Rapper Slowthai has reflected on dealing with being ‘cancelled’ and his ‘amplified’ depression after sparking a furore at the NME Awards.
The rapper’s second album TYRON was released a year after his infamous behaviour at the music event in February 2020 which saw him accused of sexually harassing comedian Katherine Ryan – who tweeted at the time she ‘knew he was joking’.
Speaking about the controversy in an interview with NME, Slowthai, 26, said: ‘My whole life I’ve championed people to be equal – you can do 100 good things and one little joke and you’re turned into an evil person’.
Reflection: Rapper Slowthai has candidly discussed dealing with being ‘cancelled’ and his ‘amplified’ depression after sparking a furore at the NME Awards
After the Awards, Slowthai also admitted that his depression was ‘amplified’ however he also had other things going on at the time that were more ‘pressing’ than what people were saying online.
He told the publication: ‘The Awards just amplified those feelings [of depression].
‘When there’s people blurting at you on the internet and waiting for your downfall, it gets a bit in your head, but at the time, I had other things in my life that felt more pressing than people on the internet believing I’m this monster of a man.’
Slowthai – who has Bajan and Irish heritage and lives in Northampton- also said that being ‘cancelled’ brought up painful childhood memories.
Furore: The rapper, 26, hit headlines in 2020 after an awkward exchange with comic Katherine Ryan at the NME Awards in which he leaned on her breasts and made lewd comments
He explained: ‘Before when I was young and stereotyped as the bad kid, people – and my friends’ parents – would treat me in a certain way because they thought I was from a certain place and acted in a certain way.
‘My whole life I’ve had that animosity towards me.’
Candidly chatting further about his mental health, Slowthai said the best thing about chart-topping album TYRON’s success was knowing it had helped others.
The rapper penned the album while battling his own depression and revealed that he was even having ‘thoughts of suicide’.
He said: ‘The best thing about it was not me coming out of a dark time; it was that it connected with people who had either felt the same or had been in a similar place.’
Looking ahead: Slowthai also discussed his mental health and plans for a festival, Happyland, in September joking that Harry and Meghan would come despite him calling the Queen a ‘c**t’
Elsewhere in his interview with the publication, Slowthai, who is known for his colourful lyrics, also joked that he thinks Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would come to his festival despite him calling the Queen a ‘c**t’.
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Talking about the guest-list for Happyland, which is set for 25 September, Slowthai said: ‘[Harry] might be like, “You called my nan a c**t!” But I always thought he seemed like he would have a laugh. Me and him will be ‘avin it!’
Already a controversial figure for his political statements, Slowthai sparked even more furore at the NME Awards in 2020.
Honest: He also told NME (magazine cover pictured) that being ‘cancelled’ brought up painful childhood memories
The rapper, who was awarded the Hero of the Year prize at the ceremony, had asked host Katherine Ryan to smell his cologne, referred to her as ‘baby girl’ and also put his arm around her waist in front of the audience.
He then leaned into her and said ‘You ain’t never had someone play with you liked I’d play with you’, leading Ryan to fire back sarcastically: ‘You are like the hottest guy I’ve seen.’
As the shocked audience watched on, the rapper replied ‘Stop playing with me’, leading Ryan to call him ‘needle d***’ to the delight of the crowd, who cheered her put-down.
Slowthai then went on to tell her she could earn him, but Ryan fired back: ‘Or I could just earn loads of money and buy my own house without a man.’
Slowthai apologised and requested at the time his award be redirected to Katherine who later told told NME he hadn’t made her uncomfortable and: ‘I wish it had just stayed as a great rock’n’roll moment in the room.’
Apology: Slowthai apologised to Katherine after the show, calling his actions ‘shameful’
All good: The Canadian comic said she knew Slowthai was joking and wasn’t uncomfortable in tweets sent after the Awards show
Slowthai also made headlines after he posed with an effigy of Boris Johnson’s severed head at the Mercury Prize ceremony in 2019.
The rapper has been an outspoken critic of the Conservative Party and often vilifies Brexit in his songs, once referring to former Prime Minister Theresa May as a ‘d***head’ in an interview with NME.
He has regularly referred to himself as a ‘Brexit bandit’ and is known to start chants of ‘f*** Theresa May’ at live shows.
The artist, whose debut was nominated for the prestigious album award, later said his act was merely metaphorical, and said he does not advocate violence.
British rapper Slowthai also sparked anger at the Mercury Prize ceremony by holding up an effigy of Boris Johnson ‘s severed head in September 2019 prompting the BBC to cut him off
Source: Daily Mail
