Weirdoe releases debut mixtape Was It Worth It?

While Weirdoe and producer Harley were working on the project which follows last year’s Scum EP, Weirdoe’s older brother James died.

While Weirdoe and his family dealt with the grief of losing James, it ultimately helped to shape the direction of the mixtape, which finishes with a track in memory of him.

“It's the best body of work we’ve ever made, hands down,” explains Weirdoe.

“You get to Stay Calm, half way on the project and you’re on this positive elevation and then you get to Think2wice and it starts to tell that story of that downward spiral, leading up to the track James.

“I think it was done perfectly, that lovely 50:50 ratio. When you start listening you're listening to Weirdoe and by the time you've finished you’re listening to Aaron.

“It's just Aaron stood in a room, expressing his thoughts and his feelings.”

The penultimate track on Was It Worth It? was the eulogy Weirdoe read at his brother’s funeral.

Despite being a lyricist and a fan of prose, Weirdoe explains it was the first time he’d written something he considers poetry in 20 years.

“I was asked by the celebrant who knew I was doing a song whether I’d like to write a poem and I said absolutely.

“I was a bit worried and nervous about writing it, but it was perfect.

“There was a point where I realised it kind of clicked being in front of James, I rang up my producer Harley and I said to him I wanted to use it in the project and he said it was a wicked idea.

“It makes James a lot more personal. You’re enjoying the music and then you get to that ninth track. Everything comes to a halt.

“You embrace that silence before James. It gives me the shivers every time and that’s me - someone who’s expecting it.

“The placement of tracks on the project was really important and those tracks would only work there.”

The release of Was It Worth It? was preceded by Headshots, Decoys and James – the first two picking up the similar gritty, dark tone Weirdoe laid out in last year’s Scum EP.

Explaining the impact the death of his brother had on Was It Worth It? Weirdoe said: “I was struggling between that transition of trying to be Aaron and trying to be Weirdoe. At the time I just felt like Aaron was suffering so much.

“It was easier for me to write the more ‘outlet’ tracks. So Far is like a self-reflection, the same as Conscious. James is more like outlining a chapter in my life.

“I like to write with emotion, people tell me they can hear and feel every word - even on the angrier stuff.

“I can kind of capture emotion in lyrics which is quite hard to do.

“With this project there was the transition of that emotion, there was a very fast downfall and we captured that in the last part of it.

“I just wanted people to understand, ‘Yes, I am Weirdoe,’ but behind the man of that mask is Aaron and his life is very real and it is very tough at some points.

“Let me explain that to you, let me help you to understand why I am the way I am and who I am.”

Was It Worth It? opens with Say Your Prayers, a track based around a repeating sample, church style bells and subjected lyrics based on religious references.

Weirdoe cites US rapper Lil Wayne as an influence in terms of the track’s swing and flow, adding, “we loved that sample and knew it had to be on the project.”

Weirdoe is quick to praise the work of Harley on the track Leeches.

“It’s some of his best production. When it comes to the more gassed up stuff, like that track, Harley absolutely smashed it.

“It was simple and effective but sounded unorthodox so that's how I attacked it and I vented a lot of anger that I'd kept for people, scenarios and circumstances.

“It just turned out to be a banger.”

Elsewhere on the mixtape, Weirdoe teamed up with fellow Northampton rapper Remieworld on the track Stay Calm.

Despite Remieworld occupying the more alt rap side of the genre, Weirdoe explains the pair had previously discussed collaborating and bringing their sounds together.

“I started writing lyrics and Harley came out with this other hip-hop beat that had crazy jazz elements,” he says.

“I kind of freestyled over the top, realised it worked and pitched it to Remmie.

“He had lyrics prepared and I’m so glad he adapted to what we did.”

In September, Weirdoe will perform on the main stage at the Northampton Music Festival, alongside acts including Mae Stephens, Woahgetter, Eden Lole and Freya Rose.

With his debut mixtape under his belt, he’s also looking at performances further afield.

“We’ve been speaking to some people in London about shows there and then there’s places like Birmingham as well – I’d love to be able to branch out, get to the cities and make sure people are hearing it.

“The Northampton Music Festival is gonna be brilliant, I can’t wait, I’ll be trying my best to keep it as PG as possible.”

Turning to the future, Weirdoe and Harley are already planning their next moves and while not wanting to give too much away, he’s happy to give a teaser as to where the next project is heading.

“We understand people love Weirdoe, but people equally love Aaron and what he does.

“They’re two very different people in a sense of creative direction.

“Weirdoe has that dark tendency and it's very grimy, very fast paced – sometimes a bit too much.

“But we’ve got that transition and that diversity where we can switch it up to the Aaron side of things that is very personal, hard hitting and poetic.”

Was It Worth It? is out now digitally and on CD. For more information visit https://linktr.ee/weirdoe