Ogun released his new single ‘Know Like That’ on Friday. Replete with his confident, fiery wordplay and strident beats. Jumping from the speakers, it’s a statement of intent from the Newport artist with a point to prove.
Ogun comments on the single, “Know Like That was written as a result of me challenging myself to make a ‘hit’ in the sense of creating a song that is catchy, ear-grabbing and larger than life sonically. The production is bold and the flow is relentless – there’s no fat or filler on the track and that was my aim when I went into creating the song. Regarding the meaning, I think it’s meant to be received as a flex. This is me in my braggadocious bag and me at my most ruthless but it’s simultaneously a nod to the environment and surroundings that I grew up in as well”.
It’s lifted from his forthcoming EP ‘Trial By Fire’ set for release on 2nd February 2024. It marks the first in a trilogy of releases that delve into the forces that drive him, whilst striving for inner peace.
Ogun’s journey so far has been a turbulent yet incredibly rewarding one. His Nigerian mother headed to Italy in search of work opportunities, however upon arrival a debt was placed on her head in exchange for illegal travel arrangements and her hands were forced to crime. Ogun and his siblings spent the first few years of their life in Italy, until his mother eventually made the decision to return to Nigeria and enter the UK legally as an asylum seeker. They were placed in Newport, Wales, and he was unable to speak a word of English. His mother was naturally weary of the past catching up with them, alongside the looming threat of strict immigration laws, so Ogun was told not to speak Italian outside the house. He essentially spent his early years in Wales silent, disconnected, and frustrated.
Ogun speaks of his experience, “Wales has always struck me as an interesting place. A place of potential and a strong sense of pride but I never felt connected to the country when I first moved here. I was raised by a strong, proud Nigerian mother and this is the first thing I strongly identified with, alongside my Italian upbringing. My life has rarely been straightforward. My mother is a single mother, I am the only boy in my family with 4 sisters, and 2 of my sisters, who are twins, both have autism and global development delay, as well as being non-verbal. Therefore, I’ve been a carer ever since I can remember. Alongside this, my family had to battle with immigration to get to where we are today. I’ve been in a detention centre, a pen strike away from being deported back to Nigeria. It was the grace of the Catholic community in Newport as well as the political pressure of local MPs that kept us here”.
He’s seen previous support from BBC Radio 1 and BBC Wales. Ogun part of an exciting generation of hip hop artists from Wales.