W: George Gray

The making of Liam Mera Kai is rooted in a genre that has slowly become entwined with growing up in 21st century Britain. Alt UK Hip-Hop seems to grow in force day by day, capturing the angst and grit of adolescence in Britain with nostalgic melodies, classic UK rap beats and the power of spoken word.
However, as pioneers of the genre like Loyle Carner progress on to new lands, focusing more on challenges of adulthood, a new wave of young Brits look to champion the sound.
Liam is cementing his place as one of these new torch-bearers, with his new EP release late May and growing tour dates gradually putting his voice on the map. So we spoke to the South London artist to try and uncover more of his story and what differentiates himself from the rest.
The EP’s title and cover couldn’t be more poignant in the young person’s current climate. A suit half-soaked in the waves and the title ‘It’s fine once you’re in’, an apt metaphor for young people increasingly feeling lost at sea, struggling to find their way in the world.
It’s fitting then that Liam’s own musical journey began when everything’s uncertain back in his school days. “Back in School I used to be in a choir”, gaining both classical and musical theatre training he grew up developing a deep love for music. “It was nothing off the scale, but when you’re growing up it’s just the most exciting thing in the world.”
This performing even began to take him overseas, performing the odd choral event with his School abroad and before long he had the bug for it. How though, do you transition from a classical choir to delving into UK Hip-Hop I wondered.
“It’s a good question” he laughed, but the pivotal moment came in his uni days. “I went to Nottingham Uni, in and around Covid”, explaining how what should’ve been an era of house parties and nightlife suddenly became a lot of time spent at home.
“Everyone had more and more time to think about things, if you loved music you wanted to mix or produce”, not only to express yourself Liam tells but to explore and find your people. A coping mechanism to the anxieties of young people without the typical ways of finding their crowd and themselves - socialising.
His own mixing journey had begun at school - a money earner playing local parties, but at uni it found its renaissance. “I loved mixing at uni, being able to control the energy and vibe in the room was special”.
UKG his main weapon behind the decks, but before long other genres seeped in. A young love for disco and funky was first re-ignited, before a chance introduction to the world of Brazilian music broadened his horizons. Soon horns and jazz influences began to join the party too, and his curiosity showed no sign of slowing.
Through this musical discovery he began to differentiate himself, and before long he wanted to focus on exploring his individuality, “I really feel as though people aren’t aware enough of their power”. So he pivoted back to his singing roots, focusing more on spoken lyricism through a goal of poetic expression. “I’d always loved writing and the power that words hold”.
This lyricism soon overlapped with a passion for mixing and familiarity with software resulted in natural progress. The more Liam fused his two roots of beats and classical vocals the further he carved out his sound: a mix of spoken-word, rap and singing. A sound, at its core, New-wave UK hip-hop.
He wasn’t the first to find this sound, but to Liam he felt as though he was standing on the shoulders of all those who had come before. From the likes of Lausse The Cat, Antony Smizerek, and Infamous Dimes to his personal favourites Frankie Stew and Harvey Gunn, Liam had grown up listening to these distinct voices, inspired by their graft.
To Liam this idea of an authentically distinct and British voice was grounding, attaching you to a tangible place, emotion or experience, in a relatable way. Songs in this style therefore represented stories, and tales of growing up or experiencing situations that we all suffer or find joy in. “So I thought to myself if we’re gonna make anything Luke it should probably be that.”
When it came to producing the music the pressure of streaming algorithms was daunting, as he admits he didn’t want to follow the code of pumping out constant music for the sake of stat-padding. Instead he focussed on pouring his energy into a small, coherent body of work: found in his latest EP.
“It shouldn’t be as fast paced as people often expect, people would spend years making an album, one you wouldn’t fully hear until it all came together, that is what goes into artistry”.
It’s a double-edged sword Liam concedes though, admitting that the versatility of mobile technology makes it so much easier to produce from anywhere at any time. It’s the separation of the art and the marketing that frustrates him though, pointing out with streaming and social media platforms, “from an artist's perspective everything feels a little robotic”.
“You don’t know who you’re pitching your music to, you don’t get much of a response and it doesn’t often feel like a human connection if you do”, he summarises. It’s something well noted across young artists, and Liam tells us of an interesting suggestion from a peer he’d heard.
“Imagine if they removed all of the listener-facing metrics off platforms, no monthly listeners, no number of streams - the artist could see but the listener not”. It’s a good suggestion, one that’d potentially prevent the age-old problem, that’s only been exacerbated by the algorithm era, of judging a book by its cover and not giving a new artist an assumption free chance.
How does Liam plan to stand out then, in this era of genre-blending artists and algorithm collated playlists. For the classically trained artist, it’s his background that seems most important, “singing is a massive part of my UK rap sound equally as important as rapping”.
“Take violet on the EP, to me that doesn’t even touch UK rap, it sits in this alt soul vibe but it wouldn’t have surprised me if when producing it I’d wanted to drop a rap verse in it.”. It’s this duality that Liam believes differentiates himself, empowering him to push the boundaries of genre and style.
It’s a calculated approach as he explains. Liam harnesses the technical side of his vocals to elevate his lyrics, putting the words at the forefront of his music either through their cadence, his flow to convey a message that has to be listened to.
These messages often revolve around relationships, depicting the feelings and moments that are often shared only with a partner. To him it’s a form of expression without risk, confronting things in an outpour rather than bottling emotions up. We all know of the stereotypical stiff-upper lip of our little Island nation, but it’s exactly the fearless nature of this new alt-uk rap that is tackling these pre-conceptions.
Just take Jim Lxgacy who has blasted onto the UK underground scene, sonically not dissimilar from the works of alt UK hip-hop of Loyle Carner or Liam, but pushing both the musical and lyrical messaging even further.
As a result Liam summarises the EP feels almost a collection of stories, an anthology thematically linked. With an eye on the future, he reveals when an LP comes along he’ll perhaps shift this on to a more magnified focus, establishing a moral arc revolving around a personable storyline.
He’ll have to find inspo first, and for Liam that’s often found in the metaphysical. “I love people watching, my notebook’s always with me in case something pops in my head”. Capturing these moments with a physical pad and a pen is particularly important for him, building that connection direct from him to his work, detaching the stigma of online life.
“We’re all so self obsessed 99% of the time, so trying to think more about what we're saying before we speak helps”, writing his work physically down often giving him this moment for reflection. “Trying to put myself in someone else’s mind and emotions, to better understand them better is definitely an inspiration to my songwriting”, he summarises.
To Liam this ensures that his work can draw on deeper connections with others. “Take Skin the last track on the EP”, a track heavily inspired by Mk.gee and Dijon, “it’s very intimate and I knew it had to be sung, if it wasn’t its rawness and realness might not be expressed”. A pattern carried on in Violet where his signature emotion driven lyrics are contrasted by a consistent and driven drum pattern.
It’s his personal favourite Passion flower that best symbolises his exploration of others, “it comes from trying to put myself in someone else’s brain, the track’s core isn’t sung but it’s the bits of singing that creates that dreamlike feeling”. A nod to the power of a Passion Flower as a natural insomnia remedy - a musical lullaby for the anxious mind.
Across the EP these drum patterns and sampling can seem reminiscent of even 90s American Hip-hop, the likes of Lauryn Hill coming to mind. So when asked about his sampling process Liam responded quickly, noting the existence of tools like Splice but acknowledging the limits of its creativity. For him he finds more joy in true sample-flipping, using more obscure finds based on their richness and power before delving into the layering of a track. It’s a passion he’d love to further explore live to, with plans of live sampling potentially on the horizon.
So with an eye on the future we switch our focus to his goals. First up a UK tour, one in which he could really grow and give back to his emerging fanbase. Features and collabs are also something Liam would love to achieve. Artists such as the indie-punk vibes of Master Peace to his heroes Frankie Stew and Harvey Gunn all appear in conversation, as well as producers including Jordan Rakei, and Tom Misch. Maybe even exploring an electronic side to his music with the likes of Mura Masa, Liam’s list seems endless.
His aspirations are high but with that also comes a genuine motivation to keep working hard and feed his addiction of energising a room through music. So keep an eye out for Liam, because his blend of introspection and energetic power may be coming to an event near you very soon.