For incendiary rapper Sion Vesill, some experiences in life can only be channelled through the mediums of music and poetry. The Liverpool born-and-raised artist began his love affair with music at 11-years-old: at first, it was a hobby he kept secret, but as his fixation grew with texture and the construction of sound, music and lyricism became not only an avenue of self-expression, but Sion Vesill’s lifeblood.
From an early age, Vesill imitated the showmanship of Michael Jackson. “I even had the black-studded shoes from ‘Smooth Criminal’,” he laughs. “My mum said I could be heard singing ‘Annie, are you okay?’ daily.” But it was 2pac, with his infectious beats and bars that reflected the world around him, that truly shaped Sion Vesill to become the artist he is today.
Cutting his teeth by releasing his material on YouTube, Sion Vesill’s instinct for wordplay, toying with syllables and wrapping his lyrics and punchlines in double – if not triple – meanings, has racked up over 25,000 streams. His firebrand verses gained a reputation, leading him to collaborate with Crypt the Rapper and land a supporting slot with Wu Tang Clan’s legendary GZA which brought his sound to myriad UK venues from The Olympia to the O2 Arena.
But while Sion Vesill has rubbed shoulders with the rap world’s heavyweights, he is loyal to his local scene of creatives and their DIY ethos. His latest EP, “Numbers”, is his fourth solo project, following in a nominal tradition inspired by the foundational law of the Bible, with his previous bodies of work being “Genesis”, “Exodus” and “Leviticus”. While he began producing the entire project himself, he eventually enlisted producer G-Lox whose beats he couldn’t resist. It’s just one of the finer details Sion Vesill is putting in place so we can step back and take in the masterpiece.
