Spotlight: MasterPeace

Spotlights are a 12 part series documenting emerging creatives in London. Our first spotlight is on MasterPeace, an alternative musician from South London. Peace has only been making music for a year, but his genre-mixing tracks have already made him an icon of the underground music scene. Aside from Peace's original sound, his energy is undoubtedly what makes him one of the most recognisable young artists in London; whether he's performing in a small underground venue or to thousands, each audience receives the same high-octane performance. We sat down with MasterPeace to ask him about his music and life as a London-based creator.

Why MasterPeace?

My real name’s Peace, so I took the 'Peace' and the 'Master' and put it together to make 'MasterPeace', because everything I’m going to do is a masterpiece.

How did you get into music?

I did drama and I danced. I wasn’t really doing music at the time, but I was writing things down to express how I felt. At the start I was dancing, and then the girl that brought me into the group died, she was someone I was really close with, so that stopped me from dancing. Then I needed something to channel my energy. At the time I was still writing things down, but I wasn’t taking it seriously. This was around the time 'Straight Outta Compton' had just come out and I found out that Eazy E never knew how to rap and now he’s like the godfather of gangster rap. So, I was like, "if Eazy E could do something like that, then why can’t I?" I went into school, told my friends the idea. They were laughing. They were like "why do you want to do rap? Why do you want to be an artist?" I said, "bruv, why not? I want to try it out. I want to give it a go."

When did you decide to make your passion your career?

I wasn’t taking anything seriously and then I thought I’m just going to leave high school and work, I wasn’t thinking about the music thing. There was one day where something just hit me. I came into work and I was just like, "bruv I don’t even want to do this job anymore." I spoke to people at the workplace and they were like, "we’ve been here for ten years, don’t worry, you’re going to be a supervisor." And I’m like "no, this ain’t me, I’m a creative guy." I was like, "I can’t do this anymore." I just got my bag and I left. I called my bredrin, I said "bruv, we’re gonna take this music thing seriously." and he was like "bro, I’m with it, let’s do this" and I was like, cool, "where do we start?"

What makes you different to other musicians?

I think it’s raw energy and not really caring what people think. In society today, everyone just wants to be something that they’re not, from the clothes they wear to the way that they act. Growing up, that was a really hard thing for me because I was always trying to fit in but I didn’t understand that I was just special. I was one of a kind, there wasn’t anyone like me, that’s why people didn’t understand and that's why people didn’t rate it. People don’t like what they don’t understand. It’s like when I sing, it’s so raw and it’s so real. I’m not adding effect, this is straight. Being left, being different, taking a risk and being yourself will go further than being something you’re not. That’s the message I try to push in my music.

Who inspires you?

Loads of bands and people have inspired me: Phil Collins, Avril Lavigne, Linkin Park, Maroon 5, Sting, The Police, The Verve, Coldplay. If it wasn’t for people like that I wouldn't have my sound.

How would you describe your music?

I’m alternative. The alternative, the left scene, the ones that nobody's taking in until someone just shoots off. But our time is coming.

Do you have any advice for other young creatives?

Believe in yourself. Any artist, anyone that’s doing fashion, whatever you do, believe in yourself and take risks because if you don't take risks you’ll never prosper. There’s no checkpoint, there’s always more you can do. Just carry on going. It's so easy to make music. Any young artist out there, I'm telling you, it's so easy. Talk about your life, your real life. Don't talk about or rap a life you want to live. Talk about your life. How do you feel at your current situation? And trust me you’ll make bangers. Because real life is relatable.

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