Goya Gumbani is bringing the sound of NYC’s new generation to London

Despite currently residing in London, Goya Gumbani is a firmly New York MC.

Alongside the likes of Medhane, MIKE and Slauson Malone, Gumbani is helping to revive and reimagine the city’s boom-bap legacy. New project HGR Presents: A Thousand Months sees the rapper drop classic flows over sparkling beats that recall the likes of Just Blaze and NYC era Kanye.

Recorded at East London’s Total Refreshment Centre, A Thousand Months also positions Gumbani alongside London’s new-gen of neo-soul and jazz artists, doubling down on his previous collaborations with Subculture and Tertia May. With a show on the books at HQI in White City later this month, we caught up with Gumbani for the February issue of Crack Magazine.

Describe your sound in one sentence.

A lot of sampled based loops. The new Project HGR Presents ~ A Thousand Months is more rooted in the city I’m from and is a thank you to all that came before me and paved the way. 

Who are your artistic icons outside of music?

Samuel Jackson. He really that man. Son been on my screen since we had the box TV… Nah, they gotta award that man. That industry playing lol. Him and Booker T; 5-time WCW champion. can’t deny numbers like that. 

What’s your biggest passion outside of music?

I like to browse through charity stores. You could walk out with anything you’d least expect. Them little stores got mad gems in ’em. 

What do the next six months have in store for you?

22nd Feb 2020, myself and HGR will be doing a launch showcase A Thousand Months and we’ve got some New York artists on the bill such as Medhane, Mike and Slauson Malone, West London energy this bout to be. We will also be dropping another visual from the project.  New EP on the way soon after titled The Lesser Knowns. Look out for those. 

What’s your favourite thing about London? 

Ermmm ain’t nothing I really love in particular, but for me, it runs at a pace that’s a little bit slower than New York, and that’s a nice break away for me. Any other city I’ve been to is way too slow, jobs are scarce and public transport runs hourly or some shit, lmao. And also the fact that it’s cheaper to be a human.

What do you miss most about Brooklyn?

I can’t front, bodegas. A turkey bacon, egg and cheese bagel would slap right now.

Photography Michelle Helena Janssen
Styling Ade Udoma
Assistant IVOR Alice