Focus: Smodt

Who Are You And Where Are You From?
I’m Smodt, from Norton-Teesside.

What Is It You Do?
I’m a rapper/producer, but I do a bit of everything, like a one-man record label.

How Long Have You Been Doing It?
I first ventured into music about six years ago, playing a Cajon at a local open mic (big up Hyde’s Bar), this evolved into being a drummer in a rap/rock band for half 6 months. Through this love of performing music I grew an interest in producing it, and so when I reached college I studied music tech and have been producing, writing and rapping since then (coming up four years) and really putting in the time since 2020.

What Inspires You?
The fear of failure. Bit deep I know, but the thought of hitting my death bed having not achieved anything eats away at me, so every day I wake up driven.

On a slightly lighter note, I love music and listen to A LOT of it. With a constantly evolving rap playlist, and a growing record collection I’m always discovering and listening to new stuff, pulling ideas, flows, samples, etc… from them all.

My favourite/most listened to artists have to be Chester Watson, Mc Miller, J Cole, JID, Knucks, Coops, Ocean Wisdom (to pick a few out of a tonne)

Tell Us About Your Music.
I hate to put a label on my music, mainly because I don’t really know what genre it is exactly, but I like to think it lies somewhere between Hip-Hop and Grime, just with a Teesside twang.

Everything I have made is entirely self-produced, and I never really aim for anything in specific when I’m creating my music, I just run with a sound, or a theme, or a vibe and make it sound good.

What Have You Got Coming Up In The Future?
My next single, Vanity Gold, is dropping 15/04/22 at 7PM.

This song covers my displeasure with where I’m at in life, my self-belief, and my unwillingness to be overlooked. After the release of my debut EP, I wanted to switch it up a bit, so in contrast to the grit, hard bass and speed on my EP, Vanity Gold brings the tempo down a little and lies more around chill Grime/HipHop. Feels like a song I’d play in the car on a late-night excursion, not that I can drive…

If you use Spotify you can pre-save Vanity Gold here.

I’m also working on future releases and dropping freestyles on my socials. Always got something in the works.

Where Can People Find Out More About You?
I’m most active on Instagram – @thesmodt, but you can also find links to all my socials, my page on whichever streaming service you use, and my website here.

Be sure to drop a follow and stream my music (especially Vanity Gold), you won’t be disappointed!