Let’s not beat around the bush here. A!MS is an internationally known tour-de-force who was dabbling in music before most of us could walk. With a career spanning over two decades, the entrepreneur, producer, DJ and songwriter has seen and done it all, yet still brings a fresh determination to each new sound that encompasses his artistry.

Today A!MS is back with his brand new single, “Honor”. A marked departure from the artist’s previous hard-hitters like “Diablo” and “Supreme”, the track introduces an entirely new era for the multi-hyphenate artist, one that prioritises woozy beats and undeniably good times. Joined by Julian Marley, Projexx, AV Allure and Grammy-nominating producing duo Cool & Dre, the dream team aim to get your hips shaking in no time with funk-filled melodies and line after line of lyrical genius. “The song has a lot to it and I feel brave enough to be able to put these type of records out regardless how people take to them or understand them,” A!MS tells us, “I mean, why do the same boring patterns over and over and over and over?”

Bringing out the island vibes in full force, Marley’s free-spirited rhymes and Projexx’s patois flow play out in equal measure, coalescing with powerful hooks and an irresistibly catchy core. As for the accompanying video, A!MS picks up the pace with a high-speed car chase through the city in a modern-day retelling of Robin Hood. The whole shebang is all about having fun and not taking life too seriously, something we can all relate to after the chaos of the past year.

Check out our interview with A!MS below, where we talk about everything from his musical beginnings to the exciting releases he has planned for the rest of the year.

Hi A!MS, how have you been? How was lockdown for you?
I’ve been great! My family, my loved ones are healthy and mentally coping, which is a true blessing during these miserable times, so many people have had, and are still having an extremely hard time, and the pain, suffering and loss has been unimaginable so my heart goes out to everyone who has suffered or is suffering. We felt a financial knock but like I said, that is minor, and I really do wish love and light can prevail as soon as possible especially, for the world that my 3-year-old daughter is meant to grow up in… I hope you and your readers have been good too! Lockdown was awkward, it was during a period where I had made my mind up to spend some time with my daughter as I haven’t had chance to spend as much time as I’d of liked with her since she was born. I had just come back from Dubai on a family vacation and we had such a great time and since then we been bonding, I am a girl Daddy so it’s special you know… I stayed in Cyprus after February 2020 which was my last time in London since now when we shot the new video! During that time myself, AV Allure who is signed to my production, and Hypertone hit the studio and with the amazing Cool & Dre we just zoned in and stayed in the studio pretty much the whole time, which really helped with disconnecting from the world and what was going on, I had to stay awake between two time zones so sleep was something I did not get much of but it was all worth it!

Can you tell us a bit about your beginnings in music? What inspired you to get into rapping?
Nobody wanted to buy my crap MPC beats so I started rapping on them myself!. Nah, I mean this question alone could pretty much be the whole interview, I grew up in a family that owned nightclubs, which is an industry I’m personally not directly involved in as much on the business side anymore. I had a radio show at 9, I was MC’ing in the clubs by 12, by 14 I was DJ Sniper and then part of the So Solid Crew as a DJ, and then I evolved my production skills, so by the second So Solid album I had produced about 3-4 tracks. But to me, that was more like the getting-to-know bit of the music business and how hard it would be to break down doors and open up opportunities. From that DJ Sniper was then the artist A.M. SNiPER who is now just A!MS, still the same purpose but just slicker with the name and better with the music. Music was always part of my life, I know it sounds cliche but I literally have a life purpose to be in music, I know it better than myself, I find out things about myself through music, I will be like Quincy Jones, God willing, keep building my sound and then produce that sound for others to come and keep sharing great sounds with the world, that’s my purpose regardless of what the algorithms say, we will outlast them.

Do you think your close ties to the Mediterranean culture influence the music you produce?
1000%. Cyprus my homeland has a strong cultural heritage but weak cultural development due to modernization and lack of leadership and correct infrastructure, but combine that with the music culture of London and my English side, I have the best of both worlds, the only thing is, I had to learn the hard way, as I lived for a minute in Cyprus and I missed the natural getting to know how the “scene works” when you are living around it, but no regrets, that is what was meant to happen to bring me to the point that I am at today, and I am grateful for the path I walked and carry on walking on. I kept it clean, honest, and I never backstabbed or turned my back on my own.

Congratulations on the release of your new track “Honor”. Can you tell us how you went about creating the track and the inspiration behind it?
Throughout the process of becoming A!MS, Cool & Dre came across my sound when I was using A.M. SNiPER, Cool took it upon himself to help me nurture what he felt I can bring to the music world, it was organic and I felt with Cool & Dre you have two of the most humble hard-working individuals in the world, they produced the beat and that starting point alone is a blessing. “Honor” was the first beat he showed me and it had a hook that was written by BEAM, who is going to have an incredible career – he recently featured on the Justin Bieber album! The minute I heard the idea, I hit up AV Allure to come in and jump on the hook and give it our own twist in terms of our English accent and from there the track started evolving…

The track also includes features from the likes of, Projexx and Julian Marley. How did you go about choosing these talents for the song?
Projexx was already on the record and I had already heard him on the Wiz Kid album, he’s also new but you can tell he means to create a serious impact in music. Once I laced my two verses and worked on the hook with AV, I then felt we needed a legend in the game to give it that final sprinkle. I have the best set of ears in the music world, I know music in terms of how it should sound, that does not mean I am claiming what I make is always going to be successful, but I know hit music by default. I helped break Wiley’s ”Heatwave” using my Ayia Napa platform, Kent Jones’ “Don’t Mind”, and Fat Joe’s “All The Way Up”, these are the unheard stories you do not get to claim a W for but this is what matters, the ability to help and grow sounds, and records, I am blessed to call myself a sound man. So now you got AV Allure, we got Projexx, we got Julian Marley, and of course A!MS! Production by Cool & Dre, Dim Crux, Reid Waters, Nahuel Franco, and again… A!MS lol!

“Honor” signifies a departure from your previous sound and a new musical era for you. What about this track is different from the previous work you have produced?
I would not identify it as departure but more as evolution, there have been glimpses of what Honor is in previous releases like “Yea Yea Yea” and “RUN”, I felt it was inevitable it would evolve to this and we were comfortable with creating this Mediterranean meets Caribbean dancehall afro wave vibe with a touch of Latin guitar, definitely not common of my previous releases for sure. I hope people do not think it is an attempt to specifically do something other than giving them a dope anthem they can just have fun with, I mean in the end, the music is the only thing that stays.

The song also comes accompanied by a fast-paced music video. What inspired the theme of the video?
Jimmy, who is my best friend and a person who is always there for me, was the first to have the idea, Jay Parpworth then evolved and turned it into what you see today! Honor amongst thieves? I guess using our music and imagination we felt at least in our own way and in our own pages, we can have a swing back at everything we’ve been going through, or more like everything they have put us through with their mix/match, pick n mix regulations and laws, a 2021 Robin Hood-type of chase where we took from the rich and gave to the poor – fun fact when Robin Hood wad handling his own, King Richard was actually in Cyprus before he landed back in the UK… I am not making this up, it has just hit me though that’s something I need to post about on my IG!

“Honor” is also the first release from a new run of music. What can your fans expect from the upcoming releases?
I won’t say too much but the work that is coming is music I was dreaming of! I had time to try and have a song to cater to whatever mood we are in throughout our day or week. It is by far my best work and I really want to say a lot more but yea… “Honor” is out now and I think it will really set the tone for the levels I’m taking it to this time.

You have had an impressive career so far including having your award-winning releases, going multi-platinum and working alongside the likes of Afro B. What has been a career highlight for you so far?
I’ve been part of award-winning releases and all that fancy stuff, but I don’t see myself as a celebrity artist, I am a soundman by craft and people knew of, and heard of Sniper – the industry is aware but the public – I just had to build that myself, it all looks good and sounds good on paper but this is a life long journey. I’m not knocking it and I’m so grateful for all of the opportunities and success so far, but it’s the release of “Honor” and the forthcoming music that is the greatest highlight so far. All the years, experience and twists and turns have led us to the moment we are in right now, and living in the moment is the thing – being able to deliver what I’ve got in the bag is everything right now.

What are your hopes and plans for the rest of 2021?
I missed shows man! I want to take my daughter to Disneyland! I want a Grammy! I need more people on our team and on our side to help produce more and more talent because there is so much talent with potential that goes by unnoticed. I feel there is room for improvement in everything we can do but I want everyone, above all, to be safe, healthy, and most of all, understanding. I feel too many things are being misunderstood and if we all just start seeing the good in everyone and respecting each others cultures and embracing them, then that is a step forward… Am I preaching? I hope not!

Check out the song below…