Chinwe

Name, where are you from?
I’m Chinwe and I’m from London.

Describe your style in three words?
Minimal, black, chill.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
Erykah Badu at Brixton Academy. She didn’t arrive until like 11pm and we’d been waiting since 7:30pm but the second she started singing everyone completely forgot how mad they were five minutes ago and she captivated the entire room for the half-hour that she had left!

If you could be on the line up with any two artists in history?
I would pick Nina Simone and the Lijadu Sisters because they were outspoken, revolutionary women who impacted their communities at a time when it was even more difficult to exist as a woman and have your voice and ideas taken seriously.

Which subcultures have influenced you?
Growing up in East London I was influenced by grime culture and I also had a bit of an indie phase at one point. I would say the first subcultures that influenced me were afrobeat/highlife and Jamaican soundsystem culture. It’s what I’d hear at parties and what my parents would play at home.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
Eartha Kitt has always been a bit of an enigma so I’d love to spend an hour with her. She seemed like she lived life to the full and never needed permission to be who she wanted to be.

Of all the venues you’ve been to or played, which is your favourite?
When I was a student I worked for a bit at the bar in the Shepherds Bush Empire and got to see some great artists and bands and I always thought it would be cool to play there one day!

Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
I think Noname is an unsung hero/ine in music. I love the music she creates and what she does for the community – her book club and trying to make education more accessible, especially for the most marginalised people in society.

Chinwe recently released her debut EP 'Scar Tissue'. Stream it on Spotify via spoti.fi/3lyb9tl.