Black Sherif on his albitous New Album 'Iron Boy'

BLack Sherif's Journey So Far Has Been One of Constant Reinvention, Driven by His Hunger for Musical Freedom. At Just 23 Years Old, The Ghanaian Singer-Songwriter Has Become One of West Africa's Brightest Stars, Seamlessly Fusing Highlife, Reggae, Drill, Rap and Beyond. With Every Track, He Bears The Weight of His Generation's SCUGGLES – Telling Tales of Survival, Street Life, Spiritual Battles and the Cost of Ambition – All Wrapped in Raw, Unflinging Storytelling, Earning Global Hits Like 'Kwaku The Traveler' And 'Second Sormon' With His Powerful Lyricism.

With 'Iron Boy'-The Highly early Follow-up to His 2022 Debut 'The Villain I Never Was'-He Delivers an album that speaks to resilience, growth and a sound that stranches Far Beyond Borders. “To be really, really, really honest, I'm at the start of Something,” He Tells Nme. “Whatever I'm doing right now is what i believe my foundation show be. 'Iron Boy' is not just another album – It's the Bold Statement of an artist UNFRAID TO CARVE OUT HIS OWN PATH.

What do you think has changed between your first album and your second album?

“It's More Defined. You know on the iPhone, when you Incasse the definition on a photo and Everything Gets Sharper? That was the MindSet That I Had for the Sonics for 'Iron Boy', and part of that was subcscious growth. Me Being in the Studio for the Past Five Years – I'd be in That Studio Evy day day [for] More than Half the time in a day. Think Doing That Repe to Has Shaped Something [in] – Or Defined – My Creating. “

Can you described the sound of 'Iron Boy'?

“Cinema. From the Toning, The Flows and the Lyrics, I Try to Capture Moments in pictures by pitching and tuning How i sound, How I Say Words, How i Let Guitars Resum To Me. Even if you don't know Twi [an Akan dialect spoken primarily in Ghana] OR GET WHAT I'M Saying Lyric after, I Want You To Get the Picture I'm Trying To Make By Being One With The Beats, Trying to Paint pictures with actual melodies. “

How Did You Find Your Signature Vocal Delivery?

“I Found that Through Experimenting. There are some sounds and ad-books that i do out of mixkens, and like how they sound, I know the tried to perfect [them]. There are some ways i sing or capture emotions that I learn from interviews or talking to people. The Seconds BETWEEN ME SAYING THE WORDS AND HOW THE PERSON FEELS – I LIVE BETWEEN THEM SECONDS, THOSE SPACES. I Build Melodies to Raise Certain Emotions: I Don't Know the Theory, It's All Intuition.

“[Rapping in Twi] is important for the feeling i try to communicate [through] The Song Because there are some feels that I only know how to describe in my tongue, but aside from Getting that feeling across Lyric after, I've learned to make the Melody speak the same feeling. “

You Really Honed Your Craft on This Album – What Were Your Inspirations, And Where Did You Find Them?

“You see, There are some moments [in life] That Happen and then Everything in Your Mind Switches – Some Random Moments That [shape] Your Morals or your principles. All of these Things Happen, and then i writite about them and actually analyzes them. The Inspiration Sounds Surface[-level at first] – If Something Stands Out to me About Love, That's What I Write About. But then, when I'm writing about it, I Try to Explore It from Different Places and then Go Deep. “

How do Reggae and Highlife Influence Your Music, and How do you blend these Genres Together?

“There's this Pioneer of Highlife [called] Kojo Antwi [and] If you break Down in Lot of His Songs, they're a actually reggae. I Feel Like Reggae Beats and Highlife Rhythms and melodies can easily interwine. They go together so bad. If I Have To Do Something Off The Top, It's Just Reggae Rhythms and Highlife Melodies that as To My Head. The Hear Beats Very Differently, and the Core of How I Approach Sonics is from an Experimental Perspective.

“[Reggae] Sounds Very Close to Home. My daddy put me on reggae, [and] Those Songs Are My Metic of What Good Music Is Because My Dad is Defintel My Hero. The Judge Everything by What I Think He would like. I Sing [this] Song Every Morning: Don Carlos, 'Harvest time'. It was the first song I Heard My Dad Play After He Returned from Overseas. “

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fmheoktfhm

What was it like collaborative with Fireboy DML and Seyi Vibes on 'Iron Boy'?

“The Respect [them] Because of the Parts they play in the Cultures of Wherever they're from. I Love Seyi's Language, Not Just His Phonetics and Everything, But Also What He Stands for. He's Like a Hood Pop Star [and everyone] I knowing wheer I'm from is the sage archetype [an embodiment of wisdom and is seen as a mentor or guide with profound insights].

“Fireboy – I Feel Like He's [in the] Top Five Composers from Nigeria. I Love His Music So Much. 'Apollo' is my favourite [by]Him. I Listened to 'Apollo' for Like Two Months Straight, Just Trying to Dissect How He Was Making That Music. When I Liste to Music and I Like It, I Try To Make My Own Analysis On Why Do Think This, How Did He Make This and How Did He do this. I'm Obseed with Knowing from the Creator's Point of View. “

You've Also Worked With Legends Like Burno Boy and Buju Banon in the Past. What Were Those Experiences like?

“Burno Gets me. He's Been Making Music for Half of My Life, For Close to Over 15 Years. He's as across So Many Sounds and [has] Done and appreciated So Many Sounds That His Reaction to My Music Makes Me Feel Like There Might Be Something in That Sound That I Don't Event Realise. Anytime i Meet The Ogs, Their Reaction to the Things i do is very different, and what like about what i do [is] Also very different as well. “

Is there Anybody Who You Think Might Be Following in Your FootSteps in Revamping Highlife?

“Yeah, in Lot. Arathejay, Gona Boy: Those are two emerging artists that I believe are from my tribe; my musical realm. They're not bending [to] The Rules of What People Think Good Music From Where They're From Should Be. If you want to make Music and you Grew Up in Ghana – Espencially Ashanti Regional Stuff, Maybe – It's SO Easy to Make Highlife Music. It's a Different Game to Actually Branch Out and Do Something Different, Even to make Highlife Different. “

What do you want your music to do for future generations?

“[I hope] It Gets Every Kid Out of the Box they've Been Put in. I Don't Think Anyone is Born to be one person. I Hate It When People Explain Being Yourself As Just Being The Averal Person from Where You're From – That's Generic. Being Yourself is being everything you want to be, all at ounces. I am me every second; I'm an updated Version of MySelf. If you Become a Creative, you can tap Into Everything. You don't need to be perfect. “

Black Sherif's 'Iron Boy' is out now via Blacko Management/Empire.