Graceé Talks Winning Future Makers Artist 2024 And More

Singer-songwriter Graceé won the Royal Albert Hall’s Future Makers Artist 2024 award and will perform her own headline show at in Shoreditch in February 2025. We chatted to her about winning the award and more:

When did you begin songwriting?

“When I was in Year 9, I used to write verses for songs that already existed, like ‘Lost Boy’ by Ruth B or ‘Scars To Your Beautiful’ by Alessia Cara. They weren’t good, but everyone would try to tell me they were good because I was 13 or 14! I only really began to take songwriting seriously when I got to college: I wrote my first real songs when I was 16. Because I didn’t have a laptop that I could run music programs on, they were all guitar tracks: a lot of Olivia Rodrigo-inspired things, mostly about growing pains.”

What is your earliest musical memory?

“The first time I really made music was as a member of the church choir when I was 11 years old: singing on a mic, thinking, ‘I like this feeling of hearing myself back in a speaker.’ I don’t have a musically inclined family at all: if my mum was ever listening to music it meant that it was Saturday morning and time to clean the house! One of my uncles played keys, and my sister learnt the violin because that was something you did at school, but that was all. I was very interested in performance in general, though, and first that was dance – I liked the musicality of choreography, thinking about how to bring out the words of a song through movement. I found I loved musicals and the way they were constructed: I had a massive Hamilton phase – I think every theatre kid does – and I listened a lot to Dear Evan Hanson and Matilda and Legally Blonde. From that, I started to get interested, nerdily, in the composers, and eventually I realised that what I wanted was to be one of those composers.”

You were crowned Future Makers Artist 2024 at the Royal Albert Hall – congratulations. How did that opportunity arise?

“We used to get a weekly email at college about opportunities in the industry, and when I saw the information about Future Makers, I thought, “RAYE’s performed at the Royal Albert Hall, I’m trying to be the next RAYE, let’s do this!” At the time, I didn’t understand nearly how much of a big deal it was to perform there live, I just thought it was another application. Then when the audition came, I was working full time so that I could save enough money to move out for university, and my work environment was just absolute horror. To get the day off to take part in Future Makers was such stress, and I realised at that point how important this audition was to me, that it was this very major moment in my career. I thought, ‘Whatever it takes, I’m finding a way to get to that building.’ That was when I grasped how emotional this all was: how much I really, really wanted this.”

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the competition?

“It was so surreal to just be in the same hall that so many greats have been in. And the staff were so kind: I was the first Black auditionee this time around, and they made me feel completely at home. Then at the soundcheck, I was really struck by how all the kit was so amazing! I couldn’t believe that I was getting this chance.

“Obviously finding out that I had won was extremely memorable, but it’s two other moments that really stand out for me. The first time I performed during the show, was the first time during my whole career when I had ever enjoyed performing live. I thought, ‘All I have to do is grab the mic and sing.’ I wasn’t scared by the audience, I thought, ‘I’m kind of good at what I do.’ Before that, I’d always been sort of self-conscious, so that was a very pivotal moment for me in my career. I don’t get nearly as nervous now as I used to about performing, I’m just excited to go out there.

“The other amazing memory from that night was going out of the Stage Door and all those kids being out there: one after another wanting to take photos with me and asking me to sign things for them. I thought, ‘This is really cool, I wouldn’t mind this.’ Seeing young Black girls there singing my songs was incredible, because I think back to being their age, and how being Nigerian wasn’t cool, being African wasn’t cool; being Jamaican was the thing. But I’d sung a song that represents Africa and they’d related to it. It made me feel like it was possible to have an impact on the next generation.”

You performed your original track ‘Nah Be Too Much’ at the final. What is the story/inspiration behind the track?

“A friend of mine, who was my drummer, had made the instrumental for a school project in Year 12. That was his beat. I said, ‘I’m having that. I’m going to be writing to that and you are going to thank me later.’ Then, hearing Ayra Starr, I realised that pidgin can be used so beautifully in a song, it doesn’t just have to be in dance music. With that song, I realised that you can do lots of things at once: you can communicate and sound gorgeous and be interesting.”

Do you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?

“I like AKG mics in general: they create microphones that have a very clean sound without EQ on them. Also Shure’s SM7B – we love that mic. I love to hold it, sing into it – when it’s a song that I’ve just written, that I haven’t done so many times, it’s grounding to hold something like that to record the vocals. For keys, I’ll play any midi keyboard, really. At home I record on an Ableton, but I’ll also use a Logic or FL.”

Was it a difficult song to write?

“Yeah, I think it took me longer then that it would now. I struggled with the bridge, and there was a sax solo on it that was just too long, but at that point I didn’t know how to tell people, ‘No, we actually have to cut that down’. It probably took four to five months to write, record and mix the song. Now I could do that in three to four weeks. That’s partly because I’m able to assert my creative vision now. ‘Nah Be Too Much’ was the first song that introduced to what my creative vision was as an artist. And now I have the skills to write effectively – and communicate effectively – with other people.”

Which of your tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

“My happiest would be ‘Nah Be Too Much’. That’s my most one-tone song. The theme is, ‘Everything’s good, God loves me’. It’s good vibes only. I have a song called ‘Misogynoir’ that I suppose is angry, though I show it in a cheeky way. That came from when I was supposed to play keys for some church programme, so I spent five hours learning all the songs, then the choir director suddenly announced that a man was going to play that one. This wasn’t new to me – choir programmes are always very male-dominated – but I channelled the frustration into this song. The last line of the chorus is very sarcastic, “There will always be a boy to help you to improve.” I suppose my most reflective song is ‘Destiny’, which is going to go on my debut EP. Last May I was going to release ‘Love You Too Much’ as a single, but I realised that as an artist I wanted to be somebody who did bodies of work, not: ‘single, single, single, single, single’. I thought, ‘You know, it’s actually OK to sit back and upskill yourself.’ And ‘Destiny’ is about that: I can’t rush destiny, what is going to happen is going to happen.”

What two things do you hope to achieve in your career?

“I want to do a stadium tour: that would be sick. But my ultimate goal is to help make gospel music respected as a genre in the UK. I want people to take it seriously. I want radio stations to take it seriously. I want there to be this bubbling gospel scene, and for it to mean as much to the community as rap and neo-soul and R&B, so kids have more to aspire to.”

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

“I’m from London.

“’It is really busy, always.’”

How do you look after your voice?

“The two main things are having a lot of honey, with tea, and doing vocal runs in the park. You’re supposed to do them on the treadmill, but I can’t afford a gym membership! I’ll usually jog and sing about five songs as I do it. I also do vocal agility warm-ups and drink a lot of water.”

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

“I would do one of the Skulduggery Pleasant books. That’s such an iconic UK primary school series. It’d be exciting to do a theme song for Valkyrie Cain: what she was doing aged 11 was ridiculous. Creating an action tune for her would be great. Big up Valkyrie!”

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

“Olivia Rodrigo, RAYE, Victoria Monet, Miss Lauryn Hill. But also some of my friends. I have so many talented friends in music who I just take inspiration from all the time, like Saasil on earth. The trip I’m on at the moment is UK rap, which isn’t what I make at all, but I want to understand what’s out there. I’ve been listening a lot to Made in the Manor by Kano. I’m trying to get a grasp of the landscape of UK music. I have R&B on too, but also all the garage tunes from the early 2000s. Last year, I liked For Cryin’ Out Loud by Finneas. Inspiration comes from all over the place.”

Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2025?

I’ll be playing at a lot of festivals this summer. Before then, I have another show on 23rd February at the Star in Shoreditch.

Future Makers 2025 opens for submissions from Monday 31 March. What two pieces of advice do you have for people thinking about entering?

“You get one song on the day, so pick a song that you feel has life, showcases all of you, and will translate to a big audience at the Royal Albert Hall. Also, have fun, surround yourself with people who support you, and ask a lot of questions.”

What makes you happy and what makes you unhappy?

The thing that makes me unhappy is feeling unsure of my trust in relationships – like a best friend I’ve had for years drifting away – or anything else where something I’ve believed all my life comes into question and affects the things at my core. God, family and friends make me happy. I’m very blessed in that way: they give me solace and peace in life.

Feature Image Photo Credit: Supplied By Royal Albert Hall Press Office

Graceé performs at the Star in Shoreditch on 23rd February 2025. Tickets are onsale here: https://www.seetickets.com/event/rough-edges-presents-star-in-shoreditch/the-star-in-shoreditch/3247621

Submissions to become the Royal Albert Hall’s Future Makers Artist, 2025, open on 31st March. For more information, click here.