This On The Rise is a bit different than ones we’ve done in the past. Rocky Nti is an up and coming British rocker we’ve been listening to for several weeks. When we found ourselves in London for a few days we thought, “Why not hang out with the guy?!” Over the course of an hour, Rocky gave us a mini tour of Soho while we chatted about who he is and what his goals are. He was kind enough to let us pick his brain about culture in the UK as well.
Our introduction to Rocky Nti came via his infectiously upbeat track “Ride On.” It’s about finding a way to break out of your habits. Much of life is cyclical and we have a choice to at least try to break out of our ruts. What you hear on that track and see in its music video is exactly what you get in person. We agreed to meet at the Tottenham Court Road tube station near the bustling shopping area known as Oxford Street.
The first thing you notice about Rocky is his smile. Seriously, the guy seems to always wear one. He’s optimistic and driven, which is hard to be given the ever-changing music industry. As we made our way through tiny Soho streets to his studio, he talked about what’s expected of a rising musician these days. Impressive social media numbers, instant hits, streaming, ticket sales, etc. There’s a lot to do, and as Rocky knows from personal experience, musicians who want to make it have to take that on themselves initially.
Why wouldn’t I want to be as successful as I possibly can?
Rocky hails from Milton Keynes about an hour and a half outside of London. He went to university to study acting for about a year then decided to focus on music. He currently works at a Dr. Martens not far from where we started our walk. It becomes apparent that Rocky not only has the charisma but also the hustle to be an entertainer. He has supported Sunset Sons as well as Eliza and The Bear. Although he’s released a handful of songs, at the moment he has no plans for an album.
As he’s currently unsigned, it’s a major personal investment to put a full length studio album together that a label could potentially scrap. When we ask just what kind of career he’s looking to have, Rocky doesn’t hesitate to tell us. He wants to be an indie pop star and sign to a major label. We’re a little taken aback by his candor. Major labels aren’t cool, right? Surely, there’s some dissembling involved with indie acts (they want to remain niche but also want to pay their bills). “Why wouldn’t I want to be as successful as I possibly can?” he replies.
Rocky’s plan is to keep releasing one-off singles with accompanying music videos until a label takes notice. It won’t be long, in our opinion. “Ride On” and “Reflections” have received radio play in the UK. At this point, Rocky brings up race, which we were struggling to delicately insert into the conversation. He’s biracial, with Dutch and Ghanaian roots, and he’s extremely proud to be British.
His experiences with race resulted in his track “Englishman.” Rocky is fully aware he makes a style of music mainly associated with white suburban kids which means he’s opening for bands with mostly white fan bases. This is more about opportunity than choice. We mention some of the rhetoric surrounding the BRITS. Many outlets chose to describe the artists and genres left out as “black music.” Rocky has a particular gripe with the term. “If I had been up for a BRIT, is the music I make ‘black music’ then? Just because I’m black?” he asks. He says he doesn’t think much about his race and what role that plays until someone quite forcefully points it out. Coming from an entirely different climate in the U.S., it’s fascinating to hear him talk about those experiences. As the sun starts to set and it gets chilly, we wrap up our tour and head for the tube station. We made the clumsy mistake of standing next to Rocky riding the escalator down. “Yeah, you’re not allowed to do that here.”
Since our Sunday afternoon talk, Rocky announced he’s supporting Panic At the Disco! on their European tour. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
On The Rise is our spotlight series on new and emerging artists. We last featured Nap Eyes. Stay tuned for next week’s On The Rise artist!