“This is a new chapter for me,” SamRecks tells Apple Music. “I quit my job and moved into doing music full-time. I’m fully focused and levelling up everything that I’m doing creatively. You can see the difference between BALANCE and my last EP. I want to show people that I’m really doing this right now.” Nigerian-born, London-raised artist SamRecks recorded his excellent debut EP, Easier Said Than Done, in between shifts as a forklift truck operator. On it, he shone as UK rap’s relatable everyman, eschewing the frostier sonics of drill for productions that glow with a bright, breezy playfulness. He begins sophomore EP BALANCE with a realisation on “Everything” “that money doesn’t mean anything”. It’s a mellow, philosophical curtain-raiser to a project that sees his Lo-Fi drill sound expand. The skittering 808s and candyfloss-soft synths are still there, but with Brazilian funk (“BACK BONE”) and Afroswing (“BUBBLE GUM”) added to the blend too. Lyrically, Sam’s writing about hope, love and self-worth with refreshing candour. His laidback flow is the perfect foil for the jazz-tinted production on “I Hate This Job”, where he raps—honest as ever and with conviction—about shelving his pride and working an uninspiring job for the greater good. “I spent a long time just pushing pallets, doing things I didn’t really want to do,” he says. “Now life is more spontaneous. Lots of things are happening. And my main focus is just making people excited for what’s next.” Below, he talks us through the EP, track by track. “Everything” “The voice note on the song is from when I was working in the warehouse, two years ago. The song is about how a lot of the things I thought mattered, like money, flashy shit, doesn’t matter if you’re not doing what you love doing, or you don’t have a purpose. I feel like life is all about purpose. My perspective changed when I was working. I was figuring out what I actually want to do, where I want to be. The song is about me saying I’ve come too far to give up. It’s an introduction to this whole journey I’m on, which is why it feels slow. I can imagine it at the beginning of a movie, setting the scene, flashing back.” “BACK BONE” “It’s jumpier, like the Lo-Fi drill sound mixed with a Brazilian funk kinda ting. This was the first song I dropped from the project. At the start of the song, it’s like I’m entering a whole new world. The instrumental is very warped. It felt like the start of something new for me. So it starts with that warped sound and then boom, the beat is thumping. It’s a song about love, the things you want in a woman, the things she might want from you. It’s like I’m going back and forth with the girl of my dreams. I’m chasing my dreams and she’s watching what I’m doing, picking up on the things I like and investing in the dream too.” “GOT ME LIKE” “This one’s more mellow and relaxed. It’s still working off the love theme but, at the same time, there’s a lot of confidence there too. The beat moves from chill to uptempo. By the end of the song, I start rapping about ideas being worth more than money. That’s been a big thing for me this whole year. I don’t wanna take money if it’s gonna tarnish my vision for the future, or hurt something I’m building. I’d rather stay creative, work hard and eventually, it’ll pay off.” “I Hate This Job” “When I heard Ryan [That Producer Ryan]’s production, this one felt like it needed to be a story. It felt deeper. It’s got a mesmerising, jazzy feel. I can imagine performing it live with a full band. The bar about ditching my pride is important. This for all the mandem. Bare man don’t wanna work. They see it as not being cool. Like, fam, if you need money to then go and chase your dreams, go to work. Forget pride. Forget all these things. It doesn’t matter. Nobody’s gonna care what you were doing at the beginning, if you get to where you want to be in the end.” “HIT or MISS” “This is typical SamRecks. It’s for the summer. You can’t just paint a project with one feeling or sound—sometimes you’re happy and sometimes you’re sad. So here I went from the more thoughtful stuff to this jumpy, lit, vibey one. It’s kind of like a rollercoaster, going up and down. This is the peak.” “Better Days” (feat. JUMADIBA) “Big up [Tokyo rapper] JUMADIBA, that’s my guy. He came to London last summer and we linked up. We cooked up two songs, and one was ‘Better Days’. I’ve always wanted to go to Japan, so my engineer ABiggy and I went and linked up with JUMADIBA and his crew there. They really made us feel at home. We shot the video for the track there. The song feels uplifting, innit. No matter what you’re going through, stay hopeful, pray for better days. JUMADIBA is saying, ‘The bad days are good too.’ It’s philosophical. It’s a powerful song, man. I hope people take it in. And [producer] Homage built the heavenly sounding vocal sample there from scratch too.” “BUBBLE GUM” “I was in the studio thinking, ‘Afroswing needs to come back. This vibe can’t be forgotten.’ I felt like it fit perfectly with this project, in terms of showing different sounds and vibes. It’s a fun track. This project is about me trying things and blending genres. You’re gonna hear me experimenting like this a lot more.” “Embellishments” “Bringing it right back around. The beat almost sounds sad, but with a bounce. I find complete opposites like that in music work. It’s about the dynamics of a relationship, ups and downs, but staying together and pushing forward. You have to keep fighting and not give up on each other too quickly.”