Success Is Seasonal with Hak Baker
Music Life brings together some of British musician Hak Baker鈥檚 favourite artists.
Hak Baker who hosts this episode was born in Luton and raised on the Isle of Dogs, in London. At a young age he was exposed to everything from reggae and dub to classic pop, R&B and soul via friends and family. His first introduction to performing was as part of the Southwark Cathedral choir, before moving towards grime and MC-ing at his local community centre. Later he learned to play guitar and started writing songs about his experiences and those of the people around him, digging deep into everything from toxic masculinity, social inequality, identity and unity. This year he released his debut album 鈥榃orld鈥檚 End FM鈥�, which is presented as a pirate radio broadcast transmitting from the edge of the apocalypse.
Benjamin Zephaniah is a novelist, playwright, musician, and one of the UK鈥檚 best poets of the last 50 years. Born in Birmingham, he is influenced by the music and poetry of Jamaica and writes about race, politics and social injustice. He鈥檚 recorded numerous reggae records and has worked with the likes of Sinead O鈥機onnor and The Wailers.
Celeste is an American-born, British singer who has established herself as one of the finest soul singers in the UK right now. After winning the Brit Award Rising Star of 2020, she released her critically acclaimed debut album 鈥楴ot Your Muse鈥� becoming the first female British solo artist in five years to reach number one with a debut album.
Baxter Dury is a singer and musician known for his gritty vocals and witty, observant storytelling. His sound brings in influences from hip-hop to new-wave and in June of this year he released his new album 鈥業 Thought I Was Better Than You鈥�, written with his teenage son Kosmo during lockdown.
Together they鈥檒l be talking about writing whilst living in London, their view of success in their careers so far, and the impact of family and cultural history on their writing.
In part 2 of the show Benjamin Zephaniah will share a playlist he鈥檚 called 鈥楿nusual Duets鈥�, a collection of some of the most surprising collaborations in music, featuring tracks from Nick Cave, Terry Hall, Jorja Smith and many more.
