Rizzle Kicks have right now (November 8) introduced their first album in over a decade known as ‘Competitors Is For Losers’ with shimmering single ‘New Sport’ – test it out beneath.
Again in 2008, Jordan Stephens and Harley Alexander-Sulé fashioned Rizzle Kicks and went on to have main success all through the 2010s with their contemporary and distinctive tackle UK rap, mixing hip-hop with pop somewhat than the rising grime development of the time.
They scored two UK High 10 albums (2011’s ‘Stereo Typical’ and 2013’s ‘Roaring 20s’) and two platinum singles earlier than taking a break from the limelight in 2016 on account of Alexander-Sulé being recognized with Generalised Anxiousness Dysfunction.
The duo will launch their new album on February 14 by way of BMG – you may pre-order the brand new work right here. The newest single ‘New Sport’ follows on from comeback singles ‘Javelin’ and ‘Gumdrops’, which arrived earlier this yr.
Talking to NME about their comeback in August, Alexander-Sulé revealed that the pair had been “writing for a very long time, possibly three or 4 years on this music. We went by completely different phases and variations of what this subsequent document ought to sound like, however the extra we wrote collectively, the extra pure it turned. It turned clear what the sound needs to be, and we met within the center someplace. That’s what ‘Javelin’ encapsulates what we’re feeling within the second.”
“There are a great deal of moments on the album which might be fairly introspective,” Alexander-Sulé added, “however we needed this primary second [‘Javelin’] to actually seize the general public and present what we characterize, which is enjoyable and pleasure and carefree.”
Stephens mentioned it could be straightforward for Rizzle Kicks “to leverage the nostalgia” and go on tour and simply play the songs they’re finest identified for. Nevertheless, he defined that “me and Harley rekindling our pleasure of making music collectively” was extra essential.
The Brighton duo mix funk and soul on their newest monitor, which has been combined by Tucan (Superorganism, Jungle) and you may hearken to it right here:
COMPETITION IS FOR LOSERS. THE NEW ALBUM. OUT 14TH FEB 2025. 🏆https://t.co/UVS6IsCdtR pic.twitter.com/WxLkGPGSpJ
— Rizzle Kicks (@RizzleKicks) November 8, 2024
A press launch provides that the track’s new video, which you’ll watch above, showcases “one other inventive duo…Andy Warhol and Basquiat” and explores “the concept that the artwork represents their new work and new sport. Artwork and tradition is a key a part of the brand new Rizzle Kicks world, mirroring themes from the album of evolution, progress and maturity.”
Talking concerning the video, director Earthboi provides: “Rizzle Kicks had been an early a part of my childhood and their resurgence, nonetheless as icons was one thing I actually needed to seize. Within the search of crafting iconicity, which largely speaks to their upcoming mission, I stumbled upon a collection of photos of Basquiat and Warhol posed as athletes. I felt like this picture absolutely encompasses the thought of artwork as a “new sport”.
Talking concerning the new album, Stephens mentioned: “We allude to the truth that we acted off the cultural encouragement and the truth of the time. I believe now we’d wish to consider that we’ve distanced ourselves from these simply by expertise.”
Themes on the album in line with a brand new assertion embody sobriety: “Not in a prescriptive means. However extra like we did loads of loopy stuff, however now we don’t”, and paternity: “not simply with Harley changing into a father and all the expansion that comes with that position, but additionally in a bigger sense as we become old we really feel a duty to share our wins and our failures”, Stephens added.
The pair may even carry out a bought out present at London’s KOKO this night (November 8), with tickets for the occasion having bought out in lower than a minute following its announcement. It will likely be the primary time the duo have carried out collectively in a decade.
A tour is ready to comply with subsequent spring with exhibits deliberate in Manchester, Birmingham and London. They’ve additionally confirmed a homecoming headline shot at The Nice Escape 2025 in Brighton. Tickets are on sale for the occasions right here and you may take a look at all of the dates beneath:
Rizzle Kicks’ upcoming UK tour dates are:
NOVEMBER 2024
08 – KOKO, London
MARCH 2025
19 – O2 Ritz, Manchester
21 – O2 Institute, Birmingham
22 – O2 Discussion board Kentish City, London
MAY 2025
16 – Brighton Dome, Brighton (The Nice Escape)
After final performing collectively, each Stephens and Alexander-Sulé launched into solo careers, with the latter releasing music beneath his pseudonym Jimi Charles Moody.
They each discovered success in performing too: Alexander-Sulé had lead roles within the crime drama Unforgotten and the 2014 movie The Guv’nors, whereas Stephens starred within the Star Wars spin-off Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Mae Martin’s sitcom Really feel Good.
