Harleston rapper takes on the Country scene

An awarding-winning hip-hop artist from Harleston is set to take a ‘leap of a lifetime’ with his new upcoming track, leaving rap behind for the world of country-pop.

Jake Aldridge, of Nelson Close, started to write songs from poetry he wrote when, aged 11, his father died after being struck by lightning during a family fishing trip.

The 32-year-old, who puts his rap roots down to the influence of one of his siblings, said: “I have always been into hip hop.

“My older brother got me into it by giving me cassette tapes of rappers when I was younger, so, naturally, as my music progressed, it took on that sort of course.

“Recently, though, I have been putting a little country into my songs, like my track Poison, which came out in August last year.

“The following I had built up through hip-hop really got behind me, which was great and made me decide to take the leap of a lifetime into doing it fully from now on.”

Jake won Male Act of the Year at the 2018 International Achievers’ Awards and the Audience Choice Award at the 2017 New Music Generator (NMG) Awards.

He also saw his music aired on an American television documentary, called Beating the Odds, which featured Michelle Obama.

But he says it was Florida Georgia Line’s collaboration with Nelly in 2012, on a remix for their song Cruise, which piqued his interest when it came to country-pop music – a genre he has embraced ever since.

His new song, Partners in Crime, which is being released on April 17, marks the start of a journey in a new direction.

He said: “I have had a lot of help from Matt Knight, who composed it, and David Booth, who has helped me transition from rapping to singing – they have really helped me get the output that I wanted.

“Singing represents such a change for me and does not come naturally, so I am continuing to have lessons.

“It is so hard to transition from something I have been doing for 15 years to something new, but I feel country is in my heart now and is completely inspiring me at the moment. It is important to me to release music that I am passionate about.”

n Partners in Crime, which features singer Leanne Louise and was filmed at Cecilia’s cocktail bar in Norwich, is set to be released on all online music platforms on April 17.