Interview: Young Fathers

The Listen Out-bound hip hop trio talk 'Dead' and genre loyalty.. Young Fathers are the fast-rising UK hip hop trio gaining swift attention for their no-holds-barred approach to making music. Their diverse backgrounds (Liberia, Nigeria, and Scotland) and musical tastes fuel the trio’s uncompromising formula that ensues their hard-hitting music is at the fore, and not overshadowed by any desire for mere aesthetics or to be “arty”. Listen closely and you’ll note the pop, psych, rap, hip hop, the hook, rhythm and bass, all clashing into one raucous melange. It’s at once familiar but equally as hard to place. Off the back of the success of their early mixtapes TAPE ONE and TAPE TWO, the trio released their debut full-length Dead earlier this year. Early fans include David Byrne, Diplo and Alt-J, among a swag of chief UK press including The Sunday Times, giving the group a strong sense of credence that bucking trends is the way forward. With a live presence that’s touted as “a version of a