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Hip-hop meets Britpop…
Sometimes in life, you have to hold up your hands and accept defeat. As *Sway Clarke II* (‘the second’) did, after a brief flirtation with rap.
“I thought I was a rapper. I was a rapper. I just wasn’t good.” His laugh spills into a gap-toothed grin, as he sits within the lime green-licked offices of Island Records – his new home. “I just realised there was a big difference between me and *Kanye*. So I started singing.”
Growing up in social housing in Toronto, Sway was one of eight children – but it wasn’t quite happy families. “We were f*cked, man, every family’s f*cked. That’s why I moved to Germany.” His city of choice was Berlin, being cheap and “so young”.
“The Wall came down in ’89 and it’s still trying to figure itself out as a city. It’s liberating – I can just go to the supermarket in my f*ckin’ joggers. You’re allowed to be creative, economically.”
Despite missing out on the scene when it was alive and kicking, Sway developed a fascination with Britpop. “I picked up a guitar, started trying to teach myself and learned about what an ‘Oasis’ was. I love Ride and Blur and The Verve.”
Shades of early ’90s UK sounds materialise on debut single ‘Secret Garden’, which employs a lairy harpsichord stomp. “I really love Damien Rice-esque kind of music; melancholy, cry your eyes out type of shit,” he adds.
But Sway’s early hip-hop influence still provides the building blocks for his songwriting. “I’ve always found writing with an instrument a bit limiting, because I’m not a virtuoso,” he explains. “But I’ll write for words – a line that comes to me. Guys like *Bob Dylan* are kind of rappers. You listen to him, it’s not huge melodies – he’s a f*ckin’ folk white rapper!”
“I tried to shake [rap influence], actually,” he continues. “I tried to be Liam Gallagher… I wanted to be a white guy.” Since launching his music into the stratosphere, the *Frank Ocean* and *Miguel* comparisons have flown in, but Sway points out that ‘Secret Garden’ is just “one song. *OutKast* are a great example of that – when they started to put out more and more stuff it’s like… these guys are a circus!”
What people make of his music is a constant source of surprise to Sway. “But I’m not reinventing the wheel here,” he finishes. “I’m just giving my spin on it.”
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*WHERE: *Berlin
*WHAT: *Soulful Britpop with rap-informed songwriting
*GET 3 SONGS: *‘Swimming Pools (Remix)’, ‘Secret Garden’ (video above), ‘I Don’t Need Much’
*FACT: *Sway is colourblind and lost 30% of his sense of smell after a bout of late chickenpox (“I had pox in my ass… any possible place a pock could be, I had one!”)
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Words: *Felicity Martin*
Photo: *Christopher Fenner*
Fashion: *Candice Bailey*
*Sway Clarke II online*
*Buy Clash Magazine*
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: *iPhone* / *Android* Reported by Clash 3 hours ago.
Clik here to view.

Sometimes in life, you have to hold up your hands and accept defeat. As *Sway Clarke II* (‘the second’) did, after a brief flirtation with rap.
“I thought I was a rapper. I was a rapper. I just wasn’t good.” His laugh spills into a gap-toothed grin, as he sits within the lime green-licked offices of Island Records – his new home. “I just realised there was a big difference between me and *Kanye*. So I started singing.”
Growing up in social housing in Toronto, Sway was one of eight children – but it wasn’t quite happy families. “We were f*cked, man, every family’s f*cked. That’s why I moved to Germany.” His city of choice was Berlin, being cheap and “so young”.
“The Wall came down in ’89 and it’s still trying to figure itself out as a city. It’s liberating – I can just go to the supermarket in my f*ckin’ joggers. You’re allowed to be creative, economically.”
Despite missing out on the scene when it was alive and kicking, Sway developed a fascination with Britpop. “I picked up a guitar, started trying to teach myself and learned about what an ‘Oasis’ was. I love Ride and Blur and The Verve.”
Shades of early ’90s UK sounds materialise on debut single ‘Secret Garden’, which employs a lairy harpsichord stomp. “I really love Damien Rice-esque kind of music; melancholy, cry your eyes out type of shit,” he adds.
But Sway’s early hip-hop influence still provides the building blocks for his songwriting. “I’ve always found writing with an instrument a bit limiting, because I’m not a virtuoso,” he explains. “But I’ll write for words – a line that comes to me. Guys like *Bob Dylan* are kind of rappers. You listen to him, it’s not huge melodies – he’s a f*ckin’ folk white rapper!”
“I tried to shake [rap influence], actually,” he continues. “I tried to be Liam Gallagher… I wanted to be a white guy.” Since launching his music into the stratosphere, the *Frank Ocean* and *Miguel* comparisons have flown in, but Sway points out that ‘Secret Garden’ is just “one song. *OutKast* are a great example of that – when they started to put out more and more stuff it’s like… these guys are a circus!”
What people make of his music is a constant source of surprise to Sway. “But I’m not reinventing the wheel here,” he finishes. “I’m just giving my spin on it.”
- - -
- - -
*WHERE: *Berlin
*WHAT: *Soulful Britpop with rap-informed songwriting
*GET 3 SONGS: *‘Swimming Pools (Remix)’, ‘Secret Garden’ (video above), ‘I Don’t Need Much’
*FACT: *Sway is colourblind and lost 30% of his sense of smell after a bout of late chickenpox (“I had pox in my ass… any possible place a pock could be, I had one!”)
- - -
Words: *Felicity Martin*
Photo: *Christopher Fenner*
Fashion: *Candice Bailey*
*Sway Clarke II online*
*Buy Clash Magazine*
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: *iPhone* / *Android* Reported by Clash 3 hours ago.