything I've done before.”

When asked about a song which fans haven’t yet heard, slowthai turns to Tyron’s closing track ADHD, which he feels summarises the whole of the LP.

“It's my favourite song on the album as I think it's the most personal to me,” he says.

“It ties it all up nicely and goes from me expressing how I'm feeling at that point to going back into the emotion of trying to escape to then going back to the realisation of it ending so abruptly.

“It’s something I've definitely struggled with in my life and seen friends and people around me with.

“Maybe I'm not built the same way as other people. I'm a bit sketchy, I'm a bit scatty - sometimes when I'm present in the room I'm somewhere else.”

Turning to talk about I Tried, he adds: “There's layers. We box ourselves in and people want to relate you to something and class you as this one thing.

“But we all have multi layers and multi personalities and parts of us that we don't let people see.

“I want people to have an insight into my head. I'm not just one thing.”

The artwork for Tyron depicts slowthai sitting at the base of a tree with an arrow through an eye and an apple resting on his head.

The image is partly influenced by the legend of William Tell who supposedly shot an apple off the head of his son in the 1300s.

The combination of the apple, arrow and tree came from a series of ideas slowthai had which eventually came together as one for the cover of the album.

“There's a tree in Northampton, out near Harlestone Firs, and it’s in the field where we used to ride motorbikes,” slowthai explains.

“It’s a big farmers field, everyone used to ride ‘crossers’, there’s a big tree in the middle and it’s at the top of the hill. It’s always been there. From when I was little, I loved that tree.

“The tree represents eternal life, there's an apple falling which represents gravity and I was always inspired by the William Tell story.

“In the tree there is also a blue bird which stands for Twitter. There’s lots of things that were prominent in my life at that point in time."

slowthai has previously spoken openly about mental health and the challenges he has faced.

With Tyron, he hopes he has created a record which can provide positivity to people.

“I can't imagine what it's been like for a lot of people,” he explains – talking about those suffering with illnesses which have been exacerbated by the impact of the coronavirus.

“I know a lot of people are struggling and it's a mad time, but I think you have to try and turn a negative into a positive,” he explains.

“One of the aims of the album is to show people that we're all going through the same thing.

“I understand how you feel in your head. I feel the same way. I'm not too disconnected from that feeling.

“I think (Tyron) is a reality check for myself and also a message for people to uplift people's spirit and hopefully keep them happy and give them a bit of light to their days.”

When the conversation turns to touring Tyron, slowthai hopes to be out on the road by September – but in the same sentence, he’s keen to re-enforce his commitment to his hometown and about his plans to buy a house in Northampton.

“I'm not moving anywhere. I'd rather be in Northampton than some hovel in London,” he jokes. “I love Northampton.”

In a final message to fans and his hometown supporters, slowthai says: “Stay positive. Be who you are.

“Enjoy yourself. Love yourself and I promise when we get through this, every show I've already done – there’s going to be something which is 100 times bigger and it will be highlighting on bringing people to Northampton, people that wouldn’t have necessarily come here.

“It’s just a matter of time and then I’ll reveal the plan.”

Tyron is out on Friday, February 12 and is available to pre-order now via https://www.slowthai.comslowthai and Skepta will appear on American late-night talk show The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon this Friday.