Rapping phenomenon and Tottenham Hotspur superfan AJ Tracey joins us this week to talk about supporting his mum through her cancer journey, the pressures of staying an independent artist and what football has taught him about failure.
AJ Tracey has been rapping since the age of four. He dropped out of his Criminology degree at London Metropolitan University and started uploading tracks to SoundCloud in 2011, achieving five Platinum singles and over two billion Spotify plays as an independent artist. His first studio album debuted at number three in the UK Albums chart and his breakthrough hit, Ladbroke Grove, became the unofficial summer anthem of 2019.
Now, after a three-year hiatus, marked by leaked songs and pandemic delays, Tracey has just released his third album, Don't Die Before You're Dead. It’s his most vulnerable and personal work yet and as well as being a love letter to the UK, the album fuses grime, garage, and R&B with themes of trauma, mental health, faith and love.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Intro
01:11 Early Life and Career
03:04 The Making of 'Don't Die Before You're Dead'
07:10 The British Influence in AJ's Music
09:00 School Days and Influential Teachers
12:34 The Challenges of Being an Independent Artist
18:18 Faith and Personal Mission
23:02 Family and Personal Struggles
24:52 Mom's Health Scare and Recovery
25:40 Proudest Moment: Buying Mom a House
27:44 Growing Up with Responsibility
30:53 Struggles and Sacrifices
33:46 Name Change and Fresh Start
38:12 Grenfell Tragedy and Community Impact
41:58 Reconciliation with Dad
43:43 Football, Family, and Life Lessons
Elizabeth and AJ answer YOUR questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com
All episodes in June are brought to you by @arlalactoFREE - all the taste, easier to digest. Listen to our bonus episode brought to by ArlaLactoFREE with Vicky Pattison here: https://link.chtbl.com/VickyPattison
🌎 Get an exclusive 15% discount on your first Saily data plans! Use code [howtofail] at checkout. Download Saily app or go to to https://saily.com/howtofail ⛵
I have an upcoming one-off show at Cadogan Hall on 21 Sep for my new novel One of Us. Full show details here: https://www.fane.co.uk/elizabeth-day
Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan
Mix Engineer: Matias Torres
Studio Engineer: Gulliver Tickell
Assistant Producer: Suhaar Ali
Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot
Executive Producer: Carly Maile
How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.
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