interview | young t + bugsey

Schön! took a deep dive into the minds of Nottingham’s dynamic rap duo Young T & Bugsey as they prepared to drop their independent mixtape Beyond Rea5onable Doubt. Fresh off the release of their carnival-infused summer tune SOCA, the MOBO award-winning pair is back after a two-year hiatus. Young T & Bugsey are not only returning to the scene, but redefining it. Their new mixtape showcases their ever evolving sound and creative energy. In their interview with Schön!, the pair share their creative process and the journey from their early days in Nottingham youth clubs to sitting front row at London Fashion Week.

You’ve previously spoken about youth clubs in Nottingham being crucial to your development. What advice would you give to young aspiring artists in similar communities?

If you’re lucky enough to still be in a community where there are still youth clubs then I would say to grab that opportunity with both hands and don’t let go! It helped us a lot and opened so many doors. Our youth club growing up helped us with a workshop where they sent us down to London to shoot with Link Up TV. They paid for us to go and put us in a hotel and we shadowed Link Up TV in the office when they shot a couple music videos. On that trip we met Stormzy and Section Boyz and then a year later we had a song that went viral on Twitter. Stormzy shared the clip not knowing we were the same two kids he met before. When we tweeted a picture with him, he remembered us. He is so supportive. If we never went to the youth club, we never would have had that opportunity.

You’ve described Beyond Rea5onable Doubt as the start of your “next phase.” What makes your new era different?

This new era is a fresh chapter. We’ve done a lot in our career thus far but we signed our deal pretty early. I think we signed it when we were just 19. This time around we are now independent team with our own team. This is more hands on from us and more [of] steering the ship in the direction we want to go, how we want to be seen and branded.

Your music blends so many different sounds. What cultural influences shape the music you make?

I’m Nigerian, T is Jamaican and we are repping the UK so I think that plays a big part. We try to make music that plays into our heritage and culture. I think that’s why it’s so easy for our music to have a natural melody to it and a vibe that makes you want to move. It’s drawn from where we come from.

What does a typical studio session look like for Young T & Bugsey?

With us it’s just vibes! When we get in there, we will probably have a debate for about an hour before we even start to get into creating any music. It gets the juices flowing when you can have a debate and get the mental sparring going. After that, we get the beats and ideas flowing. Our sessions are pretty chilled.

If you could describe the vibe of Beyond Rea5onable Doubt in three words, what would they be?

The vibe is fun and jiggy with a bit of substance.

After a two-year hiatus, what’s one song from the mixtape that you think will surprise your fans the most?

Probably T’s therapy session. That song is 7 minutes long with just T on it and the title gives it away. He’s having a therapy session where he talks about what’s going on in his life, how he feels and his state of mind. I think it’s really powerful that it’s just him on the track and he also executively produced the mixtape as well.

Do you have a favourite lyric from the mixtape?

My favourite lyric right now is probably from the song Set Good. “She wants to get her body done to feel included” which is self-explanatory. I think in this day and age with social media, sometimes girls feel the pressure to look a certain way and have a certain aesthetic to feel good.

What’s the first thing you do to celebrate when you finish a new project?

We’re not really big celebrators in general. We always feel like there’s more work to do to ensure the mix is all good, the artwork and how the rollout will be done is all sorted. Since we are now independent, it’s even more important.

Collaborations have been a big part of your journey. Is there an artist you’d love to team up with?

One of my dream artists to work with will always be Migos. RIP Takeoff. Migos were a big part of us growing up. I’m a massive Drake fan so Drake, of course. I’d love to work with Snoop Dogg and I think Tyler, the Creator is sick! And also Pharrell.

And what’s the best piece of advice that you’ve received?

Someone told us to never forget that it’s just you two. Never forget the friendship and that will always matter the most. I got that advice years ago but it has always stuck with me. Regardless of our team or whoever we meet along the way, it will always be me and T. The story will always start with me and T and end with me and T. Just me and my boy. When it comes to friendship groups, you might bump heads and disagree but [you] need to remember that everyone just wants the best for each other so try to always hear other people’s perspective.