IM at 10 Interview: Zoka the Author on Lyricism & Artistic Growth

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This year marks our 10th anniversary. We have always pushed to give the unheard voices and rising stars a platform, whether through social media, reviews, First Listen Fridays, and, of course, The Purple List. For this new interview series, we have decided to talk to some of the artists we have prominently covered. Some of these have been interviewed before, but in the case of Zoka the Author, this is a first conversation.

A member of our 2023 Purple List, he has used his poetry and art to tell stories personal to him that resonate with others. He had a busy start to the year before our conversation, and since it has been a prominent 2026. There has been a performance at the Southbank Centre, a new single, ‘familiar stranger‘ (which has a video dropping tomorrow), and he saw his track, ‘ELEPHANT‘, played at the Wilder v. Chisora fight.

For this chat, we looked back at where he started, and how he has grown as an artist, expresing feelings with different deliveries, and why the U.K. needs to focus more on lyricism.

‘loose ends‘, stood out to me due to your different deliveries and the enunciation of words at the end of each line. Why did you take this approach, and was there specific intentions behind this?

For me, everything is intentional, but sometimes the intention behind something is more of an emotional one. With ‘loose ends‘, the rap part of it, the verses, particularly the first verse, I wanted to communicate a sense of frustration and building pressure inside myself. That was how I felt at the time, the song was born from this sense of ‘Why can’t you let go of people?’. I’d have this compulsion to hold on. The aggression (and) grit in my voice in the first verse is very much that. Even in terms of the flows, particularly as you get to the end, I go a little fast; “I guess I pull too many all-nighters. Too deep in the…”, and it builds, builds, builds.

Equally, the song is incredibly vulnerable. There are these moments where I will have this aggression, and it will soften suddenly. Suddenly, there is a vulnerability, and I wanted my voice to communicate that. That is what I was aiming at with elements of the hook; the beginning of the second verse is very quiet, it’s almost a self-reflection. I wanted to take the listener on a journey of increasing pressure and moments of sober reflection and realisation. That is how it felt navigating those emotions of ‘Why can’t I do this?’ (or) ‘This is why you can’t do this. Maybe, I need to make some changes.’. But you are still caught in that same cycle; these urges are subconscious, so sometimes it is difficult to break those patterns straight away.

You can see that through the song, the music video, and the artwork, as well.

That is a good point to make, as you aren’t going to feel one emotion; you’re going to feel lots of different ways: the annoyance at yourself for holding on to people, but the worry about being alone. It shows the emotional complexity of you as a person, but also your ability to express that.

That was the aim. I feel that we are all going through the same stuff in different fonts, and it is my job as an artist. I write songs to help me make sense and process these emotions. But I put these emotions out there because if I have gone through this thing, then maybe someone else will be able to relate to that. Hopefully, hearing that song will help them make sense of their own journey.

You started out by working on a collaborative poetry album and making a rap album for your dissertation. How did this help you to develop as an artist and understand where you wanted your sound to go?

Back in them early days, from a technical perspective, I sucked (laughs). But the things that made me good are the same things that made me good now. I knew early on the type of artist I wanted to be. What I learnt is how to get there and how to communicate that.

The approach to the album I made for my dissertation (was) in a very intentional way. I wanted to take my audience (on) a journey. It was a very narrative/conceptual album; it had these references to different texts. I was grateful for the experience to work on that album. Even though it wasn’t great from a musical perspective, in terms of the ambitions and approach to album making, I’m still employing a lot of those techniques on the album I am currently working on. Fingers crossed, you guys will hear next year.

I have been working on it for a few years, but it is that same sort of intentional, conceptual, and intertextual approach to album-making. Music is a very exciting medium, as you are able to draw on all these different types of media and throw that all together into this one art form, which is very rare. When you read a book, it is just a book. You imagine everything, and there is a beauty to that, but it is just a book. When you watch a movie, it is just a movie. When you get a music album, you have videos tied to it, the cover art; there is different sounds and skits, different things you can reference as part of this album.

Utilising the album and getting it to the fullest potential is the approach I honed when working on my dissertation at university, and now. Equally, going on the poetry tour, that was called ‘Words w/ Friends‘, was my first ever tour. It was fun, but it also fostered how central poetry is to my art. I was a poet before I was a rapper, and I would argue those two things are adjacent, if not the same. All my poems were written, and that was it.

That has always been at the core of who I am, and the music is where I had to learn. The poetry album made organic sense for me at the time, considering who I was. What that experience showed me was how much I enjoyed the experience and lifestyle of being an artist. We were advertising our shows on the night of the tour in the area we were, chatting to people, and shelling it. All those things set the foundation of who I am as an artist. Everything since then has been refining and improving the aspects of the artistry that didn’t come to me as naturally, the musical aspects of the job that are a different skillset to the poetry.

Poetry and hip-hop are about your command of language, but also about telling a story. As you say, rapping is poetry, just over a beat.

I found what you said about the album you made for your dissertation interesting. I imagine artists at the beginning of their careers, unless they’re Nas or Snoop Dogg, their debut isn’t their best work. You know what you want to say, but at the time, you may not have the tools to (do so), and as you say, it is something you’ve learned. You will get better with each album; you’ll have a better idea of what you want.

That is one of my strengths as a person. Sometimes it can be a weakness; I can get too locked in trying to improve a thing. Give me a task, and I will keep hammering at that thing till I get it.

Generally, the better you get at something, the more you know you have to learn. I started to clock that there was more I had to learn, and there was a lot further for me to go than I thought. Now, I am happy and proud to say, I am very proficient at what I do, and it is a question of ‘How do we package that to people?’, in order to make this a sustainable career.

What was the song/album/mixtape/EP that made you want to become a musician?

I view it as a combination of a few things. If I had to nail down one, it would be ‘good kid, m.A.A.d city‘ by Kendrick Lamar. It wasn’t the first time I realised hip-hop could be poetry, but it was the clearest example of it. Prior to that, I used to love Eminem as a teenager, as there was a rawness that resonated. It really channels that teenage angst. Even back then, I realised there was poetry in this, but no one can tell me ‘good kid, m.A.A.d city‘ is not hip-hop at its finest as an art form. That made me realise this poetry I had been working on is very adjacent to music.

At the time, I was a teenager, (and) I wasn’t confident enough to tell myself I could do that. My voice is annoying, so I guess I can’t do it. (laughs) It wasn’t until I came to uni that I started writing songs. In particular, ‘Sing About Me, I’m Dying Of Thirst‘ was one of my favourite songs of all time.

With that said, it was a culmination of things. One of my earliest memories was as a 2-to-3-year-old, sitting and listening to classical music, and imagining the stories it was telling. That had an influence on me, seeing storytelling as an emotional journey; that became part of the DNA. Michael Jackson was probably the first pop star I ever listened to, like really locking into his discography. I’d copy him, do all the dances. The way he would create worlds around the music is an approach I have since taken. I’ve tried to create a world around ‘loose ends‘, in terms of how I have marketed it.

The showmanship, as well. Performing is one of my favourite things; it is my strongest suit as an artist. I take that from watching Michael Jackson’s earlier videos, (and) watching Usher perform. From Eminem, the ability to channel your trauma into an art form, that is what I do. All these different people had this influence that pushed me towards this path.

Another recent single, ‘29‘, sees you reflect on where you are now. Do you feel society puts too much pressure on doing things by a certain age?

Obviously, I am getting older; 30 is around the corner. You look at your contemporaries, like friends from uni who went the corporate route, and are now able to move out. They may want to get married, have kids, travel, and see the world. You can’t do those things because I have decided to (pursue) this dream, and all my funds and energy is almost exclusively going into (music).

I’ve had to adapt by necessity. When I first made the decision to go into music, I had a three-year timeline. I wrote my first song when I was 20, and it has been nine years since I first put pen to paper. By necessity, you’re forced to reconcile with the fact that times are changing. Even amongst my corporate friends, there are a bunch of people who are still living at home.

We are not in the same generation our parents (were) in, where your job will pay enough of a salary to get on the property ladder by yourself. (Those) times are gone, especially in London. The social and economic state of the world has changed vastly in the last 20 years.

You also realise, these time limits are arbitrary. I live by the philosophy of the idea of you subscribing your own subjective meaning to your own life. Fundamentally, you’re in charge of your own subjective experience; you choose how to take things, how you see the world. Obviously, it is going to be influenced by people around you, but you make the decision if that philosophy or perspective is going to take root in me, or am I going to reject that. If you are able to do that, no one can take that from you.

I know I don’t have control over a lot of these factors that have put me in the state I’m at in terms of milestones in life. The only thing I have control over is what I personally do and what I choose to prioritise. Whether people listen to my music or not is not in my control.

The only thing in my control, which was the biggest lesson I learnt last year, is what I do. All I can do is do this thing that I love, make the best possible version of it, and market it in the best way I know how. Outside of that, I have to have faith I will end up where I need to be. It might not even be where I thought I wanted to be or thought I was going to be. As long as I keep doing the best I can, life will guide me where I need to be.

I know in my gut I need to get this album out. I have been working on this for three to four years. It means too much to me not to release it. I know how much I love to make music, and that is what feels right to me. Whether I blow or don’t blow, I don’t care. I want to make it sustainable, but that is not in my control. I’ve been blessed to already be fulfilling my purpose.

Even with my last headline show, that was called ‘Chapter One‘ in October, celebrating my birthday. It felt like a new chapter for me, mindset and philosophy-wise, influenced by the changes we’ve been speaking about. At that show, I could feel in the room that I am making art that is influencing people, causing conversations. I played a few songs from my album; people were crying, coming up to me afterwards and saying you were saying everything I wish I could say to my dad. It made me realise I am living in my purpose now.

The reason I have always loved music or making art is (that) it is the only thing that can influence feeling. I can tell you what it’s like to be someone else, but with art, you can make them feel what it’s like to be in my perspective. To be able to do that is a blessing. That is why I do what I do.

I didn’t do this because I wanted to hit x milestone: go platinum or a top 10 hit. These are arbitrary milestones that show you are fulfilling your purpose, but the real thing that keeps me going is making music that resonates with a community. Whether that is one person or 100 people, it is powerful to influence one person, let alone more.

What is one bar or line that has made you sit back and go ‘wow’?

This is going to sound hella conceited, but I have a few. I’ll say what I did with ‘29‘ was cool. I like the number scheme I did at the end; I was in my bag. I made it so that every number that I mentioned adds up to 29 at the end of the verse. It is something I have seen Kendrick do and other rappers I look up to; there is no reason why I shouldn’t be able to do it. In terms of recent stuff, that stuck in my memory.

I also really like a bit of wordplay in ‘loose ends‘, that centres around the idea of doors. At the end of the first verse, I said, “We seem to latch on when we open doors to leave them so / Can’t keep a handle on the people I’ve been keeping close.“. Latching on has a double meaning. I latch on, but (also) the latch as in the latch of the door. But we leave the latch on because the door stays open, and you’re still letting people come in and out of your life. It works as both a double entendre (and) as a visual metaphor.

That is reinforced by “I can’t keep a handle on the people I have been keeping close.“. There are too many people I have been keeping close, that I should have let go. But, also, I can’t hold the handle of that door and close it; I don’t feel like I have control over the door.

I know I have written a good song when I have that feeling. I can tell you a moment in every song that I have released, where I have that feeling. Even in songs that are more simple, like ‘ELEPHANT‘ or ‘Skippy, there are still moments that I vibe with. We can go on, and I can go through every song, but that is the standard I hold myself to. (laughs) As I continue to develop as a craftsman, I’m sure the moments will get better and better, but I pride myself on the poetry in my pen. That was the bit I had, even when I sucked: the flows, the musicality, the songwriting, making it catchy; making it listenable.

If it is happening often, that is a good thing. That feeling of ‘I’ve just wrote this really sick bar’ must be a good feeling.

For me, I have no doubt over stuff like this, but I know 99% of people are not going to catch it. Especially in the U.K., there is less of a culture of lyricism in U.K. hip-hop. Some of these rappers, I’m like, this is not that deep, and you lot are like ‘Ah, you didn’t catch that bro’. I can relay five songs, not even from me, that are doing better things than that. It seems very specific to U.K. rap and hip hop. We have artists in the U.K. that are incredible lyricists, but in other genres. I listened to a Hozier song the other day, (which) was crazy; the poetry you hear was insane. That is part of my ambition as an artist, to try and put U.K. hip hop and lyricism on the map globally, if everything goes right in my career.

There are definitely lyricists over here, but I get what you mean. The one that sticks in my mind is when ArrDee got big off that bar about having sex without a johnny. At the time, it was funny, and afterwards I was like, ‘anything else?’. There are some rappers over here where it is a vibe thing, or throw a few football bars, a few references to high-end products. We do have our lyricists like Dave, Little Simz, Kano, and there are so many more.

Kano is my G.O.A.T. U.K. rapper. I don’t think anyone is really touching him. I also really rate Little Simz. Dave, for me, has gotten a lot better over time as a lyricist. I really love Dave’s music, and I respect him as a human being. He is doing cool things, and it seems he has his head screwed on. As far as lyricism goes, he has improved. That last album (The Boy Who Played the Harp), I was really impressed. Shouts to all of them.

I did reflect on his previous album, ‘We’re All Alone In This Together‘. Some of those songs are not as good lyrically as the stuff before and later on.

‘PSYCHODRAMA‘ was his worst showing lyrically. He has some fun songs on there that take me back to (those) times, and some timeless songs like ‘Black‘. But, equally, there are some moments on that album (that aren’t as good). As far as lyricism goes, his trajectory is on the up, which is nice to see.

Do you think lyricism will become more of a thing in the U.K. in the future?

I don’t know; I hope so. All I can do is do my part to push the needle in that direction. My livelihood depends on it! (laughs) That ideal sweet spot is a combination of the two, where you are able to craft a sound that is unique in the way Jim Legxacy has, but still (make) songs that have depth. It is rare that you have someone (who) has both of those skillsets. They generally tend to be on one side or the other. Time will tell, but I hope I can be the combination of the two in my own way.

Jim Legxacy is another good example. With ‘’06 wayne rooney‘, it is nostalgic, noughties indie rock that you would have heard on ‘FIFA 09/10‘. Then, you look into the lyrics and see the emotional weight. It is probably the point of the song. He is an artist who is a lyricist, but as you say, people don’t always pay attention.

You’ll get there, as well. It may take 5 years, 10 years, hopefully the former.

Hopefully, one year, what are you talking about? (laughs)

Shouts to him, he is sick at communicating that feeling of sad nostalgia. You get that so clearly in the sound; the lyrics just back it up.

Zoka the Author is on Instagram, X, Threads, and TikTok. Read more interviews here and listen to his music below.

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