"Music is a form of expression" - Mayday on Airdrop v2, experimentation of sound and more!

Mayday has been one of the most consistent artists coming out of the grime scene for a while now, constantly dropping projects and singles, whilst becoming known for experimenting with his sound. He started out with "Medley P along with 2 other friends who started a DJ club in Uni, after the 1st session I figured it weren't for me and Medley carried on. I decided to start writing bars and just kept going from there". His latest project, Airdrop v2, sees Mayday take the sounds that he has been creating and strengthening his skill set across these. The variety across each track, whilst still having a core style that doesn't get lost in experimentation is what makes this project and Mayday's stuff so unique and so good.

Speaking to the man himself, he told me that Airdrop v2 is an "extension" of its 2022 prequel, and as he doesn't "just make grime because [he] don't just listen to grime", he took all the sounds that he'll "listen to [and] packaged it into a 2nd airdrop". The core to his music, he says, is "experimentation & having fun" and he notes that the reason this is a sequel is because they both have the same theme: "'no central theme just music I enjoy". He also made sure that with this project, he had "more features", making sure it was the main focus, as he "loves collabing and wants to do more".

Mayday made sure to give DubzCo his flowers when asked about his experimental sound. DubzCo's ability to "make (insert genre here) and just do it" as Mayday tells me, is key to the success of his sound. He "wanted to make sure Monochrome was on there and that's 6 mins of me straight storytelling introspectively", which is defintely a great way to close out the project. It reminds us as consumers of the EP that despite all the experimentation of each sound, there is a man behind the artist, as he speaks honestly about the stress of his life currently and hardships that he went through as a child.

One of my favourite songs on the project is Italy, where Mayday takes, as he says, "skaiwater-equse UK jersey club", mixes it with grime and his classic, catchy delivery in his lyrics. It's a standout to me, not only for the lyrics and the hype of the song, but the best showing of exactly what his experimentation is all about. Mayday says that all of this comes down to his belief that "music is just a form of expression" and that it is limiting to an artist in this day and age to be "boxing yourself into one sound". You'll obviously get certain people who instantly get defensive about switching up their style, however, Mayday reminds us and people like that to think of "your favourite artist. Is EVERY song they've made 1 genre? 99.9% of the time, the answer is no".

I asked him what his plans were for the future and he simply wants to do "more songs, more collabs, more projects, more experimentation, more proactiveness, more innovation". With that obviously being the core of Mayday's style as an artist, I asked him who else he admires as an experimental artist and who else you should check out. His top recommendations were "Kibo, Jawnino makes great songs, Rocks FOE bounces around sounds and its fire; the subgenre of Neo-Grime is rising really fast". The rest of 2023 will see "another project and a separate joint project. Got some huge collabs in the works, both national and international and then I'm trying to get over to my friends in Brazil and tap in physically after all the stuff we've done since 2021".

Make sure you go follow Mayday and check out his latest release and all his previous discography!

@maydaymayo - shout me 🥨