Suzi Wu, hotly-tipped London-based newcomer, has dropped ‘Grime Reaper’, the first single from her forthcoming EP ‘Error 404′. The reveal comes after she announced that she has signed to AMF Records and Def Jam.
Suzi Wu, a 20 year-old London-based MC and performer, who has caught the attention of AMF Records and Def Jam. The first track to be shared from the EP is the blasting and contemplative ‘Grim Reaper’. AMF Records and Def Jam promptly signed, the rising star, up to release her new EP ‘Error 404′, scheduled to be released on the 18th of January 2019.
Speaking about the track, ‘Grim Reaper, Wu said: “Grim Reaper is an attempt to come to terms with the aftermath of my parents being hospitalised. It’s a part of my character to take risks and now I find I’m afraid of the smallest things. When I wrote the song I imagined that death was this kid, just like me as a kid. Taking all the risks I used to take but sort of taunting me.”
Undoubtedly a tough topic to sing about, Wu has imaginatively turned it into something more approachable and understandable, and the big beats that underpin her on ‘Grim Reaper’ emphasise this. There’s plenty of fun to be had in ‘Grim Reaper’, as she evades the childish figure, but she doesn’t swerve the weight of the situation either, as she emphatically announces in the chorus “mortality takes its toll.”
Error 404 is set to drop on 18 January and likely to get a healthy push as Suzi Wu has just recently signed with Def Jam and AMF Records, two labels that still hang on the bleeding edge of the pop universe. You’ll be hearing a lot more from her in the near future.
Last year saw the release of Wu’s debut EP ‘Teenage Witch’, speaking about the inspiration behind the EP, Wu said: “Teenage Witch’ was inspired by the art works of comic book artist Simon Hanslemann. I was getting up at 10pm at night, I’d quit sixth form, my life was nocturnal and bizarre. A drive thru life, there is a poetry in that I think.”
Continuing, she said: “I’ve always been very interested in witches, a woman with powers is scary to some. Witches have always been women who were outliers in society, so I think it’s a way for a woman to get in touch with the power inside herself and people can’t take that away.”
Wu’s got a sound and a style that’s hard to stick with a label or contextualize with comparisons, but within the first few seconds of her lead single, ‘Taken Care Of’, from her debut EP ‘Teenage Witch’, you can feel the electricity. The music is catchy and upbeat, but it’s presented with a raw edge. Unlike the bounty of clean, spacious pop that’s been thriving since Lorde’s introduction, Wu embraces a more crude and disorderly approach.
“I’m going to release another EP, but my main aim in life is to create an incredible album, even though it’s a lot of pressure. I also really want to get a live show together that will freak people out. I want to play stuff with my mates and get it to the point where it’s going to blow people away. I’m just going to really go for it,” says Wu, speaking to Vice about her future plans.
