B Wise: 'We're Gonna Create A Vibe'

The rising Sydney rapper B Wise (aka James Iheakanwa) recently boldly personalised Red Hot Chili Peppers' '90s classic Under The Bridge for triple j's Like A Version. He was apprehensive about his band's "risky" choice. However, Iheakanwa's unique imprint not only went viral but also won considerable praise.

"I was surprised more so about just that people really liked it – they accepted it," Iheakanwa ponders. "I wanted people to know how much I generally care about the song. I'm a rapper, but I do have a genuine love and appreciation for that song since I was young. I wanted to make sure I did it justice, too, by giving it some of the elements of my own. So, within the raps of what I wrote, I wanted to reflect my own story, but tie in with the song's overall concept." Iheakanwa – who prefers to be called 'Wise' – is all about "sincerity". Indeed, it's a quality he brings to his hotly anticipated debut, Area Famous, led by such wavy singles as Feel Something and The Key (which the Aussie Khalid producer UNO Stereo helmed).

Born to a Nigerian father and an Australian mother, Iheakanwa spent his youth between country New South Wales and the melting pot of Sydney's south-west. But it was as a hip hop-obsessed teen in suburban Liverpool where he started pursuing rapping seriously, joining the crew K1. Iheakanwa would issue solo mixtapes. In 2015 he generated buzz with his wry track Prince Akeem, produced by Jackie Onassis' Raph Lauren. "Around that period, I think I definitely wanted to try and start writing an album. I thought that was the go-to thing to do. But, being realistic about it, I don't think I had much of an audience at that stage. I was still just trying to break songs." Meanwhile, Iheakanwa signed to Elefant Traks – dropping an EP, Semi Pro, housing No Questions. 

"We're gonna create a vibe. We're gonna create a family of music."

Commencing production of Area Famous in 2017, Iheakanwa felt uncertain about where his career was headed. He was in a lull – or "off-cycle," as the industry terms it. Iheakanwa settled on cutting a symbolic coming of age LP and, on Area Famous, he explores growing up with a biracial identity in Australia. The title underscores his early aspiration as an MC in south-western Sydney: to achieve "area fame". "I wanted to aim for just being known, or well known, within my area; within my postcode. So that was the ambition."

If Area Famous has an overarching theme, it's community – or connection. Iheakanwa's desire is that, on listening, fans will understand him and empathise. "I hope they just take away the sincerity of who I am and they can find something in any story that I tell; maybe find something in the album that they can relate to [or] find something that they can gravitate to and say, 'I've been through that,' or 'I've experienced that,' or 'If I didn't, now I understand that.' So I just wanted people to kind of delve into my world and get to know the person that I am – and the person that I want more to be. I want people to get more of an understanding of a multicultural society; like a different type of rapper, a person that they can look at and say, 'Okay, this is a reflection of multicultural Australia and how they contribute.'"

Area Famous has deeply intimate moments. Time is a highlight – Iheakanwa collaborating with the "amazing" Kaiit, the Melbourne MC/vocalist Jill Scott lately co-signed. (She's among two album features, together with the mysterious rapper/singer Anfa Rose.) "That song was kinda like a personal song about a personal relationship that I've had with a person – or it's actually about two people, but I blended it into one person." Iheakanwa considers Time the album's "dark horse".

Iheakanwa has already had a big year gig-wise, supporting Thundamentals on an epic regional tour. He hit Splendour In The Grass. Again, Iheakanwa was "a bit worried" because his Saturday afternoon set clashed with the ascendant Queenslander Amy Shark's. Yet punters rocked up. "Splendour was crazy. I think it was one of my stand-out performances this year, for sure, to see that many people come to the tent."

From October, Iheakanwa will embark on his first Australian headlining dates. Live, he transcends hip hop's generational divide by combining traditional showmanship with new school energy (here, he admires Wiz Khalifa). "We're going to definitely have a lot of energy and a lot of vibes." Iheakanwa will be introducing "special guests". But, ultimately, he's turning his audiences into a mega-squad. "You're gonna have an experience. It's gonna be a real family orientated vibe – by 'family', I mean not like 'mums and dads and kids'. I mean like everyone in the crowd. They're gonna come not knowing each other and they're gonna leave exchanging numbers. That's what I'm about. So we're gonna create a vibe. We're gonna create a family of music."