Psweatpants: The Rising Force in Scottish Hip Hop You Need to Know

At just 25, London-born and Scotland-based Psweatpants is carving out his own lane in the UK hip hop scene. Known for his raw, hard-hitting vocals and metaphor-laden songwriting, Psweatpants draws inspiration from both sides of the Atlantic, blending the energy of UK artists like Skepta and Slowthai with Stateside influences like Vince Staples and JPEGMAFIA. With nominations at the Scottish Alternative Music Awards and the SAY Awards, plus appearances on Radio 1 and BBC 1Xtra’s 2023 Rap Cypher, Psweatpants is rapidly becoming a major voice in Scottish hip hop. Get ready to meet the next big name to watch as he sets his sights on breaking through the scene."

1. Your music is known for its hard-hitting vocals and realistic metaphors. How do you approach the process of translating your life experiences into your songwriting, and what themes do you find yourself exploring the most?

I think about my life experiences and like to try to find the most relatable elements about it you know, some of my favourite artists have are not ones who are doing the most grandiose things but they're dong the most simple things and thus makes them feel like relatable, you feel like that person is directly talking to you and that makes you feel connected to that person, they're not just this artist anymore but an actual human being and thats whats music is all about innit. Themes such as relationships, drug use (don't do drugs kids) and the growing up in South London which was a very interesting, fun and sometimes intense time which help flesh out my music and lucky for me people like it lool.

 2. You've been nominated for major awards like the Scottish Alternative Music Awards and the SAY Awards. How has this recognition influenced your career, and what does it mean to you to be part of Scotland's growing hip-hop scene?

The recognition has helped a fair bit tbh, I think coming to a whole new country as an unknown quantity and getting recognised for your talent is always a sick thing and the fact i never really thought that it could really be possible for me or even ever envisioned it when i first started makes it mean so much more to me, i truly feel appreciative of it. and getting recognised for doing rap makes it even more crazy because unlike London the rap scene is only just growing and becoming a force to be seen in the country so be at the fore front of it and be a reason why its becoming more recognised and taken more seriously is a great feeling, one of my main goals is to always try to push things forward and help the rap scene in Scotland to be a thing not just in Scotland but in the UK and beyond. 

3. You draw inspiration from a range of artists both in the UK and the US, like Slowthai, Skepta, and Vince Staples. How have these influences shaped your sound, and how do you blend these diverse elements into something uniquely your own?

My influences have shaped me as a person and my music is based on who i am so they both go in tandem tbh, people like JPEGMAFIA, TYLER, The Creator, Earl Sweatshirt and Vince Staples are all huge inspirations to me because as someone who also liked the alternative sides of music as a black person can be kind of tricky to navigate or even talk about with people who are from the "ends" just because they dont really understand it but those artist made me feel comfortable in liking something different and thats helped me feel comfortable to delve into genres and try different things. While my Uk influences such as Skepta, Slowthai, JME and Aj tracey helped me sharpen my candence and the harshness of my sound at times, to me they have influenced me a lot and u can hear it throughout my sound. 

 4. You recently participated in the 2023 BBC Introducing x BBC 1Xtra Rap Cypher. What was that experience like, and how do you see platforms like BBC Introducing helping to elevate emerging artists like yourself?

The BBC Introducing cypher was soo crazy icl to even get the chance to represent scotland in rap especially at maida vale was just crazy, BBC Introducing has been one of my biggest supporters and has helped me have some of my highest highs in my very short career even helping me get onto Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra which is very crazy, and i’m hearing they want to close it some stations down which is very even crazier, shoutout bbc introducing, the scotland one specifically.

 5. You've supported a variety of artists and even headlined your own show at SWG3 earlier this year. How have these live performances contributed to your growth as an artist, and what do you aim to bring to your audience when you're on stage?

I Love being being on stage and supporting all those guys have been so sick i’ve meet some cool people such as hak baker, The snuts and Wiki who was like one of my fave rappers growing up, to making good friends in ppl i’ve supported like VLURE, Bemz and Declan Welsh, I train to bring high energy shows and show how much i love being on stage, I aim to give the audience a pic eve of me every time i’m on stage, i want them to feel all the emotions i feel and vice versa because that makes the best shows you know.