Sydney rapper Kwame to mentor MX initiative in London

London’s calling for Sydney rapper, writer and producer, Kwame – and he’ll be there in a matter of weeks.

The 21-year old was chosen to mentor 40 emerging musos from Australia, South Africa and the UK at London’s Roundhouse between Monday, September 9 and Friday 13.

It’s part of the Nando’s Music Exchange (MX) initiative.

Past mentors have included Stormzy, Example, Ella Eyre, Lethal Bizzle, and Australia’s own Tkay Maidza and Urthboy.

Kwame will pass on his skills and advice alongside Nonku Phiri from South Africa and Nadia Rose from the UK.

“It’s so important for Australian artists to build their profile overseas to open more avenues of opportunity,” he says

“Breaking international ground has always been a plan of mine from the get-go, the dream, the goal, the vision is set for the masses.”

Chicken brand Nando’s created MX five years ago to give local artists the chance to collaborate with international names.

Kwame observes, “Meeting and working with artists overseas is positive and life changing.

“I say life changing because it’s more than one cultural background binding together to create a movement, an experience and a moment in time.”

This year’s seven emerging musos from Australia, aged 20 to 23, are Hannah Wilson, Oliver Northam, Nicolas Duquemin and Aidan McDonald from Victoria) and Hunter Iceton and Charlotte Rochecouste from (NSW).

By the end of the week-long program, they will each have an original track which they can release locally.

Born in Auckland to Ghanaian parents, the family moved to Australia when he was two settling down in the Hills District in the north-west of Sydney.

At 12, Kanye West’s ‘Power’ changed his life forever, and much against his parents’ wishes, he started to make beats, dropping his debut EP in 2017.

Crowned triple j’s 2018 Unearthed artist of the year and Splendour In The Grass’ opening act, his single ‘WOW’ (in which he admits he doesn’t drink or smoke because he’s focussed on his music) nearly capped 3.5 million plays on Spotify.

Current ‘Clouds’ premiered to millions on Apple Music Beats 1 show by Zane Lowe and he showcased a South by Southwest in Texas this year.