INTERVIEW: Apex Zero’s next chapter of ‘Drummer Warrior Storyteller’

Apex Zero is a multi-disciplinary artist hailing from West London, making an impact as an MC, beatmaker, filmmaker, photographer and writer who uses his artistic output to challenge expectations and provoke change. With African and Grenadian roots, he crafts powerful and cinematic stories through a unique fusion of atmospheric sound, incisive lyrics and a slick flow. His work, profoundly influenced by his diverse heritage and upbringing, seeks to amplify the voices of marginalised and diasporic communities, creating spaces for conversation, reflection and transformation.

Apex Zero made his debut in 2016 with the album Reality Provoking Liberation, a title that reflects his commitment to truth-telling and social justice. This marked the beginning of an impressive and ever-evolving artistic journey, which has seen him consistently win over listeners around the world. His most ambitious work to date is the Drummer Warrior Storyteller series, a multimedia project that combines music, film, dance, photography, metalwork and more to create a gripping exploration of oppression, liberation and identity. Parts One and Two of the series were released in 2022 and 2023, respectively, earning widespread acclaim for their innovative approach and personal themes.

The Drummer Warrior Storyteller project, inspired by the work of writers such as Audre Lorde and Alexander G. Weheliye, is a profound meditation on the experiences of diasporic and migrant communities, particularly those of African and Caribbean descent. Drawing from these intellectual and cultural influences, Apex Zero stitches together music, visual art and storytelling to explore themes of survival, resistance and memory. As the project’s name suggests, it’s grounded in the African tradition of storytelling, where the drummer calls the people, the warrior fights for their survival, and the storyteller preserves their history.

Central to the Drummer Warrior Storyteller series is the collaborative spirit that Apex Zero brings to his work. The albums feature an array of talented artists from across the globe, including UK hip hop beatmaker Micall Parknsun, Ghanaian vocalist Elia-Naa and Malian kora player Moussa Dembele. These collaborations, alongside the visual contributions from filmmakers like Chiba Visuals and Slim Yearwood, highlight the global and interconnected nature of the project, both in its creative scope and in its exploration of its central themes.

Apex Zero’s work also stretches beyond the music, with the visual components of the Drummer Warrior Storyteller series adding further layers of meaning. Shot across multiple locations, including Barbados, Uganda and England, the accompanying films feature footage from cultural festivals such as Break Fast Jam 2018 and Afri-cans Street Art Fest, as well as deeply personal moments from Apex Zero’s own family history.

As Apex Zero prepares to open a new chapter in the Drummer Warrior Storyteller series with an event at EartH Hackney in London tomorrow night on October 6th, excitement is building around the evolution of the project. This event will mark the first steps toward Drummer Warrior Storyteller (Part 3), and will feature new collaborators from various artistic fields. With music, film and live performances, the event promises to be an incredible and immersive experience that distils the essence of Apex Zero’s work; a multi-layered and deeply thought-provoking exploration of identity, history and survival. Get tickets for the event at EartH Hackney Sunday 6th October via this link.

We caught up with Apex Zero to find out more about his musical journey so far, his Drummer Warrior Storyteller series and what he’s got lined up for the future. Check out our interview with Apex Zero below.

Hey Apex Zero, how’s things?

Things are great. There’s a lot of terrible things happening in the world right now so to have space and platforms to do what I’m doing is not something I take lightly.

What’s your earliest memory of making music?

I remember sitting on the floor at one party, one of my mum’s friend’s parties, I must have been about 10. I was mad bored and had got hold of a keyboard from somewhere. I was playing the little bits of piano I knew over the built in drum loops that were on there. It’s the first time I’d done something like that. I remember a few of the adults stopping what they were doing and listening for a bit. That’s the earliest I can remember.

Which artists do you draw most inspiration from?

There’s too many to say. And it changes a lot with every year that goes by, finding more brilliant artists out there making Fyah. Some of those who really helped me build my sound and style were Wu-Tang, dead prez, Nas, Klashnekoff, Fusion, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, DMX, Tupac, Björk, Big Pun, The Wailers, Jill Scott, Floetry, So-Solid, SASASAS…there’s so many. More recently Kendrick Lamar, Tobe and Fat Nwigwe, Cktrl, Dave, RU1 Fam, Amy True, Ezra Collective, Kokoroko, Sons of Kemet, Natty, Kabaka Pyramid. In other mediums, Chris Cunningham, Abdul Rahman (of GlobalFaction) as music video creators, Zhang Yimou, Wong Kar-wai, Barry Jenkins, Ava DuVernay, Christopher Nolan as filmmakers, Isaac Julien, Carrie Mae Weems as filmmakers who blend into different mediums, Ekua McMorris, Kyung Hwa Shon, Roxanne Simone as multidisciplinary artists, FUBUNATION, Jonzi D, Ivan Michael Blackstock, Godson, Alethia Antonia as multidisciplinary artists who use dance and the stage, Fred Moten, Audre Lorde, Frantz Fanon, Alexander G. Weheliya as writers, Kentaro Miura and Takehiko Inoue as a mangaka…this could go on and on and on!

But everyone involved in Drummer Warrior Storyteller are artists who hugely inspire me, which is why I’ve asked them to be part of the living album. To have so many incredible collaborators who I’m a fan of first is an incredible honour.

How else do you find inspiration for your music?

The main inspiration is the situation my people are in, the fight we’ve been entrenched in since invasion, enslavement and colonisation, all the incredible things our Ancestors have created in response to this, to fight it, to build through and beyond it, all the incredible things our Ancestors created before. Those are the primary sources of my inspiration. Everything I’m inspired by is usually, in some way, connected to those, inspired by those, directly and overtly or more subtly…as the contemporary world we live in has been shaped so significantly by those things.

What’s been your highlight of the year so far?

Working on Drummer Warrior Storyteller (Part 3). It’s been a yet another beautiful journey and immense set of lessons. I’m excited for us to share some or it at Earth on Oct 6 th , it’ll be the highlight for sure. That and the birth of my daughter.

What do you love about the London music scene?

How eclectic it is, and how many styles are either created here or incubated here and transformed. Also proper clubs and venues where this culture thrives. I’ve travelled a lot and there are very few cities that can get anywhere near it. Some do, New York, Beijing and Kampala do, but it’s really telling how much love I’ve experienced for London’s music scene and the sounds that come out of here in other cities. I feel like I learned to truly appreciate our music when I was living in Beijing, because of how loved it is out there.

What would you say is the perfect setting for listeners to enjoy your sound?

Without question, at our events. Drummer Warrior Storyteller is a living album; we’ve been installing for it for short periods, usually 1 day events, and each time, the level of care we take to cultivate the experience and help the album adapt to its surroundings is what best demonstrates its lifeforce. Our family of collaborators is immense in the power each of us bring, which is the lifeblood of the album. Everyone has plunged their life into the project, their story and their family history, the legacy of their Ancestors. It gives the work its depth and substance. As much as each element – the music, films, artworks – stand alone as works of art, when they’re brought together as an experience, the true meaning of the work, and the message and Fyah of the music can be truly felt. It’s transcendent, otherworldly and extremely moving, for me and for the people who’ve told us it is for them too.

You’ve worked with some amazing artists before, what’s been your favourite collaboration so far?

Without sounding too repetitive, it’s Drummer Warrior Storyteller. There’s so much collaboration across so many fields and mediums, with so many incredible artists, to me it’s the truest form of collaboration I’ve ever experienced. For example, we’ve just remixed a photography based piece of work by the amazing Melanie Issaka. I love her work ‘Go West and Grow Up with the Country’, itself inspired by Keith Piper’s ‘Go West Young Man’. I approached her, and we’ve now created remixes of it, using all her previous techniques, mixing her own photos with footage of our yet to be released stills from Drummer Warrior Storyteller (Part 3), which isn’t even edited yet. We then invited other friends and collaborators to be photographed as part of the new work, making powerful images that blend as a figure in with the rest of the photomontage.

So many people have contributed to those pieces of work, and we plan to make more. Each person involved – the people in the picture, the people who shot the film, the movers, the stylists, costume designers, people who made the clothes, people who bought objects to be shot with – all of these have so many stories and Ancestors that had led them to the piece…they’re all collaborators. It’s another beautiful, brilliant set of works, and it’s such a blessing to be part of it. Beyond Drummer Warrior Storyteller, getting to travel with Benjamin Zephaniah and film his Revolutionary Minds tour, thanks to my sis Amy True as truly special. He’s influenced generations of people in so many ways, to get to meet him, build with him and his wife, learn from him up close was a gift, that means even more now he’s transitioned.

To be welcomed into the Flo Vortex community by Natalie Stewart, The Floacist, has been huge too. What she’s doing there for us writers, all of us who grew up on her powerful works and/or are being guided by her now is so impactful, and vital to so many. I have to really step back sometimes and appreciate the fact I’m having a conversation with someone who’s music helped me though some really hard times. What my brother Natty did for me in our collaboration on his ‘Release the Fear’ album film ‘The Sacred Journey’, taking us to The Amazon to meet the Great Shaman Ruffino Ponare, experience his powerful Yopo ceremony, it literally changed me as a being. That collaboration was a big shift in leading me towards the journey of Drummer Warrior Storyteller.

Who would be your dream artist to collaborate with next?

All of those mentioned in question 2! There is so many, but possibly Erykah Badu.

How did you find making your new album ‘Drummer Warrior Storyteller’?

It’s been the greatest lesson of my life. I’m excited to find out what it will teach me next as we continue to make it. I’m honoured to get to be the person who brings this living album into this realm.

What message did you want to get across with this release?

That African Caribbean culture, music and storytelling is profound and deeply Spiritual, and is so much deeper than entertainment and business. I want to give reverence to our Ancestors and The Most High, and demonstrate that there are multiple powerful ways to view life. I want to celebrate the resilience of our people and show that our future is bright, beautiful and free.

What can fans expect from your upcoming event at EartH Hackney?

A multidisciplinary, multilayered experience, crafted with care, reverence and love. It’ll be something you’ve never experienced before, put together by a phenomenal community of artists who are all spectacular at what they do. It’s going to be a glorious celebration of African Caribbean culture, of the fight against colonial domination and a joyful celebration of freedom and life through art, music and theatre.

What’s the main thing you want people to get out of listening to your music?

Joy, a greater appreciation for life ,insights they did not have before they listened.

What’s been your favourite live performance so far?

It will be Drummer Warrior Storyteller at EartH this Sunday!

Do you have any advice for a new artist wanting to follow your footsteps?

Take your time, learn your purpose, once you’ve got an idea of what it is, dedicate yourself to forging the path towards it. Life is its own reward. Making the work is its own achievement. Growth is often painful, but it leads you to new, wonderful places. Enjoy it. Live life.

Finally, what do you have lined up for the rest of 2024?

Drummer
Warrior
Storyteller

Listen to Drummer Warrior Storyteller, Pt. One below