SKEPTA’S CREATIVE ECOSYSTEM

The Skepta name is therefore much more than just music itself, instead representing a creative ecosystem where multiple disciplines overlap and amplify. It’s an ecosystem that Skepta has carefully constructed through his illustrious, two-decade-spanning career, rightfully garnering him critical acclaim and multiple coveted titles and awards — from receiving Chieftaincy of his Nigerian hometown in Ogun State to a Mercury Prize for 2016’s “Konnichiwa”.

It's within this ecosystem that Skepta takes an exploratory approach to new creative avenues, fully immersing himself in the process and collaborating with other like-minded individuals to push the needle further. His revered status in the world of fashion is a product of this willingness to broaden horizons, not only as a tastemaker through the ensembles he puts together for himself, but through his own fashion line and plethora of sought-after footwear collaborations. Skepta’s latest venture, dubbed “Skope Forever” in partnership with PUMA, signifies another new step for the luminary figure — his debut, fully bespoke footwear silhouette designed from the ground up. In light of its release, and ahead of his UrlfreezeShops talks with Alhan Gençay at UrlfreezeShops London, we caught up with the iconic figure for a discussion surrounding his partnership with PUMA, his forthcoming album “Knife and Fork” and his deep appreciation for house music.

Your recent Skope Forever launch event in Shoreditch represented a real celebration of not just your music, but that of your close friends surrounding you. How important is it for you to bring your friends and family together in this way with your creative projects?

The event in Shoreditch was important to me because I believe what I do has always been about community, it’s always been about subgenres. With genres like grime – it’s even more important than the shoe itself, you know? The fact that many people would show up and wear the shoe for grime is even more important than the shoe.

You’ve now got many collaborative footwear releases under your belt, but your PUMA “Skope Forever” collaboration represents the first all-new silhouette created from the ground up. How does it feel to be given this creative freedom to launch your very own silhouette?

I feel grateful, appreciative. I also feel like I proved myself at the place I was before — the shoes that I made there were bangers and are going to be remembered in culture and referenced for years to come. It was only right that when I came here, they understood I was tried and tested and gave me that scope to do what I wanted.

One of the standout details of the silhouette is of course those iridescent uppers, something which can be connected to the cover of your fifth studio album, “Ignorance is Bliss”. Can you elaborate on the approach behind this?

The iridescent is something I’ve been doing on all the shoes from where I was before. Also, a lot of my artwork has that oil spill effect in it as well as the chrome details. It was a design language I wanted to continue with the making of these shoes. When I moved here to PUMA, it was great that I already had the language of the iridescent and the chrome and people knew exactly what they were wearing. 

The silhouette represents a fusion of the past and the present, taking elements from the PUMA archives and techy, early noughties sneakers and merging them with your own progressive vision. What was it about balancing this notion of past and present that drove your vision with the sneaker? 

I’m a firm believer that there isn’t anything new. When I’m designing, I’m definitely telling myself that to start with: there isn’t anything new and I’m not going to make something that hasn’t been done before. So, it’s all about looking at archives, going into the history of PUMA and finding the gems that were there — because there were a lot. Especially a lot of the soles, they had some fire soles that I’d never seen before. It’s like a basis of my design: when I start the process, I’m always going to look at archival references and adapt and update.

Much to the delight of fans, you recently teased your next album, “Knife and Fork”, with the release of one of its singles “Gas me up”. What can we expect from this project? 

I’m blessed to be able to come from a sound and a genre that’s a real thing on the streets, you know, before the whole internet was a thing. There was a lot of sounds, a lot of flows and a lot of drums that I can still use today. In 2014, my reinterpretation of that was “That’s Not Me” and “Shutdown”, and then now it’s like what do those grime sounds sound like today? If someone was making a song today in the current climate, you know, with drill and mellow grime, what would that sound like today? So that’s what people can expect.

You’ve always been a big fan of house music, though recently this came full circle with the launch of your label alongside Jammer, Más Tiempo. What is it about house music that particularly resonates with you?

I think before I was ever DJing, I always remember house music as being a getaway space for me. Whenever me and the guys felt like we needed to go and party and be in a space where we didn’t have to think about trouble and stuff like that, it was always house music. So, I feel like through me growing and maturing, it was a natural progression for me to get into DJing house.

Your approach to creativity is seemingly boundless, music, fashion, art and film being just a snapshot of the things you’ve immersed yourself in. What’s next on the horizon for Skepta?

I couldn’t really predict what’s next, but I’m lucky to always be around creatives with bare ideas. I feel like sometimes I get into a space where I’ll be in with the right creatives to make a shoe, so then we’ll make a shoe. I think early on, I found myself surrounded by different creatives in music as I was in studios a lot, but through meeting different creatives and working, I got into a space where I can make shoes, because I met this and that person and I said “we should make a shoe” and they were like “yeah, I think we should do it”. I might be in Chiltern Firehouse tomorrow and meet somebody who works in furniture, and I’ll get my marketing team in and we’ll make a sofa, you know? I just let it naturally happen — I’ve got ideas for whoever meets me and wants to work with me.