S.Treat is the newest artist straight out of North London’s hub for musical talent – Tottenham. As we prepare to close the second month of this brand new year, the Ghanaian musician releases his first single of the year entitled “Momentum”.
‘Momentum’ is a Afrobeats track that metaphorically conveys the similarities between a beautiful woman and a fine german made vehicle; Mercedes-Benz. S.Treat uses not one but four different languages within this melody – English, Twi (Ghanaian dialect), Yoruba (Nigerian dialect) and Pidgin (Nigerian broken english) each portraying his multicultural upbringing.
“I came up with the concept for the track as one evening I fell asleep watching the fast and the furious, the following morning I stumbled across an instrumental which I liked the sound of and began writing to it. A few weeks before this I had also purchased a new Mercedes-Benz which I love and thought it would be clever to create a track that has multiple interpretations.” – S.Treat speaks on the track
S.Treat (“Treat from the Streets”) is an artist with an unique sound influenced by an array of different genres including; Rap, R&B, Afrobeats, Dancehall & Hip Hop. When he is not busy writing music S.Treat is a part time youth worker at a youth space within the borough of Haringey.
‘Momentum’ has a real feel good element to it which is definitely what we all need at the moment. The video was also directed by S.Treat showing his versatility as an artist and with support from some of the best radio tastemakers such as; Dj Tiiny (Capital Xtra), Your Host Rob & DJ Dange (Pulse88 Radio) and SK Vibemaker (Rinse Fm) it’s only a matter of time before S.Treat becomes a household name within the music industry.
K: Hello S.Treat how are you? Let’s jump straight into this interview with you telling us a bit about how you stay motivated to make music during such a difficult time?
S.T.: I’m doing great, how about you? I would say if you love something enough it creates the motivation to want to pursue it and do the best you can to and for it. My mum used to do her best for us at the most trying times and never gave up, so that’s how I know the love is real. To me my music is like my child so I gotta work at it to make it the best it can be so that’s where the parental comparison comes into play. I also love to create things for people to enjoy so I just can’t wait till lockdown is done so I can share it with the world.
K: You have quite an interesting musical background, growing up in Tottenham and rubbing shoulders with artists such as; Skepta, Chip and NSG – tell us more about these relationships?
S.T.: With Skepta I was young, so didn’t get to rub shoulders with him so much, however he and my older brothers were friends and I was more close to his younger brother Jason as my mum used to look after both of us after school. We’d often hear what Skepta, JME and my brothers were up to in the early stages of UK Rap /Grime and pick up on it, without realising how big the movement they were pioneers of was going to be. I think I started to realise it when I saw them on Channel U and was told Skepta was going to DJ for 50 Cent.
I moved to St Ann’s in Tottenham whilst I was in primary school, and the ice breaker for me was football, we used to play on the estate and use bins as goals even though it said no ball games. That’s how I met and became cool with everyone in the area (as I was the younger one everyone wanted me on their team for football lol). Chip also lived a few doors down from me, to be fair at the beginning I never knew he rapped at all but he did have swagger and flair playing football so I wasn’t surprised when he had sauce with his musical lyrics, the first time I heard him was on a 4YP bus that use to come and do activities with us on the estate.
I met most of NSG in college, there’s so many of them (more than the 6 that perform), they’re a whole group of good vibes. I probably became cool with Mojo first and like a snowball effect started meeting the others that didn’t go to my college. I also volunteered and coached for Arsenal’s kicks project in Hackney/Islington so they would all come down and we’d catch jokes and kick ball, a lot of the time I’d be on NSG’s team if they were there. They’d even have team talks and strategies about football and music amongst all the fun so when they started blowing up I knew it was 1000% deserved; they’re all so very talented whether it’s at dancing, making hits or producing.
K: “Momentum” is your latest single, tell us what inspired you to make such a track?
S:T.: I wanted to make a song that people could vibe to, in their cars, or in a club, something uptempo people could dance to. After feeling like lockdown was getting me down, all I could do was sit at home and watch movies that gave me the momentum to write ‘momentum’. One night I literally fell asleep watching The Fast and the Furious, woke up with a jingle in my head, found an instrumental and started putting lyrics to it. I had bought a car recently too and it just made sense to reference it and compare it to a love interest. The visuals were also directed by me and I feel as though they were inspired by The Fast and Furious movie. I’ve also always wanted to stand out and be different so rather than have a video that looks like everybody else’s.
K: Afrobeats is a genre that has been around for years and is now beginning to receive traction on a global scale. Why do you think the mainstream had such a difficult time getting on board with this beautiful sound?
S.T.: It’s something that’s deep rooted, I believe the media didn’t really depict Africa in the best of lights to the rest of the world, so anything that would have come from there would be overlooked. It’s a shame for the previous generations, however we’re in new times now and the vibrancy of everything that is African is shining through, from fashion to music & Culture etc it’s amazing!
K: What artists within the Afrobeats scene are you inspired by musically?
S.T.: J.hus, Burna boy, Wizkid, Yxng Bane, Ofori Amponsah, Daddy Lumba, Frenna, Maleek Berry, Moelogo, Kwamz & Flava there’s so many the list could go on forever.
K: You spend the majority of your time working with the youth, do you almost feel a responsibility to be a role model especially within your music?
S.T.: Of course, I feel as though you’re raised by your peers just as much if not more than your parents. I feel as though I’ve got to the stage I am by having positive role models for guidance so it’s only right that I try to help the next generations to come.
K: Do you have any more amazing tracks in the works or an EP/mixtape/album due for release soon? If so, tell us more about what listeners can expect?
S.T.: Yeaaah, I’ve got so many tracks that I can’t wait to share with the world, you can definitely expect complete vibes and an EP or two that sounds like no one that’s already out! I’m currently selecting the songs that will make the cut and have selected a couple of EP names.
K: Lastly, what messages would you like to portray to your audience as an artist?
S.T.: I just want my audience to be able to live and love life, also to be comfortable being themselves and acknowledging and appreciating theirs and other identities rather than just following the crowd. I just want to inspire a nation of G.O.A.T’s so people feel like they don’t have to follow or be sheep to be accepted.
Follow S. Treat on Instagram – @s.treatmusic & Twitter @s_treatmusic
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