Master Peace is a multi-genre artist, an individual willing to do what’s best for him and an Ivor Novello winner. The musician from Surrey has been creating music for nearly a decade now taking every step at his own pace and with his own ideas.
Not much of an academic, school was never really his thing and with no qualifications, he was unsure where to go. Music wasn’t exactly his calling either “If anything I didn’t wanna do music, that was the last thing I wanted to do”, but being surrounded by creatives and constantly seeing music being made around him it was almost something he fell into first appearing as part of a collective named Ammi Boyz.
Coming up in the grime scene with a fairly abstract take on the sound and now being one of the biggest names in the indie music scenes makes it very hard to box in and label Peace. In his own words, he describes his music as “Indie music with elements of dance, pop, hip-hop as well, even some grime influences. I wouldn’t call myself a rapper but I use things rappers would use and implement in my music. I’ll do certain things that I know normal indie guys couldn’t do because they’re not from the culture”. Master Peace grew up listening to grime royalty such as Elf Kid, Chipmunk, Jme and Novelist but would find himself tapping into the alternative side of rap with artists such as Rejjie Snow, and the sound he is now able to create is somewhat a boiling pot of all these different sounds, flows and mannerisms.
I spoke to Peace just before he was ready to set off on his world tour ‘How to Make a World Tour’, a follow-up to the sold-out UK and European tour he went on earlier this year following the release of his debut album ‘How to Make a Master Peace’. A project that he created in the space of 2 weeks while camping out in studios with the esteemed producer Matt Schwartz. The album did unthinkable things for Master Peace and made him a true trailblazer in his scene, “My album going into the charts and winning an Ivor Novello … I always wanna be the first person to do something, anybody that came from my world hadn’t done that yet”.
The Ivor Novello win for 2024 rising star was a massive win for Master Peace, “It meant so much, something a lot of people didn’t think I should be making, the music I was making a lot of people didnt think I should do it. It’s kind of paid off”. The win was historic for Master Peace as he was joined by stars such as Lana Del Rey, Skepta and Raye as winners that night, and all off the back of an album that “at the time I just didn’t give a shit (about), anything that happens after this album was a plus”.
The talented artist now prepares for the release of the extended play of his debut album which will then allow him to kick off his world tour with stops such as New York, LA, Toronto and Atlanta which until now are untouched scenes for Peace. “Live shows for me is why I make music” and after this tour is done, more music can be expected “Album 2, that where we are at the moment, I’m gonna finish that by the end of the year and try to drop the first single in January”.
Master Peace has finally got the stage to showcase his talent and with all the eyes on him, he isn’t letting the opportunity pass without ensuring he makes a lasting impact. Peace has been making music for nearly a decade but it doesn’t seem as though he is planning to stop any time soon, from a hobby that he wasn’t too interested in he is now going on world tours and winning Ivor Novellos, Master Peace has truly lived up to his name and album title and produced a Masterpiece.
Master Peaces’ debut album “How to Make a Master Peace” is out everywhere and can be listened to here.