Kozyeli

Ladé is so cool and insightful! Loved this interview 

Incredible write up of a Scottish legend in the making. We love the insight into Ladé and their work flow, values and influences. Big upp! 

Sred 

Ladé a Legenddd
Write up of how the interview came into alignment is beautiful! Great read


elliot

*Merkeba aka Tyler Burston is back with another banger, interviewing Glaswegian producer and DJ ladé! Merkba on the snaps as well. Thank you both I'm so proud to publish what might be the first ladé interview ever. It's a very sincere and altogether unpretentious chat, which is refreshing when you're dealing with great minds such as these.* 

*-Andrew*

![lade6 (3).jpg]
(https://finals.blog/api/uploads/lade6_3_3beb6e4dd2.jpg)

This interview is special. It's more than just a conversation with ladé the multi genre producer and DJ from Glasgow, Scotland. It's also a document of the beginning of a dear friendship. When Andrew and I decided to interview ladé, I assumed it would be in the form of simple, 45 min Zoom call. Much to my suprise, ladé DM'd me and said she'd be in the city for two weeks. Perfect! Having just gotten back into photography, I wanted to shoot some pics of her for the article. 

We met at Rodeo, a place that is dear to most Finals readers as the home of our monthly Generator parties. Through Instagram, I couldn't tell that ladé stands over 6 feet, so I was kinda surprised when I had to look up to say "Hi". Introducing ourselves to each other over ladé‘s first-ever plate of jerk chicken, I quickly forgot that I was talking to a stranger from across the world. Soon upon meeting, it becomes clear she's a person with enough curiosity, charisma, and musical talent to match her height. We hit it off so naturally that, rather than "starting" the interview with my preprepared questions, I just pressed record in the middle of our convo.

The day ended perfectly, except for one mishap- I forgot to charge my camera. Luckily, ladé promised to meet me again at Rodeo that next Saturday, where I was hosting the first episode of my radio show for FM Rodeo. Saturday comes, and I forget the whole camera! Luckily, ladé came with her USB, an equally powerful weapon, and we ended my radio show with an US-Scotland B2B over the Brooklyn airwaves. 

Still determined to get these photos, we met up the next day at Silence Please. I once again messed up, having brought the camera, and charger, but no SD card (very unbecoming of me as a film major). ladé, however, was on her own journalistic mission. Armed with field recorder, she ended up interviewing anyone in the cafe who looked like an artist (which was most people). These impromptu interviews helped us meet a whole new group of friends, with whom we ended the night sharing a dangerously spicy Thai dinner. ladé has a talent with becoming seamlessly apart of any community she finds herself in.

While that weekend was fun, a problem remained- I still had to take her photos. It wasn't till ladé‘s very last day in the city that I met her fully prepared. I pulled up to Night Club 101, all my devices in hand, and got to work. ladé was not camera-shy at all, and my original plan for " a few photos" turned into a whole photo story starring ladé and the City Itself.  

24 hours after the last shot, ladé was in a plane back to Scotland. I have no doubt she'll be back again soon, hopefully to grace the Generator stage.

<iframe style="border: 0; width: 350px; height: 470px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=976929876/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" seamless><a href="https://lademusic4.bandcamp.com/album/yerba-mate">Yerba Mate by ladé</a></iframe>

**What is the most recent thing that’s musically exciting you?**
 
I would say, I’ve been listening to a lot of James Ferraro recently. He was really ahead of his time. His work excites me. Anything by Klein, she’s my largest inspiration for right now. Watching a lot of her interviews as well. Soundcloud music, lots of gems on there. 
 
**What would be the inspiration from Klein on your music?**
 
I like her compositions, and the way she carries herself. I specifically like how she’s very word of mouth, if you know you know. She seems like the coolest person ever, very in her own lane, unique. If the music is unpredictable, it makes me want to take more risks in my music. It makes me want to research more, and improve my process. My ear has developed over time, because of this.
 
**What was your first experience being part of music? And what did it tell you about yourself?**
 
I think back to school plays, performing. Funnily enough, I’m 6’ 2”, I’m quite tall, but one of the first plays I did was, I was an Oompa Loompa. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I think it taught me how to put on a costume, to embody a different energy, a different aspect of me. Especially now, that’s something I try to incorporate in the music I make. People do expect a certain thing from me, like more sample-based stuff, but I’m quite inspired by Klein, and I’m trying to move to more ambient, orchestral, experimental stuff. And going back to that idea of putting on a persona, it helps me be more confident about branching out and expressing myself differently, whatever those expectations might be. I do also have an alternative account, where I post more experimental stuff. 
 
![lade12 (1).jpg](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/lade12_1_d132fee840.jpg)

**From that first experience, where does that journey of ladé, the artist, begin?**
 
That didn’t come until decades later. It’s a very recent thing. I’m still trying to have a more cohesive identity still, though I do think it’s forming. It’s the last two or three years, that’s when this identity started. I would post beats, hiding behind a faceless account, just seeing what people would think. I would see who lade was, and who they were going to be. Next year, I think I’m going to get into more live beat sets, stuff like that, and more audio-visual work. The lade identity is getting more clear as time goes on. 
 
**What about the relationship between the DJing and the producing? Which came first, and what can you say about the relationship between the two?**
 
Producing came first. I started at 19, and I’m 23 now. So four years. The story of how I got into producing is interesting, I was talking to this guy, and he was a producer, and I don’t know where I thought beats came from before, I thought the artist did everything. But he was a producer and things between me and him didn’t work out, but I was listening to his music one day and I was like, I can do better than this shit. So I started looking at youtube tutorials, and they would say sampling is something a lot of producers struggle with, so I said let me start with sampling first. Let me see how that goes. I like to do the hard shit first. I did that for a while. I would sample more conventionally, not micro chopping, not altering it much. More palatable sampling. As time went on, and as I started listening to MIKE, I became more confident in my ability. I’m quite good at sampling now. Now I’m trying to work on drum patterns. My recent footwork project really challenged me, but I’m impressed with the results. I was insecure about the mixing, so I appreciate you saying the mixing was good. Especially with my project last year, Nollywood nightmares. I was going through a lot at the time, going to uni, working, getting more visibility, particularly in April last year. That project was birthed out of struggle, but a lot of resilience, that project taught me. Yerba Mate was like, OK I know I can sample, but let me challenge myself in a different way. I’m really glad with how it came out.
 
I’ve been DJing for two years. I got into it through an old friend who I don’t fuck with anymore, so I don’t want to mention their name. But I was interested in it. My first gigs were me covering for them, on a radio station, where I am now a resident. Shout out Radio Buena Vida. In preparation for my first DJ set I spent 12 hours in the studio. I think it was payday, I spent all my money there, and really enjoyed it. My first club night was at Scandal, amazing queer club night. Shout out Rahul, the things he’s done for the Glasgow scene are insane. It’s been a journey from there.

**What has been your process of developing your technical skills?**
 
I took a lot of gaps. I allowed myself to rest. And stay away from music for a while. First two years, I was very inconsistent with beats. I would make a layer of a beat, and come back to it in six months. A year and a half ago, I was more consistent. Now, I if I show my beats to someone and they have a positive reaction, it encourages me to leave it as it is, or maybe find a way to improve on it a bit more.

![lade6 (2).jpg](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/lade6_2_10f1d88a14.jpg)
 
**What was your experience growing up and still living in Glasgow, and how does it affect your music?**
 
It affects my sample selection. I like to sample Cocteau Twins, who are from Scotland, a lot of Gaelic music, I sampled when I first started out. Trying to pick samples from the area that I’m in. And bring it to the genre I’m fond of, hip-hop. Growing up, it was interesting, the more positive experiences are more when I’m older, developing a backbone to stand up for myself when shit goes left. But I was very shy, as a kid, very much a people pleaser. 

There was a lot of pressure on me, the eldest African daughter. Or maybe not pressure, but I was expected to go down a particular path, which was STEM. I do have a neuroscience degree. But I’m not really doing shit with it right now. And being Black in Scotland, there’s not a lot of Black people there. Scottish racism is more subtle, they’re not calling you the hard-R to your face, it’s more micro-aggressive. Knowing yourself, and knowing your position in society, is more recent for me. I’m still becoming myself. I’m a lot more self-assured than I used to be, and that reflects in my music-making capabilities. 

I would procrastinate a lot, but now, I now whether I know how to do something or not, if I have the idea in my head, I’m either going to get to the idea, or get somewhere better, and work with it.
 
![lade7.jpg](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/lade7_74a1ebebd4.jpg)

**What does it mean for you to love music?**
 
I think it adds a zest to my life. Everything I do has a soundtrack, walking down the street, waking up, or here now with you, I’m always hearing a song in my head. It makes my life more interesting. Even the ambience in this room, it’s music to me. MIKE was saying everything has it’s own bpm. 
 
**Especially in New York, there’s something percussive about the trains.**
 
I was trying to take some field recordings here. Everyday life. And put that more into my work.
 
**Interesting note about field recordings, there’s an album called World Receiver, a Japanese ambient album, based around field recordings from different places. I find that music, really does something for me very deep. It’s very organic. On Yerba Mate, there’s an interesting way of you sampling. It’s very lush, synthy, and melodic, but also based around these micro-chops, and so it gives a complete feeling. You got these crazy drums, futuristic vibe, and a real core. I like how your style brings out the elements of footwork in a very expressive way. How expressive do you feel in regular life, versus in music?**
 
I have to wear a uniform to work, so the only way I can express myself is my hair. And that’s something I’ve been experimenting with. I know some workplaces are restrictive, but I express myself through piercings, henna tattoos, nails. In music, I feel people are more open. People are doing weird, unique shit. I feel more comfortable expressing myself there.

![photo-output-5.jpeg](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/photo_output_5_ef1ba9ee0d.jpeg)
 
**Do you do other crafts?**
 
I’m getting into Touchdesigner. I’m hoping to do audio-visual sets, with my beat sets, or DJ sets. I’m trying to bring people into the worlds I create when I make these projects, Nollywood Nightmares, and Yerba Mate. The type of music I do, I think it could take people a little while to get into, so I need to help them in a way, have all the elements, all the senses engaged. Hearing, seeing, feeling – next year – smelling. Ha ha. I feel like it’s important for me, for my music to live in people’s memories. To have a stronger memory, you have to engage the senses.  
 
**How did you end up in New York right now?**
 
Booked my tickets, caught the plane. Originally, when I came here last year, was because of Nollywood Nightmares. I was insecure about releasing that project, but Fortune Phori reached out and fucked with it. He does events, and asked me pull up, and so I did. And I met Anexis last year, and we were already friends on social media, and then we became friends, too.
 
**You said Yerba Mate was inspired by your time in New York last year, but how specifically?**
 
Anexis introduced me to the drink, yerba mate. I felt energized, but not in a synthetic Red Bull way. I felt like the sun. I felt like I was recharged. I wanted the project to be fast-paced, but also light and airy. I know Chicago footwork, I know where it comes from, but I was introduced to it in New York, and I really like the syncopated rhythms. I was trying to put all the new music I heard, combined with stuff I already liked, to make something unique to me.
 
![lade6 (4).jpg](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/lade6_4_9f2b755a21.jpg)

**How did you teach yourself to make those complicated-ass drum patterns?**
 
I just tried it. I found a bunch of hi-hats, put the metronome on, and started layering stuff. A lot of trial and error.
 
**What are some sounds you’ve been working with that are exciting you?**
 
Zenology. A lot of VSTs. I didn’t know what VSTs were until last year, which is dumb, but I love Zenology. I’ll show you some stuff on my private, alternative account. I recently also made the [soundtrack](https://lademusic4.bandcamp.com/album/the-masquerade) for a performance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and I used a lot of Zenology. I’m going back and looking at the file, and like how did I do this. I was warping everything, obliterating it to fuck. But I received such positive feedback. I’m meant to be releasing it, maybe physicals, probably bandcamp. 
 
**What is the next thing you want to do for your audiences?**
 
Host more events for Black people who are into similar music I’m into, and enjoy it. If you want to shake your ass, be transported to another world, I want to host an event that does that. A lot of events back home are very club-based. I feel like people are trying to escape. A recession indicator. But I want people to sit with themselves, more. So ambient club nights, could be a space for people to do that. Also, more beat sets, and audio-visual sets.


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The ladé Interview

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/baby-osamaa-on-tha-run/

My number one and maybe only rule of art is don’t be boring, and this new Baby Osamaa tape passed the test, made me widen my eyes and think, what the fuck is this?? Doesn’t happen every day.

Technically, it’s generic YMCMB beats (Alphonse hit the nail with the comparison), which could very well been made via generative AI. That in itself might be boring, even tho I do like the style. But underpinning chaotic, unhinged melodic raps processed to oblivion (made me think of Kode9’s “crying circuitry”)? Well that is another story.

Baby Osamaa’s wild approach on the mic suggests barely hanging onto reality’s edge, potentially fueled by a combination of tuci and acid (if you believe the lyrics). It’s like she is running fast, grabbing the baton from Lil Wayne and Young Thug, without biting styles. Her loose, yet highly contorted sensibility makes this music anti conservative and potentially even upsetting for those looking for meat and potatoes. 

I understand being annoyed by that, or the at times gratingly artificial aesthetic of the whole tape. But if you can tolerate it, or even enjoy the potentially trollish aspect, there is something cool and confident about someone so far off script, operating with their own internal logic, that draws me into the idiosyncrasy.

The overall mixture causes friction that I think is complementary, kind of like a band where the members think they are actually in different bands, but their combination works nonetheless. That Baby Osamaa seems to have orchestrated it to be this way, however, is some actual factual outside the box thinking. As buckwild as it is, the project is focused and speaking its own language.

Branching off Alphonse’s Baby Osamaa review

Theory Of The Waves

![IMG_4259.jpeg](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/IMG_4259_4abfe1b872.jpeg)

<iframe style="border: 0; width: 350px; height: 470px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1772228242/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" seamless><a href="https://generator-recordings.bandcamp.com/album/generator-mo-power">Generator - Mo&#39; Power by Generator</a></iframe>

Generator began as a regular, free, all-ages event in Crown Heights, BK in 2025, curated by Finals and Laron, who come together here as Generator Recordings to present Mo’ Power, a splendid document of their collaboration thus far. 

The party draws from the worlds of Laron and Andrew (Finals’ praenomen), who initially connected when Finals published an interview with Laron, conducted by me. Andrew and I met during Jay Critch’s set at Young World 2023, and the early conversations of our blossoming friendship naturally turned to the work of Laron, who has worked with Critch extensively and who I have been a fan of since my late teens. Andrew found it fitting to make Laron’s interview my assignment. The three of us, along with JAIYN (a now-alum of Generator), would then DJ an event together, and Andrew and Laron would continue to scheme, eventually organizing Generator. 

As a curator, Laron imbues his producer creds, having spent the past decade cutting his teeth in New York’s hip-hop scene, branching out with national and international collaborations. Andrew intersects this with his own work as a music journalist and blogger in New York, additionally interlaying influences from his upbringing and early career in the Seattle area. The curation of Generator centers around the linkages between rap, electronic, and experimental music in New York, sprinkled with other figures from Andrew or Laron’s geographies. Generator stages this oft-heralded tradition as a full night of conviviality, with extended lineups that traverse the evening to soundtrack the intermingling of musicians, music writers, friends, fans, and family, all brought together in a packed-out room, or even spilling into the sidewalk. When I think of how Generator came to be, this intermingling only feels more full-circle. 

Mo’ Power reflects its context aptly. One can hear how Laron and Andrew have connected through their idiosyncratic journeys as listeners and crate-diggers. In the final product, we get Andrew’s penchant for guitar riffs, Laron’s gritty percussion, the clear-eyed, pensive sound of Andrew’s PNW roots, and the hazed-out textures and accents that define Laron’s production. Andrew and Laron always encourage the artists they invite to explore new ideas and less-traveled passions. On Mo’ Power, they return the favor to themselves by presenting something that feels similarly off-the-cuff, but dialed in. 

The 11 tracks cover much ground in a little under 25 minutes, opening in dramatic fashion with the, ahem, electric bassline on “Chanelly.” From there, you get the head-bobbing and dilated tempos of “Slow Flow,” the zippy “Neo NJ,” and the pure “main character moment” greatness of the immensely fun “Crush.” The middle of the project sees two appearances from Swaya, a nod to her appearances amongst the curation of the party. The first of these features, “Swamp,” sounds like it’s crawling away from you, with drums barely tapping through the speakers and melodies that swirl in and out of the picture, contrasting the cool, yet sunny disposition of “Up.” 

My affinity for the final few tracks of the project is rooted in how they condense the key elements of the collaboration between Andrew and Laron, culminating in the thumping, defiant “Retrograde.” “Spiral” emblematizes Andrew’s ear for guitar loops paired with Laron’s slick, booming drums. Tracks like “UFO,” as well as the project’s two interludes, feel like succinct testaments to the pair’s shared keenness for deploying and chopping samples. At the end of the day, it all evokes hip-hop, a general love of music, and Erikson’s stages of development, just like the titular party series itself.

Mo’ Power works excellently as a beat tape and it also pays tribute to the ethos of Generator, which beyond its accessibility and promotion of artistic expression is meticulously archived via recorded mixes and excellent photo and video coverage from the team at Tapped TV. These tracks are another production along the way, so of course they’re putting it on the record. And who better to work on the album cover than Florida Evans, a central figure in the Generator visual art direction. If Andrew and Laron really want to commit to the ethos of the party in their music, they should have like twelve different album covers for their next release!

-kimdollars1


Generator - Mo’ Power Album and Notes

StarinatCandles

What about Ghetto Love Story by BabyChiefDoIt

Based on musical quality, the rap song of 2026 is probably “Motion Party” by BossMan Dlo (Florida music forever). 

But if you really wanna talk about a multigenerational smash, which was also somewhat listenable, the rap song of 2026 is “Big Guy” by Ice Spice (fart). 

Of course, that is, if you overlook that the rap song of 2026 is *obviously* “Spend Dat” by Yung Miami. One of the only true singalongs.

Sike: the rap song of 2026 is “Janice STFU” by Drake, who is a really cool person and the goat and so back. 

But yo, you know what? And then I’ll stop: New York won big this year, with the Knicks chip and Max B getting out. The rap song of 2026 just might be French Montana and Max’s celebratory “Ever Since You Left Me.”

Why do I care about this? Maybe because I come from the past. I grew up in the ‘90s, when rap had national/regional undeniable jams, it seemed like all the time. Maybe that’s still the case, based on the songs listed above? Anyway, I still believe in hits, and that at least occasionally the hits should be good. Which one this year was *the one* though?

I do think Soundcloud rap seriously destabilized the industry in 2016, and now we have this fractured tiered landscape, where artists don’t really need labels and can be indie as long as they have aura, a sound, and a fan base. *The* soundcloud rapper is now the biggest rapper (Carti) and the infrastructure grafted onto him rather than him working through it. 

Speaking of: Have we even fully dealt with I AM MUSIC since late last year? GENG PTP just dropped his edited version of the album that has me loving it again, as if for the first time, in a weird way. Although it omits Olympian??

That said, obliteration of the monoculture being what it is, for some reason I still want to know if possibly there was a 2026 rap song as good and big/impactful as “Folded.” R&B has that song this year. Does 2026 rap have a “Folded”?

Not that I’m necessarily looking for a rap song that can be karaoked. Although that could be Ice Spice, “Big Guy.” The only rap song from this year my 7 year old daughter knows, that’s not like a rapped verse on a Disney soundtrack. Although it kind of is lol. 

I’m moreso thinking of music has a “hit mentality” or “hit vibes” – a song that maybe is or isn’t but definitely should be a hit, that is really going for it musically, trying to be heard and felt, and gets its point across. “Suicide Note” by Zukenee has that, even though it’s not a hit. So does “Party At My Place” by xavier which is also not a hit. 

I had that experience with a lot of songs this year. Damn this is major! It’s not a hit, but to me it is. I feel like my world of music is pretty small. I guess I have somewhat fringe taste…maybe? I bump a lot of the homies. I make music, and listen to a lot of unreleased. I’m going deep, not casting a wide net. But I like to know what’s going on, too. 

And as chaotic as North America is, I want to see if I can eke out any coherent rap taste, or semblance of knowing and even moreso feeling what is going on. It’s hard. National temperature check. I feel like I’m out of the loop. 

I hear Iceman and I feel nothing. I ask around and people tell me Jet Leeea is all they’re listening to. I listen and it’s amazing. I re-realize I know nothing. So much I’m not up on. People are still listening to Salimata from December. That album might be a classic! There’s a lot of good music out rn. 

Maybe the infrastructure isn’t there for artists to “break through” like they once did, and give me the big awesome rap song I am looking for. And maybe it doesn’t matter, and I just am living in the past looking for stuff that doesn’t exist anymore. 

Maybe rap has lost some of its ambition. Not across the board, but in places. Or maybe the big labels used to have big ideas and got them produced in big ways, and they don’t want to make the investment anymore now that rap isn’t charting. And I can’t accept that, on some level. And maybe that’s why I’m looking for the big rap hit — to convince myself that the genre I love still has it. I really can’t call it. Could be all of the above! 


Featured Post

The ladé Interview

Posts

Branching off Alphonse’s Baby Osamaa review

Theory Of The Waves

Generator - Mo’ Power Album and Notes

The rap song of 2026 is

The 3mouth Interview