COVENTRY Music Museum curator Pete Chambers BEM writes for the Observer.
Coventry Rapper hailed The BBC Sound of .. 2021
WELL done Pa Salieu for being crowned The BBC’s Sound of 2021. Anyone who is surprised, however, may want to check out his rise to fame that began last year. The signs were always there, from being signed to Warner Records and featuring on the front pages of The London Evening Standard and Wonderland magazines, along with the critics’ comparison of him to rapper J Hus (also of Gambian decent).
The 23-years-old ‘King’ Salie won after being selected by a panel of 160 music industry experts including Billie Eilish and Stormzy.
Pa Salieu (his real name, as he says: ‘I’m not going to use no fake name’) was born in Slough and moved to Coventry at the age of ten, proud of his Gambian heritage and an element that gives him something unique in his songs. His auntie is a Gambian folk singer, so no surprise that the rhythm and the rhyme feature in his life. A life that could have ended before his rise to fame began having been viciously shot in the head in Jordan Well, Coventry back in 2019. However, this guy takes it all in his stride, in interviews he’s modest and very natural with the use of phrases like ‘it is what it is’ and the belief that all he does ‘has to make sense’.
When asked what he would buy with his first mega royalty cheque there is no mention of a Ferrari or a Rolex, for Pa it’s to build a house in Gambia for his mum.
He never sensationalises his Coventry life.
He said: “Growing up in Cov has been alright.
“Some things are good; some things are bad.”
Check out ‘Frontline’ – a song that helped to put him in the public eye, it was filmed in and around Hillfields.
His debut mixtape released in November 2020 was entitled ‘Send Them To Coventry’ that peaked in the R&B charts at 36.
I think it’s wonderful so many people will be aware of this Coventry talent and let’s have some hit singles so we can add them to our wall of hits in the Music Museum.
Bye Bye lovely Maureen
It’s with a heavy heart I say goodbye to Maureen Ansell, mother of the great Cov singer-songwriter Danny Ansell.
Moe passed away last week after a long illness she was an amazing supporter of Coventry music, a wonderfully kind human being, always there for you and she adored the Music Museum.
To say she will leave a void in so many people’s lives is an understatement.
Well done Ruby
You may recall local artist and photographer Ruby Nixon, created a wonderful calendar to help local venues through these Covid times by collaboration with 12 of the city’s independent venues, centred on celebrating live music in the city.
Well, the calendar sold very well and congratulations to Ruby whose ‘Coventry Venues: A Year in the Live’ project has made an amazing £1,093.24!
So well done Ruby.
