LOST INTERVIEWS '3 MINUTE SILENCE' WRETCH 32
5 Minutes with Laura Alexandra

Laura invites Wretch 32 for quick chat at the KVM Mag Playground studio to talk about his new single.

British rapper Jermaine Scott (aka Wretch 32) rose out of London's Tiverton Estate projects in Tottenham, along with his peers Devlin, Chipmunk, Kano, Stormzy, and Skepta. In the latter half of the 2000s, he joined grime collectives Combination Chain Gang and the Movement, and put out solo efforts as mixtapes. With 2007's Teacher's Training Day and 2008's Wretchrospective, Wretch 32 started showing mainstream potential, cleverly pairing hip-hop and grime in his songs. Ministry of Sound signed him by the decade's end, and Wretch's first major-label single, "Traktor," was released in January 2011, debuting at number five on the U.K. singles chart. His second studio album, Black and White, followed in mid-2011 preceded by two singles, the Stone Roses-sampling "Unorthodox" and the U.K. number one single "Don't Go." 2012 saw Wretchfronting a campaign for Adidas for the 2012 London Olympics while also heading out on tour with Example, the mixtape Wretchercise also appeared at the end of the year and featured guest spots from the likes of Kano, Krept, and Chip. While working on his third studio album, Wretch premiered two singles in 2013 -- "Blackout" and "Doing OK" -- and revealed he had been working with producer Knox Brown. After a year out of the spotlight, he returned in November 2014 with the single "6 Words," which reached number eight in the U.K. charts. Wretch also appeared in 2015 on the U.K. Top Five single "IN2" by WSTRN, while continuing to work on his third album, Growing Over Life, which saw release in 2016. Critics commended the album for some of his most honest lyrics and deepest narratives yet. While promoting the record, Wretch revealed that he had already gotten to work on its follow-up. The effort, titled FR32, saw release in late 2017 and featured guest performances from the likes of Kojey Radical, Avelino, and Kojo Funds.

It’s been two years since Wretch 32 released his fifth studio LP Upon Reflection, a 12-track body of work that saw additional assists from Ghetts, Giggs, Talay Riley, Burna Boy, Avelino, and Knucks. While there hasn’t been much heard from the London emcee musically since, he did team up with Alec and Alex Boateng last year to become the creative director for their 0207 Def Jam imprint. Currently, the North Londoner works alongside A&R director Char Grant to provide strategic advice and help shape the fledgling label’s musical direction.

This week, Wretch surprised fans with another big announcement — that he is releasing a new EP titled little BIG man, which officially lands this Friday (May 28). The project will see nine new cuts with contributions from the likes of K-Trap, Nafe Smallz, Tiggs Da Author, M Huncho, and SL. That’s not all, either — he also took to social media to liberate “3 Minute Silence,” a presumed sequel to 2018’s “1 Minute Silence.” As with its predecessor, “3 Minute Silence” is a direct message to the powers that be and the racial equality and injustice that continues to plague nations all over the planet.