LEN IS THE MOMENT. AND HE KNOWS IT.

Len is the moment, and he knows it. Whether that’s illustrated by the encompassing energy he possesses when the mic is in his hand or his braggadocious lyrics – the 22 year old Stockwell native has a firm grip on the streets of London and beyond. He tells us ‘I’ve always been someone that stands out by accident.’ and it’s that same self assured effortless individuality and confidence that shines throughout our chat with him.

The first song I heard of Len was ‘ Devotion’. Produced in collaboration with Jamo Beatz, the Brazilian Funk inspired song encompasses the care-free feeling of summer in three minutes. It’s just one of the many testaments of Len’s versatility and ability to infuse whatever track he steps onto with this infectious energy you just can’t quite get anywhere else. On producing his own tracks Len says this often comes from a place of being misunderstood –  ‘I’ll be like “I need something that sounds sexy, two cocktails” and [producers] won’t know what that means – only in my head I know how two cocktails sounds in a beat. If people don’t understand, the only thing you can really do is learn how to do it yourself.” I can’t help but imagine this may have been the case with ‘Devotion’ because if there were ever a song that felt and sounded like ‘two cocktails’ it’s that track. 

It’s this vivacity which makes a Len show one of the best shows you’ll ever see. To him his music isn’t at full capacity till you’re in the audience in the palm of his hand “As much as you can get lit on your own listening to it in your earphones on a bus – you’re listening to it at 80% capacity.” The 20% that’s missing? A packed out, sweaty venue where you can scream the bars at the top of your lungs and lose all composure in a mosh. “In a venue you’re seeing 100’s of people jumping around – you realise you can be free, you don’t have to worry about looking cool or looking corny, you can just be 100% you and feel it 100%”. 

But when the pandemic hit and we were unable to experience music in the same way a lot of artists took the time to fully indulge themselves in creating – this was no different for Len who took the time to grow his audience and create as much as he possibly could. “Creatively I was just thinking cool everyone’s stuck inside. I might as well get to work. Let me get everyone’s eyes on me.” It was a time of preparation for what was to come, a time to hone in on what he always knew he was going to do – so when the time came he was ready. “The pandemic gave me that kick up the ass to say nah let’s go get this.” 

D3VILGOTSTEEZE was the first single from Len’s highly anticipated tape ‘DEAD END’. Again, the energy in D3VILGOTSTEEZE is infectious. It’s Len rightfully talking his shit and with lyrics like ‘Top 5 dead or alive, already been that’ and ‘if the devil got steez then forgive me father’  it’s hard to not listen and feel the same conviction that’s portrayed in the delivery. It was the warm up for a hit run that took over not only on the timeline but in real life too. “I feel like that run of hit after hit after hit was so important to do before dropping the tape. I finished the tape ages ago but I knew I still wanted to do a little run to warm everyone up and build anticipation and then to finally release it – I feel like it was perfect timing.” 

DEAD END is an amazing project. From the versatility, to the features, to the bars – it’s a project which encompasses everything that makes Len, Len. There isn’t a moment where you can be bored, there’s love songs, there’s shit talking,  there’s always something exciting happening in the production, in the lyrics, in the flows – Len proclaims it as ‘the tape of the year’ and he’s not wrong. It’s a testament to the way he views creation “I always try to push boundaries as much as I can. I always try to make stuff that no ones heard before – I feel like that’s so important to me – surprising everyone and them thinking this isn’t just a good song but it’s something I didn’t even know could exist.” 

It’s hard after a project like that to not just want more but a mere two months after it’s release, according to Len “People are still taking in the project.” But he promises new hits are on the horizon. This is only the beginning and though the sounds are already fulfilling to so many there’s always room for growth in his mind “I don’t want to ever feel like I’ve clocked my sound now I’m done – I’ll just keep doing this again and again. I always want to keep pushing it further. With music, there’s always boundaries to break.”  

And as he’s been doing he’ll continue to do so because in his eyes “you can’t make history following the rules and you can’t be an icon following formulas.” 

Make sure to listen to ‘DEAD END’ here and get tickets to Len’s first headline show.

CREDITS: Photography & Writing: Shenell Kennedy | Interview: Sophia Noushka | Styling: Mobolaji