Although the world has seemingly stood still over the last year, Kody Glish has been getting busy etching his name on the metaphorical toilet wall of London’s underground scene. I say etch, because I don’t think he’s going anywhere soon. I say toilet, because that’s where all the best shit happens –
Raised in Aachen, Germany the 25 year old producer and rapper brings hard headed delight with his latest track ‘Straight To The Tea’. Through mixing sounds and genres, the self-proclaimed ‘pirate’ marries clever brag rap over a strikingly produced trap beat, creating something that is bouncy, poised and well thought out.
Unlike his previous release “phelps”, Kody describes Straight to The Tea as a “big fuck you to everything I’ve been doing before” while on route to update his wardrobe with a new tactical vest. Quickly the interview morphed into a long meandering conversation, holding testament to the likeability of this underground performer – touching on everything from the creative process, the critical acclaim of The Arctic Monkeys, and why chicken actually comes in blocks.
What kind of Artist would you classify yourself as?
Do you know what – at the beginning of everything I would say my music was very melodic. And I wasn’t giving everything away about myself. [But then I was like] actually, let me fuck this shit I’ll do what I exactly want. What people want to know about me and the things that people should know about me – bun all of that, I’m just going to do what I want. Like I really didn’t care what the song would do, or whether people would like it. It was more like “Bun this I’m going to let you hear what I fucking want.
You can’t make yourself stick to one genre – that’s just not going to happen.
What’s your creative process like?
I started producing and rapping at the same time, so I guess they kind of go hand in hand. Process, do you know what? I’m a bit of a weirdo with it. There’s not really a process – I just need a fat zoot, a bit of space and yeah that’s pretty much it. I just need to smoke before I do it. My creative process during covid has been beneficial – things I’m able to do with my voice, being more vulnerable, expressing things in slightly unorthodox ways, there’s a couple of songs that I’ve not released where my lyrics are like – mad brash – mad aggressive and I’m like screaming and it just feels more free. As funny as it sounds, like lockdown locking me in, unlocked me.
I read somewhere that you like the Arctic Monkeys – what do you like about them?
Everything man, like everything. The way they carry themselves, the way they each have their own style. When they were starting to blow up, it was actually their fans that made their myspace page, not themselves. They were one of the first groups to represent where [the fans] came from, and who they were, and they were just so unapologetic with it.
As a kid, I’m just like, damn – I kind of like this whole slick back look that they’ve got going on. The leather jackets that and the skinny jeans – and I’m hearing them speak with their Sheffield accent aswell, and I was like – yes.
I’m going to throw out a controversial one – the one song of theirs that I enjoy, just playing any time is Mardy Bum. I’ll be in the car with all my guys and they’re trying to play drill and I’m just there like: nah man, mardy bum.
Who’d you like from London that’s making music?
Oliver Malcom – He’s like the ultimate thuggish whiteboy. I love it. He’s a geezer that could easily wear a 25 carat diamond drip. He’s cool man. I fuck with that. Fashion wise, he’s dope aswell. Early 2000s inspired. Because I’m a character myself, I like to interconnect with fellow characters.
Your lyrics are pretty smart. You’ve got a line in Straight to the Tea about “Whipping Chicks”. I’m vegetarian so that bar was completely lost on me.
[Laughs] Basically, whippin’ chickens is about whippin’ chicken. If you sell a brick of cocaine, that’s a chicken. Sam’s is a chicken shop. Come on man, you know Sam’s – it’s like Morley’s. [Laughs again] I just found out you’re from Bristol, you should know about this shit.
With more releases in the works and a five year plan to start doing alternative cruises, you can expect to see Kody live at the end of July – open air, and an unconfirmed date. He only wanted to tell me if I was going. So, I suppose I’ll have to see you there.
RIDE MUSIC 