Pa Salieu is a British-Gambian rapper from Coventry and has recently smashed into the scene for his eclectic blend of music that fuses elements of Afro-beats, and grime, with a voice conscious of socio-cultural concerns. Moreover, the story behind the Coventry rapper’s rise is both remarkable, and inspiring.
Born in Slough, Pa Salieu’s first stint in the UK ended rather abruptly. Just before his first birthday, his parents sent him back to the Gambia where he lived with his grandmother and older relatives. Pa explains his time in the Gambia was the most important period of his life, but moving back to Coventry at the age of 8 is what shaped him to be the person he is today. Pa Salieu and his mother moved to Hillfields, Coventry, where he would establish himself on his musical journey, and in the process, set the UK music scene alight.
Growing up in Coventry was tough for Pa Salieu, he explains: “Yeah. In Coventry, Hillfields is a hood. It’s the gutter in that area. Since Gambia, I was sent straight to Hills and went nowhere else. Watching the ends change, the violence just got worse. More youth clubs closed down.” However, without Hillfields influence, we wouldn’t have been blessed with one of the most promising musical talents to come out of Britain in a long time. Pa continues “Survival – that’s what I learned in Hillfields.”
This survival instinct that he developed over the years was tested to the limit during his upbringing. In 2019, Pa Salieu was shot in the head outside his local pub. For some, a shot in the head would have seen a major blow to their dreams, however, it worked quite the opposite.
Pa Salieu, who was entirely innocent, spoke very openly about what the situation may have looked like had he died. The Coventry rapper explains: “Gang-related, Drive-by shootings. Trust me, the whole perception would be different right now. You would have never heard of me. If you do hear of me, it’s, ‘That’s that kid that died.’ ‘These foolish youths.’” And with this, he turned to music to promote his powerful message.
However, Pa Salieu was struck with another life-changing blow. His best friend, AP, Pa’s main motivator, the one who encouraged him, the one constantly pushing him on, had been murdered. AP owned a clothing line called Money Moves, that was starting to gain traction. Nicknamed the “Hood Representative”, AP was the first out of their friendship group to taste success, and Pa idolised him. The death of AP was devastating for Pa Salieu, but it ignited the musical fuse inside of him. He realised the one way to voice his pain was to express himself through the medium of music, to influence a generation, and raise awareness of the inequalities in society.
The role of the “Hood Representative” had been passed on to Pa Salieu, and in return, he ran with it. Pa began to work relentlessly in attempt to promote his message. 2020 was a huge year for Pa Salieu, his hit single ‘Frontline’ was the most played track of the year on BBC 1xtra, whilst he also received support from the likes of Virgil Abloh, Tiffany Calver, and OVO Sound co-founder Olver El Khatib. But he’s not stopping there. He recently explained to NME: “I been in the studio late last night. Mans look at me like I’m weird or crazy for not sleeping. You get one time being young. How many millions of years do I have to sleep? Right now is what matters. Life is very short.”
It is the attitude of Pa Salieu towards his work that has seen him excel in the music industry. The Coventry rapper recently won BBC Music’s Sound of 2021, identifying him as Britain’s most exciting musical talent thanks to his bold, infectious tracks, combined with straight-talking lyrics about life and death on the ‘frontline’ in Coventry.
BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac, who voted for Pa Salieu explained of the young rapper: “He has a unique perspective of Britain. His songs are exquisitely produced. They are stories of friendship and family, of violence, exclusion and racism, and they act as timeless evidence of British street life at the turn of the new decade.” Some artists strive to add this sort of depth to their music their whole career, yet Pa Salieu works relentlessly to ensure that his message transmits to the listener.
Pa Salieu has exploded, and introduced himself to the world through his provocative music of modern street life. An incredible artist, with an exceptionally exciting future.
“The thing that matters is what you’re going to do with life — let it eat you up, or rise above it?”
- Pa Salieu
