Born and raised in Bow East London, the pop-grime princess Jessica Agombar has now established herself as one of the most fascinating female artists in the UK as she combines a pop sound with her E3 Grime roots. we sat down with Jessica to eat curly fries and discuss everything from her new video for ‘Bam Bam pt.2’ to how important it is to follow your gut instincts in this industry.
Since you’re from Bow, who are your favourite East London Lyricists?
Ghetts. Watching his MOBO performance last week, he just looked like he thought ‘I’m ready. I’ve been here two years in the waiting and I’m ready for this.’ of course Wiley He’s one of the OG’s so you always have to name check Wiley and Kano is the best. So Wiley, Ghetts and Kano.
Where do you think you fit into in this music industry?
I don’t think I wanna fit in. I wanna stay in my own lane. I don’t feel that I want to listen to 1Xtra and think ‘okay they’re playing pop music and I need to slot in there and put my own angle on it.’ I want to do what the likes of Jessie Ware has done in terms of creating her own lane. You can’t put her up against another artist. When you listen to one of her records, it completely personifies her. So I’m not too worried about fitting into a stereotype. I’m just going to be a cockney girl from east London, mixing Pop and Grime to make great commercial records.
You were once signed as part of a five piece girl group Parade and are now finding your feet as a Solo artist. Did being in a group stifle your natural artistry?
I did feel a little stifled artistically in my writing. Definitely.
How?
You gotta imagine being flown out to LA to work with Kuk Harrell, who vocal produces for Rihanna, and other huge producers that Atlantic got us in with. When you have your own concept idea you’re not going to say it out loud because you’ve already been given a concept. On the other hand, what kid from Bow is going to turn down the opportunity to work with Kuk Harrell? You can’t buy that type of experience. So it was a detour creatively for my writing but it was a huge learning curve. That was like a crash run for me. I’ve played in the O2 with Parade supporting Shakira. We did a Children In Need gig there. So I’m thankful for that experience.
Earlier this year you turned down a record deal with Universal Music. Talk to us about that.
I do a lot of organic work off of my own back and I want to be built from the ground up and not just jump into a record deal again and get into a situation I had been in before. I’m glad I turned it down because they would have just pushed me to release a song there and then that I didn’t really want to release. I probably wouldn’t have been able to work with Sticky to create Bam Bam. I probably wouldn’t have been able to remix it and work with Manga & Scratchy and I wouldn’t be here sitting down and talking to you right now if I had signed that deal. I didn’t feel like my package was ready.
What reaction were you expecting when Bam Bam came out?
I’ll be dead honest with you. My only goal and expectation was for people to listen to it and think ‘this is credible, honest and I can relate to it.’ I also wanted to get on 1Xtra’s playlist. All I wanted was to be on that playlist and we got it last week. For me to write a song myself and have that audience appreciate, respect and back my words means so much
What was the thinking behind the Bam Bam part 2 video?
I wanted it to be performance based. I didn’t want any gimmicks. I didn’t want a storyline. I just wanted me, Manga and Scratchy to have an amazing time in front of the camera and for it to be an introduction to me as an artist.
Recently on the 1Xtra show with Sian Anderson, you debuted a new track called ‘Preeing’. What was the inspiration?
I was having a conversation with the producer I wrote it with, Karl Gordon (K-Gee). He’s worked with Jessi J and everyone you can think of. And I was talking about the culture we’re in now. Twitter, YouTube, Instagram…. It’s endless. You can find out about someone so easily now. So I was talking about preeing an ex-boyfriend. My opening line was ‘why do you never wear the tracksuit that I bought you?’ And then I spoke about how his new woman has come along and changed him and I was preeing on how he’d changed and why he’d changed for this woman yet couldn’t for me. However it was in a light-hearted way. Very tongue in cheek. It’s such a massive thing now. You can go online and find out what your ex is up to. It’s available for us to see.
When it comes to making big decisions, who and what influences them?
My family are a massive influence to me, It’s always good to talk to my family despite them not being in the industry because they understand following your gut when your head is telling you something else.
Who are your Dream Collaboration and why?
Obviously Ghetts. I’m his number one fan. And I’d really like to work with Diplo. When I listen to his music I just want to make a random, yardie-pop track mashup with them!
Words: Henry Stonez
The visual for Bam Bam Part 2 is out now. Check it out here
Bam Bam Pt. 2 (feat Star.One, Scratchy and Manga) is released on November 16th and available to pre-order here.
