TAYLR

Jacket and trousers by Fendi. Glasses by David Beckham. Hat by Heliot Emil

Kent-born, London-based artist Taylr quietly defines his own space in UK hip hop, blending

artistry and taste, and introducing beats that don’t echo anything else. His music feels

intentional, with ‘CAYENNE EP’ embodying the raw creative energy shaped by his

upbringing around Wu-Tang records, skate culture and 60s music, to “twenty four” in collaboration with

Grammy-nominated Duckwrth, which surpassed half a million streams. With “lie to you”,

Taylr leans further into a psychedelic, narrative-driven sound, pairing drum-led production and a

surreal visual, showcasing his commitment to push both his music and creative direction beyond

conventional boundaries. Taylr’s momentum continues to grow, with a sold-out headline show, a

growing international audience and co-signs from Duckwrth, EARTHGANG, Blk Odyssy, Xzibit, Che Lingo and Kojey Radical, his trajectory feeling less like hype and more like a legend in the making.

5’ELEVEN” sat down with the charismatic and friendly Taylr to talk about his creative process

and songwriting rituals, how his artistic identity came to be, and the one song he wishes he had

written because it’s such a masterpiece.

Interview by Kristania Gunawan Photographed by Amelia Hawes Photo assistant Oliver Jennson

Fashion Stylist Brandon Bolland Stylist assistant Carla Frances

Taylr appears courtesy of Toughcookie.tv

Jacket,, t-shirt and trousers by Nildet. Chain and ring by Thomas Sabo. Cap by Dumani.

For people who just discovered you, how would you introduce your music and your

world as an artist? If you could describe your music in one word, what would that be?

So I think introducing my music to you for the first time, I'd probably say, I say this a lot, but I

think a breath of fresh air for the UK hip hop scene is always kind of the best way I can phrase

it. And in terms of a word… unapologetic.

You studied music formally but also taught yourself to produce. What first pulled you

into music and what triggered you to finally take that step to pursue songwriting?

I was already making music before I started studying it. I really wanted to polish

off my own skills I’d already learned. What brought me into it was really just the need to create,

and I didn’t really know what I wanted to create until I got a random urge one day to make a

SoundCloud mix, and it kind of just wrote itself from there. I just thought I wanted to pick up

more skills and tools, and then I ran with it. And here I am.

Something I noticed immediately was how you have such a distinct creative identity in

the visuals and aesthetic of your song and socials. Growing up, have you always been into the arts or was it something you unexpectedly picked up?

No, I don't feel like I have a similar story to a lot of people, where they can say that their dad

was a jazz player, or their mum was in the industry,  I'm  curated off of the stuff 

that I was either watching or listening to when I was growing up. As soon as I found hip hop,

when I was about seven or eight, I just fell in love with it. And that love turned into

a feeling of wanting to add to it and seeing If I could have my own input in it.

So a lot of it came from what you love, especially growing up?

Exactly.

Do you have a ritual when you write your music? Are you the type to write when inspiration hits or do you treat songwriting like it's a discipline that you sit down and you write periodically?

My ritual is really writing from wherever I'm at at the time, so I would say no — just

because it's a spur-of-the-moment thing, when I've got that energy in me to want to create something, or the thought of a song idea or concept. It’s what I've got in my mind at the time, I’ve always liked to journal it out, and mainly make all my music in my bedroom, unless I'm collaborating with people, yeah. So that's my ritual, which is getting myself set up in my bedroom and knowing that's my personal space to just do as much weird stuff on the microphone as much as I want and just see what bangs.

Jacket, trousers and hat by Mancunia Ugly. T-shirt by Represent. Glasses by Maison  Margiela x Gentle Monster. Jewellery Taylr’s own

I think that's why your songs have so much personality and character, I love them!

Thank you. I really appreciate it.

So you're also involved creatively in directing the visuals, especially for your upcoming

single, right?

Yes, so myself and my manager, Josh. We essentially direct everything. But obviously, because we're working very closely with directors, we like to give them their credentials as well. So I think creative direction, it’s us taking the backseat on the credits, but we have directed nearly enough every video.

That's amazing. Are you looking to step further into directing something like a music

video yourself, maybe one day?

Yeah, 100% ,I've been asked to direct other artists' music videos, which are really exciting. But I think

when I've got a little bit more time and freedom, I'm definitely going to look into exploring the whole cinematic world, because it's something that I love almost as much as I love music. And obviously, music's given me that platform to be able to act on that, so I'm grateful.

I can't wait to see what you make someday. With so much noise online and the pressure to create what people love, how do you stay true to your personality and brand? Is there anything you always stand by?

Yeah, I think one huge thing about me is that I’m really nothing that anybody has ever seen

before, and with that comes a lot of criticism and a lot of love. Which is why I can’t really listen to

either side too much, otherwise I’ll get too big-headed or too demotivated. So I kind of just stay

true to what I want to do and don’t really care for anyone’s opinions on it.

Let's talk about your recent collaboration with Duckwrth for the song ‘twenty four’, how did this come about, and what does the creative relationship look like?

My friend Kojey Radical actually spontaneously brought him through to my house

when he was showing me his album before it was released. He essentially brought Duckwrth

who was also in London at the time doing a press run for his album. Duckwrth and I just kicked off from there, and he really respected the music I was showing him. Then a few days later, after a couple of messages on Instagram, we got in the studio and made “twenty four” in three hours, and the rest was history after that. We’ve had other studio sessions since and definitely have more music on the way, which is exciting, but yeah, that’s my brother.

Just like fate. Did you expect it to be that good?

Yes, just because he's a genius and I'm a genius, and I just feel like, when you put two geniuses in the same room, you can't expect anything less than greatness.

That's so good. I love that confidence.

Thank you. Yeah, that's what keeps me going, definitely.

You’ve had artists like EARTHGANG and others show love to your work. Has that

changed anything for you mentally, or do you stay in the same mindset? Does it ever add

pressure creatively?

I think it just motivates me to be better, because I’m here off of challenging myself. I think when

the bar is set at a certain height, it just makes me want to thrive more. So when I got a call from

EARTHGANG, it really motivated me. Whenever I look at EARTHGANG and J.I.D and all those guys that are at a very high level – I just think, that’s the level I want to be at. So it just pushed me to want to do better, which I know I can do. I don’t really get scared of that kind of challenge — it’s more of a motivation for me.

Jacket and trousers by Fendi. Glasses by David Beckham. Hat by Heliot Emil. Boots by Timberland. Jewellery Tayr’s own

Do you have a particular song that you like from EARTHGANG the most?“

Can’t Punk Me” is something I’ve been listening to a lot recently, the feature with

EARTHGANG, just because the sound really resonates with me right now. The bass guitars and

the hectic instrumentation, and just the overall energy of the song, is something I’m really drawn

towards at the minute.

From a songwriter’s perspective, what's a song you keep coming back to and makes you

think,“ I wish I wrote that”?

Yeah, there is and I don’t know why it’s this song, but “All of the Lights” by Kanye West is the

one that comes to mind, it's the song that I was actually having a conversation with my friends a

few years ago about this exact question, and that was still the first song that came to me.

“All of the Lights” is one of the most genius hip hop records ever created, and I really just

feel like it doesn’t matter who you are, if you can drop a song like that, You’re

really that guy. And I’m definitely going to push towards that one day.

The vibes of your most recent single ‘lie to you’ were very on point. Can you talk us

through the creative process behind that song and was there a specific inspiration

behind it?

Yeah, 100%. We took a lot of inspiration from the 1960s to 80s aspect of the UK, because I

personally feel like it's quite an old sounding record, especially with the hook and the drums. So

along with it we also found the perfect derelict old house to film it in that really captured that

energy. And then we also made the decision to take my mouth off of my face because of the

concept of the song which is ‘I won't lie to you’ and it goes hand in hand with me not being able

to speak. They were the two highlight features of the video that I'm really proud of.

Was it the filming process or the whole directing and the planning that you find yourself

enjoying the most?

I think that the filming on the day was great. We had such a good team with us, we had Danté Richardson directing and Scarlet Green producing – they're both very experienced and talented individuals. They made the day so seamless and enjoyable for such a cold and dark house with no amenities in it whatsoever.

Were there any difficulties that you didn’t expect during the process of creating the

video?

Yeah, I think we actually filmed so much for it and there was a lot of deciding post production

and deciding what needed to go where, it was a bit of a challenge. It kind of drove me and

everybody involved quite crazy. But I think when we got to the end of it, we'd realized that we'd made something so beautiful and so cinematic, that the stress was kind of worth it.

How do you communicate your creative ideas to your team? Do you go in

with a clear vision for the music video when you write the song, or does that

develop through collaboration?

So with my directors, I  just ramble on like a madman. And then my manager does a

great job of explaining those thoughts into normal human language, because I’ll sit there and

talk for like 45 minutes about every idea in my head. He does a really great job at grouping them

together, putting them into a simplified sentence before shooting it over.

Jacket by Vans, Trouser by Zara. Belt by Represent. Shoes by GH Bass. Cap by Kapital Osaka

I know there's going to be more music on the way. So what can you say about the world

that music will be in? And what do you hope listeners like us feel from it?

I think right now I’m really inspired and rather infatuated by this bass guitar–driven sound that

I’ve been exploring, and I want to round it off in a way that feels like a bit of a grand finale.

But I definitely have plans to move into jazzier and darker sounds in the future, which I’ve

already been working on, and it’s something people can look forward to in 2027.

Do you have a dream project or collaboration? 

My dream project is my debut album. It's the biggest thing in the world to me,

because I feel like it’s the defining moment. It's never usually the best album, but it's the most

important one. So I just know when that time comes to create that album, I would have adopted every skill that

I've learned over these years of making music and be able to implement it properly into the right

project that reflects me as an artist.

What would you say describes the essence of this album?

I think the point of my debut album will be to explore every genre that I have explored before

and then sum it up in a way that feels cohesive but also displays my versatility as an artist.

Jacket by Topshop. Trousers by Represent. Shoes by GH Bass. Glasses by Maison Margiela x Gentle Monster.. Hat and jewellery Taylr’s own