Alicai Harley on The Ted Baker Sessions: “This was an epic experience”
"The doors that are opened from an experience like that are just so dope”
Alicai Harley has reflected on her experiences of working with prolific collaborators such as Nadia Rose, Stefflon Don and Damon Albarn and embracing creativity for the Ted Baker Street Party Sessions.
The London-based star won acclaim early this year when she released ‘The Red Room Intro’, which offered a gorgeous, genre-spanning delay of her talents.
She has also joined Ted Baker’s Street Party Sessions, a series of bespoke live events in which five artists worked with the fashion brand to design their ideal performance setting to reflect their own inimitable style.
Discussing her latest release, Harley reflected on teaming up with fellow rapper Nadia Rose, who appears on the impressive ‘No Rampin’.
“She’s my big sis”, Harley says of her fellow rapper – even if the track itself was recorded during a rocky moment in their friendship. “She taught me the ropes in life and music, but we fell out and when we recorded that song we hadn’t actually spoken in a while. We both love music and we made up a few months down the line. A love of music literally brought us together again.”
Other collabs on the EP include Stefflon Don – who makes an impressive appearance on the sparkling ‘No Drama’.
But her biggest collab to date came when he joined forces with Gorillaz, teaming up with
with Damon Albarn’s cartoon band on recent track ‘Déjà vu’.
“Me and Damon? We just hit it off,” she says.
“I really love these guys and it’s so different in my heart. I got to do two nights at The O2 Arena with them too, and the crowd went phenomenal for a track that wasn’t even released at that point!”
So who’s next on the collab list?
“I’m here for Kanye! That needs to happen, but that list does change all the time. My girl Riri too – I’m here, hi! Where’s the album?,” she said.
And Ted Baker’s Street Party, she adds, was an “epic experience”.
“”The doors that are opened from an experience like that are just so dope” she says. “It’s what I’ve always dreamt of, being able to do that, even just the way we were able to plan how it was going to look was special. There’s about to be some special times, so just stay blessed.”