In the world of music, it’s not uncommon for artists to make sacrifices in order to achieve their dreams. For West London artist Raid Official, this couldn’t be more true. With a diverse flow and delivery, Raid has made a name for himself in the industry with hit single “Friday” amassing over 500,000 streams on Spotify. And with the launch of the official music video for “Friday” with GRM Daily, it’s clear that Raid’s hard work is paying off.
But it hasn’t been an easy journey for the artist. Born and raised in Isleworth, the youngest of six boys, Raid faced his fair share of struggles. “I used to enjoy hanging around with the older guys and doing things people my age wouldn’t really do,” he reflects. And with his parents splitting up when he was just 10 years old, it was up to his mother, who worked two jobs to support the family, to raise him and his siblings. Despite these challenges, Raid has found solace in music. Drawing from his own experiences in day-to-day life, he crafts lyrics that resonate with audiences. And though his father dabbled in music during his childhood, it wasn’t until later in life that Raid truly discovered his passion for it. “My mum was a strong Christian woman that took my siblings and I to church every Sunday growing up. I later converted to Islam,” he shares.
It’s this willingness to make sacrifices and work hard, even on days when others may not be, that sets Raid apart as an artist. And with the release of “Friday” and its accompanying music video, it’s clear that his dedication is paying off. Keep an eye out for what’s next from this rising star.
Head below to discover more…
Raid, how are you doing today? Where are we speaking to you from?
It’s your boy Raid Official. I’m here with Wonderland magazine. Thank you for having me. I’m doing well today. Not too bad. Just a bit tired. But I’m speaking from Hounslow, Greater London.
Can you tell us about your background and how you got started in the music industry?
Only in, I’ll say 2021 or upon being released from prison, is when I started to take it serious and started to actually pursue a music career instead of just writing down raps and just doing it for fun, etc.
How did I get into music? I feel like I’ve been Rhyming for pretty much a majority of my life from I was about 12, 11. Just being around people that’s writing bars, etc. So when there’s people close to you, you just tend to look up to you want to get involved yourself. So that’s how I say I started writing and my background into music. Also, my dad does music as well, so that played a slight influence growing up and also just always been a big lover of music from as far as I can remember, to be honest.
Your single “Friday” has a message about making sacrifices to achieve your goals. Can you speak to the personal experiences that inspired this theme?
With the single Friday. I feel like it’s just like subconscious. Subconsciously like seeing what I’ve seen and being around certain things, growing up and then just growing and maturing as a person, as an adult, as a father and just trying to come out and seeing the light and growing as a person, if that makes sense, or as a human. It’s crazy because Friday was actually the first song that I recorded from when coming out, I remember it was COVID that was travelling all the way to Essex. Being on curfew, even with whilst like the majority of the first mixtape I just come out was covid. So there was some sort of restrictions when it comes to recording most of that. I’ve done that in Essex as well, with mixed by Jocelin. So the difficulty of travelling all the way there, having to get back for my curfew, but we made it work.
Can you talk about the inspiration behind “Friday” and the message behind it?
With the single Friday. I feel like it’s just like subconscious. Subconsciously, like seeing what I’ve seen and being around certain things, growing up and then just growing and maturing as a person, as an adult, as a father, and just trying to come out and seeing the light and growing as a person, if that makes sense, or as a human. But with music it has always been like a slight passion of mine. Hence why? When I did come out, I was just on go. I wasn’t really interested in partying, going out and all the type of things, to be honest. I just wanted to kind of cement myself in the industry, put some videos out there, start to kind of build like a catalogue of my work and put it out there.
You have worked with a diverse group of producers, can you tell us about your experience working with engineers like Moe Alka and MixedbyJocelin?
Since I’ve started taking music serious, I’ve worked with a wide range of producers as you mentioned. It’s had this up, it’s had this downs. But working with such a different range of producers, it’s like you get to feel for yourself, push yourself off to your best limit. Also working with different producers, different experience, so you learning new techniques. Like, for example, with my mix tape that’s out now most of the tunes which I recorded. I first recorded when I come out of prison with Mixed by Jocelin. And I also learned that loads of new little tricks and loads of ways how to project my voice or not act like I’m reading off a phone just to get the correct delivery, professional delivery. I’ll say that there’s loads of different ones that are just have good relationships, will, etc. Will B, Lekka Beats and GottiOnEm. I feel like it’s been fun, it’s been good working with a wide range of producers rather than just one or two because it just gives a feel of different, like their different experience, which I’ve took on and watched and gained and learned loads of different tips, loads of different experience just to excel my craft. Yeah, another engineer I didn’t mention, as well is Moe Alka. I work a lot with Moe Alka for like the way he works and the way I work kind of just jell effortlessly. And the guy is such a wizard behind the computer board, literally. So I feel like he pushed me and he guided me as he’s more experienced in the wave or singing things. So when I’m in the booth with him, it’s like I get to experiment, and perfect certain different avenues. I want to go down certain different lanes and certain different waves. So it’s like working with him was cool as well because I got to experience being in the booth with someone that’s highly talented with this genre and it’s something I enjoy doing as well. So I feel like he pushed me to get the best out of my singing abilities.
Can you tell us about the first time “Friday” was played on the radio and the feeling you had?
The first time Friday was played on a radio. The Feeling was crazy, to be honest, because I don’t even know that it was playing .I got a message of my boys. He was riving his car in the morning and then he heard it playing on the radio randomly. But in the video he sent me, he’s going nuts because he didn’t even know it was going to play. So he’s going nuts. In the car, et cetera. Trying to send it over to me via video, The Feeling, I don’t know, because in jail sitting down. I’ll be listening to music all the time. For me to be actually played on the radio, like it’s a dream come true and it’s just a start, but it pushes you to pushes me anyway to want to do more, the people more music and more vibes.
How has growing up in London influenced you?
London’s London. You know what I’m saying? So you get that London feeling when you’re in London or, you know, when someone’s from London. Just that same London feeling. So naturally, I feel like it influenced me and my music.
How has your faith influenced you?
My faith has and it hasn’t, as you can hear in a lot of my tracks, I do use somethings to do with my faith in it. But as for those who know, in Islam, music is forbidden. So it’s a bittersweet type of experience, but that’s it with that one, the faith one, to be honest, literally, it’s a bit of sweet one. But I do try to incorporate my faith in my rounds because it’s part of me, and when I’m rapping, I’m giving the audience and the listeners part of me or part of where I’ve been or where I’ve grown.
How do you feel about the response to “Friday”?
I’m happy with the response to Friday. Though I feel like it’s done well .I feel like it’s going to do well. I feel like it’s done well thus far. The music video is epic. The song is epic like everyone that plays it. They like it. So I feel like 100%.I’m happy with the response as far .I just can’t wait for it to just keep building and reach the next magnitude.
Can you tell us about the music video for “Friday”?
The music video Friday is crazy. It’s literally crazy because it took so long to do and upload. But it was a long day, literally. I remember it was like two days after my son was born or something, but it was a long day with my first proper on set with a whole camera crew was a good experience, fun experience. It was draining and that. But it was just exciting just being around there with the whole film crew waiting to see the end product. Like having all these people around doing a job for me, that good feeling. So I was very excited when it comes to producing the video for Friday. And I’m so excited now. Every time I watch it, it’s excited. Like even when it came up, I didn’t I got nervous, butterflies and that before I watched it. But I’m happy though. I’m happy with the end result. I did want to give Amanda a shout out for that. So Amanda, she’s the one that directed the video. The actual video itself as well, I believe. It was cool. It was shot on two different days, so it was a mixture of scenery. Even just being back in a jail though, it weren’t actively operating and shooting in a jail it was cool for me as well. I reckon just to kind of bring more life to the story and bring more authenticity to the visuals. That makes sense. Being in like a real actual jail and then shooting it on another day. The remaining scenes was good as a bit frustrating with the weight that we had to do, but.
Lastly, what’s next for you?
And what’s next for me in the future, to be honest? Probably get a tape towards the mid end of the year, but just trying to stay consistent. Build a buzz. Release. Release. And just get my name out there and just try to become a household name in the scene. And just let everyone know that I’m coming for this spot at number one. Even with music was coming up. I’ve done certain collabs with certain Nigerian artists, couple afro beats that’s unreleased. So there’s just different sounds and different flavours that I’ve got in the locker that I’m excited to release as well.