Born and raised in Birmingham, Wesley Joseph participated in the OG Horse collective alongside the accomplished singer-songwriter Jorja Smith. The pair are childhood friends whose parents were in a band together. The star notes “We grew up together. It’s just a coincidence she’s a superstar”.
In 2016, the ambitious creative moved to London to study Film where he discovered a drive for producing beats on his laptop and transformed his bedroom into a home-made studio. His 2021 debut album, ULTRAMARINE, features a series of poignant and self-reflective songs that fuse the genres of R&B, hip hop and neo-soul together. Evidently, he has made an imprint in the music industry with the likes of Loyle Carner and Jorja Smith collaborating in the production of his album. Smith’s feature, 'Patience' is a gripping and sentimental track that channels “themes of hope, fear, resilience, dreams, masculinity, growing up, loss and the future” as the artist told Genius. Given their similar upbringing and perspective, Wesley believed that Smith was the perfect fit. Despite ULTRAMARINE only being 26 minutes, it is an impressive sample of the young mind’s potential.
The artist’s recent release, 'GLOW', follows the same footsteps as it is only 23 minutes long but packed with a series of tracks that focus on the apprehension of unlocking one’s own potential. With his raw and intimate lyrics, it is clear that Wesley is not afraid to speak his mind, captivating listeners with lines such as “Statues weren’t made for the critics, they were made for criticised men”. This is evident throughout his discography, one example being in his popular collaboration with fellow musician Loyle Carner 'Blood On My Nikes'. The song concentrates on the harmful repercussions of knife crime that the public are becoming desensitised to.
Wesley Joseph is recently opened for Loyle Carner on his UK and Europe HUGO tour. With each performance, he is gaining momentum and attracting a growing fanbase eager to hear more of his introspective discography. I have had the opportunity see Wesley Joseph perform at Primavera Sound 2022 and on the HUGO tour twice. Each time he captivated the audience with his hypnotic aesthetic and meaningful lyricism, definitely making him one to watch out for.
