1) Backlash is making a comeback after a 2 year retirement, having announced his return on social media and confirming the news in an interview. 2) Though previously one of the best-selling rap artists, Backlash is humble and does not have an entourage or manager, believing artists need to be themselves to be successful. 3) Backlash started his music career young at age 15 but was confident in his abilities, and his debut album went platinum while gaining critical acclaim, showing his maturity despite his age.

1. Backla$h isback, and betterthanever. Havingbeenretiredforalengthy2 years,newsbroke on
twitterthatthe long awaitedcomebackwason.Andforgood. While,The I’shadbeendotted and
the t’s had been crosed, we,the audienceof wishful thinkers withearsandeyespermanentlylocked
to our radios(forthe firsttime since the announcementof backlash’sretirement),laptopsand
smartphoneswaitedinanticipationtohearconformationof the news. Today,we findhiminaSoho
hotel,dressedinthe usual attire of trackingbottoms,flatcapand zippedupjacket,waitingsilentlyin
the corner of the roomwithgoldenlights beringdownonthem.“Justanotherday”he states,ashe
getsup shakesREBEL’s hand,grinningtriumphantly, notknowingthe impressionthathe will create
of himself.
Havingbeenone of the bestsellingrapartistsof thisgeneration,youwouldexpectBackla$hto have
a swaggerand an arrogance to his personalityandof the way he conductshimself.Withinsecondsof
meetinghim,we quicklyrealise thatneverjudge abookbyitscoverrings true withthisfine
gentleman.There iscertainlyahumblenesstobackla$h,ashe doesn’trunamok withan entourage,
or have an assistantor managertellinghimwhattosay everycouple of seconds.Backla$his
backla$h,someone whodoesn’tneedtobe toldwhatto say because he believesinwhathe says,
whichissomethingthathe believesisvital tobecomingsuccessful.“Ibelieve thatyouhave tobe
you,otherwise youwillbe livingalie throughoutyourlife”saysbackla$h.“These people thathave
managerspesteringdone theirearevery20 secondshave noballs.These peoplewillneverbe able
to be artistsif theyare theirmusicwill dropinquality.”
Backla$h showsa huge amount maturity througoutthe interview despite his tenderage of 167.
Startinghisprofessional musiccareerat the age of 15, he musthave beennervousof gettinginto
the musicindustryat sucha youngage.“Not really”statesbackla$hwithconfidence”Ihadbeen
creatingmusicfor a longtime at that point, andI alwaysknew whatI wasgoodat and whatI needed
improvementinwhenitcame to makkingmusic”.Thisattitude shownbybackla$hisexactlywhyhis

2. albumhisfirsteveralbumwentplatinum, whilstalsoearning criticcally acclaimacrossthe globe and
the respectof his fellow musical peers. Yet, WhenREBELmentionssome of the namesthat
backlash’smusichasattracted,backla$h seemsuninterestedandinterrupts“look,it’salways
flatteringtohave yourmusicliked,especiallywhenitfromartiststhatyou grew uplisteningto,but
ask anyartist whatattracts themto continue wantingtocreate music,andtheywill neveranswer
that theywantto be acceptedbypeople thatare inthe industry.But,theywill answerwithone of
twooptionsA) theywantto make a difference andoffersomethingnew tothe genre orb) theydo it
because they wantto showtheirappreciationtothe fans.Ihave alwaysfoundmyself inthe second
category,and youwill findthatIwill continue tocreate musicbecause of thatcategory.”Whenwe
questionwhyhe thinkthisway,he asalwayshits rebbel withawell-reasoned response “BecauseI
[always] feelresponsibletocreate musicnotfor myself butforthe fans.I personallyfeel thatbeing
differentinanalreadyvariedmusical doesn’tmatter,butcreatingmusicthatyou know thatwould
wantto listentoand enjoymattersa hell of alot”
Withfame and musical credibilitywell withinbackla$h’ssights,backla$hdidthe unthinkable when
he decidedtotake a break frommakingmusic.Leavingfellow starsandfanspuzzledbyhisdecision,
manyponderedwhyhe didn’tstrike whilstthe ironwashotconsideringhe wasnew andfresh.“I
feltthatI shoulduse themmyearstofocus onmy school work”backla$h says”yet,to be honest,It
never reallyfeltlikeabreakto me,as I waswritingdozensof new songsmonthlyduringthatperiod
and wasin continuouscontactwiththe musiccompanythroughoutthe break.Atthe endof the day,
I knewI wasgoingto comeback”. REBEL isimpressedathow the youngman is connductinghimself,
as he is shownto answereachpassingquestion withacheekycharmand eloquence whilstproviding
a variationof knowledge.Thismakesusthink,ishe like thisatall times ordoeshe throw the
occasional diva-like tantrum?“I’ve neverthrownadivatantrum, no.I feel like youhave tobe
humble inthisindustry,becauseotherwiseyouwill be leftouttodry, especiallywhenyoucome
froma poorarea and have giventhe opportuinityof alifetime.You’dhave tobe a dipshitnottotake
it”

3. Yet the questionsthatseemstobe oneveryone’slips,is whynow isthe rightforbackla$h? “I mainly
wantedtocomebacknow because Ifeltitwasthe righttime.Ifeltthat I neededtogetbackintothe
studiotocreate freshnewmusic,otherwise the anticipationthatthe fanshad woulddie out
eventually.Some comingbackis definnitely acase of me feelingthatIowedcreatingthisalbumfor
the fans since theyhave beenwaitingsolong.” Throughoutthe interview one of backla$h’s
favourite topicshasbeenwhathe feelsthe fansneedandwhatthe fanswant.You getthe feeling
that there isa mutual respectbetweenthe artistandhisfans”oh,most certainly.Ihonestlybelieve
that I have the bestfansin the worldand I mostcertainlywould notwanttochange anythingabout
them.”Backla$h hasmost certainlybeenanhonourtohave as an intervieweethroughout.Whether
it be answeringquestionswithapositive attitudethroughoutorhavingmannersatthe level of the
queenBackla$hhas beenadelightthroughout.Yetbackla$h,uponaskedwhatfanscan expectto
findwithin,becomesmore serious,almostdroppinghischeekyandladdishattitudelikeitis
manddatory.“Theycan definitelyfindsomethingnew throughout.Ithinkthe maindifference isthat
the entire albumislike astory.”Backla$h continues “Ithinkmore than anythingthe album shows
the variationthatI have withmy art and showswhyI’mconsidereddangeroustoolderperformers
careers”
If there is one thingto be sure of withbackla$h,isthat despite the cuddlyoutercore,he isn’t
someone tobe messedwith.
12 weeksisouton June 25th