Edinburgh MC and producer T. Trueman returns to music with his self titled debut album as tea with friends, a deeply personal exploration of growing older, parenthood and the experiences that continue to shape us. Released on 12th August, the project pairs conscious, introspective hip hop with warm sample based production, jazz influences and touches of spoken word, sitting somewhere between Loyle Carner, Kae Tempest and the soulful production of early Kanye West.
Written during a particularly challenging period in Trueman’s life, tea with friends looks back at the journey from youth to middle age, examining changing priorities, past behaviours, family and the pressures of everyday life without losing its sense of humour. Trueman describes the album as an honest exploration of “who I really am and how I got there”, with writing and music providing an important outlet along the way.
First active in Edinburgh’s hip hop scene in the early 2000s, Trueman previously shared stages with Skitz, DJ Hype and Nicky Blackmarket, recorded a live session for BBC Radio 1 and earned a Channel 4 Talent Award nomination. tea with friends marks a new chapter, bringing that experience into a record centred firmly on life as it is now.
tea with friends sat down with Wordplay Magazine to answer our infamous 10 Questions:
1. So tell me, how did it all begin? What sparked your love for music?
Growing up there was always a big mix of music in our house; loads of 60’s stuff, The Beatles, Kinks, Booker T and the MGs, later on Genesis and Clannad, lots of classical. My mum is an amazing classical singer. Probably because of this I’ve always loved a wide variety of music, and growing up as a kid in the 80’s and 90’s we were spoiled really. The 90’s was ridiculous. I was big into chart music, and when US hip hop started filtering through mainstream UK radio, my ears pricked up. That now classic boom bap sound that typified rap music back then, but also the dance-based stuff from the UK, The Shamen and Stereo MCs. Connected is such a seminal album. When I was eleven I found a cassette left on the seat of a school bus, one side was Cypress Hill and the other was Rage Against the Machine. Both albums had just come out, and it was my first intro to rap music that I wasn’t hearing on Top of the Pops on a Thursday night, and I was hooked. I started writing when I was about 14 or so, stupid joke stuff really, but after a few years I’d developed it into something a little more considered. I moved from the Northwest of England to Scotland when I was 19, instantly fell into the party scene there and off it went.
2. Who are some artists that influence you and that you want to work with in the future?
Mos Def and Talib Kweli were massive influences on me as a writer. Their Black Star album remains my favourite hip hop album. When that dropped it massively opened my mind to what rap music could be, away from all the Bad Boy / Death Row aggression and pop stuff I was listening to, suddenly here was Respiration and Thieves in the Night. That pairing of songs, those lyrics, they have such a beauty to them and remain aspirational. More recently, Loyle Carner. I’d already picked up writing again by the time a friend introduced to his music, but hearing his work for the first time pulled me right back into music and on to the tracks that led directly to this album. I’d love to work with him.
3.What projects do you have coming up and can you give us any info on them?
It took four or five years to get these songs together, and I have a couple left over that are forming the basis of my next album. I’ve worked up some new music too, so things are moving quicker than with the first record! This album was my first shot at producing, so I’m still learning a lot, exploring more possibilities, experimenting, but moving faster. Thematically I’m building this new work around the contrast of light and dark; like how can I take something sad or ugly and create something upbeat or beautiful. The world is a dark place right now, we’re all in need of a little light, and this next record explores how we might find that.
4. How would you describe your sound?
Loyle Carner and Kae Tempest start a jazz band with a dash of soul.
5. What’s your proudest moment to date so far as an artist?
Finishing this album. It’s my first music in over 15 years, the first time I’ve had the balls to be truly honest with myself, and the first time I’ve produced anything too. As much as stacking samples could be called producing anyway… Alternatively, the last time I put out some music a guy from France got in touch to tell me that there were two albums he was looking forward to playing his future children. One was Dark Side of the Moon, and the other was ours. It’s ridiculous of course, but it made me realise that you don’t need massive audience figures or streams or whatever to feel like you’ve contributed something as an artist. If just one person really gets what I’m doing, and takes something from it, that’s enough for me.