Bido Lito! Magazine | Issue 114 | June 2021

“When I moved to the UK, I had no idea who I was.
I didn’t know what I wanted to represent, what kind
of relationship I wanted to be in, what kind of friends I
wanted to have. I was very confused about my sexuality
and my cultural identity and all this stuff. I feel like I come
across as very confident to other people, but there’s a lot
of things I’m insecure about, or have anxiety about, that I
kind of shoved to the side.
“I remember when I was writing Concrete Rose,” she
continues, “I was living in the first uni flat I ever had, and
my room was in the basement. So I was sitting on my
bed and just crying loads, and I thought, ‘I don’t know
how I could ever play this live because I will just cry’. I
think that’s why people resonate with that song. It comes
from a part of me that I needed to rectify with myself, of
like, not needing to be perfect. You just have to try your
hardest, and just be authentic, and be yourself. And that’s
something I’ve been trying to work on this whole time.”
Concrete Rose is like a lifejacket thrown to her
younger self, a tender reminder to stay strong. When
Kyami was growing up, who were the artists providing
that kind of reassurance for her? “To be honest, I don’t
think many artists I listened to had positive messages. I
liked Erykah Badu, who has a lot of self-empowerment
in her music, but most of what I listened to was super
sad, like Amy Winehouse and Adele. And beyond that,
16
really terrible misogynistic rappers and pop music. So
when I started writing that letter-to-self kind of song, it
wasn’t inspired by anyone else, it really was just about
my own healing.
“Actually, when I came to the UK, I didn’t even want
to be an artist, I wanted to be a ghost-writer because I
wasn’t super-confident in what I was doing. Now, looking
back at it, I just think, ‘Wow, that was dumb’. Imagine if I
had never become an artist because I was stopping myself?”
Although if you happen to be a certain German
supermarket chain, those ghost-writing skills might still
be available for hire: “I don’t think anyone knows this
about me, but I love writing jingles. Lidl don’t have a
jingle but they need one.” She bursts into song. “A lot
for a little! Imagine walking into stores and hearing that
little jingle. I’m just saying, you know, that’s why I need a
publishing deal so I can get these jingles out and get my
jingle money.”
We’re about an hour into the call and it occurs to me I
can stop reeling off questions like a bot and just enjoy the
conversation. What, I wonder aloud, is her track record
with houseplants? She scuttles off-camera and returns
with a tall, zingy specimen sprinkled with little blossoms.
The plant she rescued from the Jacuzzi-soaked flat hasn’t
fared so well, she says; it’s been infested with mould and
left for dead.
“My houseplants need some work, trust me. This
one is thriving and surviving, but the other one? I need to
figure that out.”
I think it will heal, I tell her. I know nothing about
plants, but I don’t let that stop me.
She brightens. “Yeah, we just gotta do a little
transplant. Cut off one of the arms and then replant it.”
Is it too schmaltzy to round this off with some readymade
analogy about repotting plants? Maybe. But for all
the upheaval of the past few years, iamkyami appears
like someone who will also thrive, no matter where she
decides to put down roots. A little change of scenery,
a little splash of water now and then, and she’ll stand
taller than ever. Just, for goodness sake, go easy on the
water. !
Words: Orla Foster
Photography: Michael Kirkham / @mrkirks
Iamkyami plays the Bido Lito! Social at Kazimier
Stockroom on 30th September. Tickets available via
SeeTickets with free admission for Bido Lito! Members.
@iamkyami