Berwyn: Who Am I — debut album explores immigration and identity
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Life has moved fast for east London rapper, songwriter and producer Berwyn, full name Berwyn Du Bois. It has also often felt precarious. Born in Trinidad, Berwyn moved to the UK with his family at the age of nine, where they faced difficulties owing to their uncertain immigration status. This stymied Berwyn’s prospects for further education and employment, as well as his sense of belonging.
Who Am I is billed as his debut studio album, but it follows high-profile plaudits including his Mercury Prize-nominated mixtape Demotape/Vega (2020), a place on the BBC Sound Of 2021 list, and collaborations with the likes of producer Fred Again.
Who Am I continues this engaging blend of plain-talking and poetic observation. Self-identity, societal pressure, masculinity and parental separation (including his mother’s stint in prison) are familiar themes, but they also remain relevant. Although the 28-year-old now has a major label deal and international gig dates, he still has to navigate a tricky immigration system — he only has “discretionary leave” rather than indefinite right to remain in the UK.
“Dear Immigration” is a stand-out track, with Berwyn reciting a letter to the authorities (“You made me feel like a fugitive and runaway . . . I want you to know since I was nine I felt like a crime, I used to imagine you coming for me every day of my life”). His words stumble occasionally, but there’s never any doubt of the anguish and fury behind them.
Berwyn’s voice, with its Trini inflections and gruff London patter, brings out a buoyant energy even in the bleaker details. “I Am Black” feels like a defiant spiritual, studded with catchy hooks; the title track (co-written with and produced by Fred Again) has a haunting pop edge. And there’s also space for softer sentiments, such as the tender guitar-backed melody “Without You”.
References to his troubled relationship with his mother occasionally recalls Belgian-Congolese rapper/vocalist Baloji’s 2018 album 137 Avenue Kaniama, which deals with self-discovery and tracking down his absent mum. On Who Am I, the final voice we hear is Berwyn’s mother’s, an endnote that is warmly moving and memorably hopeful.
★★★★☆
‘Who Am I’ is released by Columbia
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