INTERVIEW: Kay Greyson

Image by Amelia Read

In recent years the hip-hop scene has established itself as one of the most relevant music genres in the North East, offering an exciting energy and tales of life growing up in the region. One of the shining lights in this movement is Newcastle-based rapper Kay Greyson, who emerged from house parties and club nights to become an artist whose dynamic live shows and powerful lyrics have caught the attention of audiences everywhere.

Kay’s earliest musical influence was her musician father, but it was her inability to grasp the fundamentals of playing an instrument that drew her to rap. “My dad is a musician and has been in bands his whole life. I struggled to play instruments so I leaned towards rapping ‘cause it was all about the words. I always loved putting words together.”

Mainstream hip-hop artists first grabbed Kay’s attention, but it was the artists on the fringe of the scene that captured her imagination. “US rappers like Eminem, Kanye West and 50 Cent were my first inspirations.” She goes on to add: “Acid Rap by Chance the Rapper was the album that made me fall in love with alternative rap. I could never relate to the gangsters or the people bragging about Lamborghinis and mansions, but hearing an artist talk passionately about their community and do it with an edge really cemented the lane I wanted to be in. I wanted to make people think but I also wanted to make them smile.”

Her home city and the creative contemporaries within it have also played a big part in her development as an artist. “I’m a very proud Geordie. My mum worked has worked in the community for most of her life and she always taught me that you should try to uplift the place that you live in. I don’t include Newcastle in my music in an obvious way but it is a part of everything that I do. All of my stories are from here… There has been a renaissance of talent especially over the past five years. I believe the future is very bright. To name some names, producers like EKA Beats/Ebenezer Good, dblack beats and Nifty Struggle are really back bones for the great music that’s being created at the moment… Artist wise, people like Kema Kay, Mcxxne and Able Jack are just some of the people pushing the sound forward in a positive and exciting way.”

Kay is proudly from a working class background. With reports from the likes of Youth Music, Musician’s Union and UK Music highlighting the lack of socio-economic diversity in music, I ask what she thought about the current situation and what more could be done to improve representation.

It’s all drugs, sex and rock and roll until it’s not, and then it’s all vulnerability, heartbreak and nostalgia

“I constantly keep in mind how hard it is for working class people like myself, in any industry, and in music especially these days, when your success can be very much based on how much time and money you can dedicate to your craft. I work with an organisation called Northern Roots who offer free studio time, free music videos and paid performance opportunities to young artists from these backgrounds in order to aid in levelling the playing field. This has had positive effects and there are other organisations doing similar things to help, but there needs to be more – more funding, more resource and more beneficial opportunities given to young creatives. It’s an industry-wide problem that needs an industry-wide response.”

In 2020 she was signed to music management agency Soul Kitchen, which according to Kay has been instrumental in her success. “Having such an experienced, caring and Geordie management team has been integral to my successes so far. They discovered me at an event I was performing at in the city centre and for a year before I signed they just offered me advice and help before we officially started a partnership. The team has taught me so much about how the industry works and given me connections I need to perform all around the country and have my music played all around the world.“

Soul Kitchen’s recent partnership with EMI North saw Kay added to their roster of artists, something that she describes as “life changing”. She continues: “I’ve dreamed since I was a kid of signing a record deal, and being able to do it as female, queer, Geordie rapper? That’s a win to me! I have a lyric on one of my new songs from the album, it’s goes ‘I got to sign a record deal and show it to my dad, no matter what they take from me, they’re never taking that’. That pretty much sums it up for me.”

Kay’s first album release via Soul Kitchen and EMI North is Chekhov’s Gun, an audacious eight-track incorporating a wide range of genres from the euphoric and anthemic EDM opener On The Table to the dreamy chill-pop Lifestyle, the RnB groove-fest of Vain and the punchy jazz-tinged Over & Over. Despite the scope of sounds, the songs are nicely brought together by the slick production (mostly from EKA Beats, with one song produced by John Elliott) and Kay’s effortlessly engaging and potent vocal delivery, which exudes the confidence of a global superstar.

Kay offers some insight into the album’s themes. “I’d describe it as a mid 20’s album. It’s all drugs, sex and rock and roll until it’s not, and then it’s all vulnerability, heartbreak and nostalgia. The production is amazing… It feels like the album I’ve been wanting to make all my life and I can’t wait for people to hear it.” She goes on to add: “Lyrically, it’s my most honest work. There’s a song on there called Baby Blue that talks about how I was born which is a crazy story that I’ve not spoken about in my music before.”

The album is built on the NCL x LA project, a community featuring a close-knit group of inspiring creatives in the North East and LA – from stylists to producers, choreographers to videographers, Kay tells me more: “There’s Zavy and Tyra from LA and me, EKA Beats and Shina Collins from Newcastle. I met Zavy during my trip to Los Angeles in 2022 and he introduced me to Tyra during their visit to Newcastle in 2024. It’s always an amazing and beautiful thing to me when artists from two completely different backgrounds have so much in common and can relate to each other’s struggles.”

Kay Greyson releases Chekhov’s Gun via Soul Kitchen/EMI North on 20^th September.