A Second Word From Yorkshire Rapper, XtG

When I was 21, someone asked me a question❓

Well, not directly, but their words did happen to waft in my direction. 

At the time I was laid on my bed, listening to an audiobook. An audiobook which to be honest, I wasn’t all too sure about. You know how friends recommend you do something, & in response you’re like “yeaaah… suuure“, all the while inside thinking “Mate! You’re totally off your rocker” 🤨 

Well, this was one of those moments. 

Now at the time, I’ll admit I wasn’t a great believer in all this ‘power of perception’ malarky. Heck, I thought that was all just a synonym for bullsh*t. 

So as you’d imagine, the thought of being a rapper was still very much a distant dream. 21-year old me was more focused on getting this ‘stable job’ that Mum & Dad were encouraging me to find; lists of companies adorned my bedroom walls. From memory I think the final figure came in at 346 – all crossed off in blue felt tip.

I’ll never forget the moment I crossed off Company 346. 

That shot of dopamine was electric. 💥 

It caused my hands to judder, as I stood back & admired the hordes of scribbles on the wall. The cuppa in my hands quickly became a caramel-coloured whirlpool, so I stomached the last of it to try & numb the hype… it kind of worked.

The only trouble was, when it came to ways of keeping my mind occupied, I’d reached the bottom of the barrel; job applications had become the perfect distraction. So, as a form of celebration, as well as the fact I couldn’t find much else to do – I grabbed my 🎧 & pressed play.

Now, the narrator – he was quite the character. 

The first thing that struck me about him was vocal range, which had a tendency to rise & fall sharply, especially when he got overly passionate. He also had this zen quality about him – which I couldn’t help but warm to. The book was written well too. You could tell he’d written it himself, because it read just like common speech  💁🏻‍♂️

& although I’d always been rather sceptical of audiobooks, I soon found myself transported back to his childhood. The back of my mind had become a makeshift cinema, replaying all the images in sequence. 

45 minutes later ⏱️ my earbuds hadn’t budged.

To this day, I’ve never been more ‘taken in’ by a book – I was just so gripped by the story. Sounds daft, but at one point I even felt like I was… him 🫢

You see, he too was an only child. 

Nothing dramatic or particularly harrowing had ever happened to him – he cried no tale of woe. All of which made how he described his teenage years, all the more eye-opening. I can’t remember it word-for-word, but he put it something like…