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Every Monday we will be bringing you interviews with UK or Ireland artists for Independent Music Monday. Recently we caught up with Wolverhampton artist VITAL Powers to find out more…

Where are you from and how did you first get into music?
I’m from Wolverhampton and got into music from young basically creating with my friends and family from around the age of 14 and when I was 18 I took it more seriously and when I was 21 I decided to be a full-time artist and from that things like becoming a BBC presenter and a Ditto music content creator came my way also but I’ve always had a love for music from listening to reggae from young and when in high school hearing Garage grime and all kinds of US hip-hop.

So my original music name was VERNZ which is my nickname in my family and then when I started to do music more prominently, I needed a name so the first thing I said to my family and my cousins was what should I have as a nickname and they said to me what’s important to me and I replied my mom is important and we kept playing on the word important so then we thought of synonyms of the word important then I came up with crucial and essential and then we landed on the word VITAL and then further down the line I added the powers on to the end of my name mainly because I used it in my music and secondly so it’s easier to find me – then birthed VITAL Powers.

Who were your musical influences when you were growing up and who are your influences now?
A lot of Jamaican artists and some U.S artists but to quickly name a few, Sizzla, Mavado, Vybz Kartel, Buju Banton, Bounty Killer and Sean Paul – and from the U.S it was artists like Eminem, 50 Cent, Ja Rule, DMX, and more for sure – and as I got older, UK artists like Kano, JME, Skepta, D Double E plus some more…

Right now those influences are mainly the same but a sprinkle of some newer artists too.

How would you describe your sound?
I make Reggae and Dancehall mixed with Grime and Drill – Overall is my 4 different moods and some times they overlap in my music and that’s when you get a unique sounds from me.

What is your latest release called and what was the influence behind it?
My latest release is called Nothing To Declare with the lead single being Darth Vader and it’s going really well, it came out like 2-3 weeks go. But overall the idea behind it is that every time I release music I change chapters, different seasons as time passes and with that I have new goals and feel different, with this one it was different much I have been travelling a lot and it’s tiring me but also I am in a space where I don’t need to explain myself, I literally just wake up and do me and do it well.

What’s your local music scene like?
In Wolverhampton, crazy talent but not more infrastructure for artist to grow and now I’m in the bay and it kind of feels the same way.

What do you have planned for the next 12 months?
More music, more videos, more shows, more living.

Is there anyone you’d love to collaborate with?
Maybe a big artist like Popcaan or Joyner Lucas.

Any funny stories surrounding your live performances?
The worst thing that has happened to me is one time the mic kept cutting out and I literally just threw it down and then started rapping out loud, I killed my voice but it was fun. Outside of that I get pretty blessed when performing.

What is the one thing that you want readers to know about you?
I’m here for a good time and a long time but not all the time – I see most things outwardly like this too so appreciate everyone and things you care about.

You can find out more about VITAL Powers on his website or via Apple Music, Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram, SoundCloud, Spotify, Threads, TikTok, X (Twitter), YouTube (channel) or YouTube (topic), and you can find out about his upcoming performances here.