AJ Tracey on London’s streets and how music saved him from a culture of fear

Changes with Annie Macmanus

Annie Macmanus

Society & Culture

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 16 September 2024

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

AJ Tracey is one of the most influential artists in the UK music scene today but his life could have taken a very different direction had he not made some serious changes. AJ is known for his groundbreaking contributions to grime, drill and UK garage. Last year he celebrated 1 billion streams in the UK and was honoured with the Brits Billion Award. His triple platinum-selling hit Ladbroke Grove is an homage to his West London neighbourhood where he was raised by his single mum. For AJ, the reality of growing up as a black, working class boy in London meant being surrounded by gangs, violence, and a culture of fear. These early experiences led him to carry weapons and sell drugs, but through all this, music became AJ’s lifeline, offering him a way out and ultimately led to his rise as an independent artist.

In this frank and eye opening episode AJ and Annie dive deep into his journey from early days on council estates to headlining stages as a multi-platinum artist. They talk about the pressures of becoming the man of the house at a young age, protecting his family, and navigating the harsh realities of The London postcode clash. They also discuss the issues facing young people today, how his rise to fame and making money have changed him and how he manages to stay grounded while breaking boundaries in the music industry.

Warning: This episode discusses knife crime and violence

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Imagine sweeping through green fields, floating five feet above ground, sun on your face as you
0:08.3	slide by on track to your
0:15.0	there,
0:20.0	the care in the world as you simply lean back. And before you know it, you're there.
0:21.0	This is how travels should feel and on our trains it does.
0:25.0	Avanti West Coast feel good travel. Hello and welcome to Changes. It is Annie McMahonis here. Delight to have you with me for another episode of this
0:44.2	podcast and delighted to bring you this week's guest. He is one of the most
0:48.9	influential artists in the UK music scene today, a trailblazer, an entrepreneur, a multi platinum selling artist.
0:57.0	His name is A.J. Tracy. A.J. is known for his groundbreaking contributions to rap, grime, drill and UK garage.
1:05.3	Last year he celebrated 1 billion streams in the UK and was honoured with the Brits
1:10.0	billion Award. You may know his triple platinum selling hit Labbook Grove. It's very hard to say the name
1:16.2	AJ Tracy without saying live and direct afterwards, but that song is now part of the kind of
1:21.4	cultural consciousness of this country but behind that
1:24.6	catchy hook is an homage to A.J.'s West London neighborhood where he was raised
1:29.8	by his single mom. For A.J. the reality of growing up is a black working-class boy in London
1:36.2	meant being surrounded by gangs, by violence and by a culture of fear. It is testament to
1:42.1	A.J. that he was able to make the right choices and the right changes in his life to not be held back or constrained by the unjust systems around him.
1:52.0	He managed to cling on to music as a lifeline.
1:56.6	And ultimately, that led to phenomenal success
1:59.8	as an independent artist, which, believe me, is really no easy feat. I first met
2:04.8	AJ back when I was working at Radio 1 and it was always such a privilege to speak to
2:08.5	him and to be able to play his music to the world and just to watch his kind of rise which was meteoric by the way it was really really
	...

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