Music
Hardy Caprio is ready to take it to the next level
Two million monthly streams, a first class degree in accountancy... this rising South London artist has greatness in his grasp. But Hardy Caprio isn't letting it go to his head.
Before we meet at the Major League Baseball suite in Soho on a Friday afternoon, Hardy Caprio has been running around London trying to find a barber. Hardy's got a show and he's trying to look his freshest. But Hardy’s barber, his backup option and secondary backup are all unavailable. “I’ve been up since 7am and managed to find one by 11am, so it’s been a bit of a mad one,” he says.
Hardy Caprio broke out 2017 with hits such as Unsigned and Super Soaker, which highlighted Hardy's playful, tongue-in-cheek wordplay, while drawing inspiration from the West African drum patterns present in contemporary afrobeats and rap. His rise to popularity appeared steep, but he was no overnight success. He first started delving into rap aged 13, saying that watching Chip on Westwood was a key moment for him. “But I tuned into grime properly when P Money was sending for Ghetts – the way P Money worded things stuck with me,” Hardy says.
Hardy Caprio
© Press
I’m a fan before I’m an artist so when Stormzy came through, it felt like grime was the only platform we had to be heard
He emerged onto the scene while still at university, where he'd begun to experiment with rapping over old riddims such as Havana by early grime crew Ruff Sqwad. “I’m a fan before I’m an artist so when Stormzy came through, it felt like grime was the only platform we had to be heard," he says. "I tried a rap song, a more wavy type of beat and then I did something over an old Ruff Sqwad riddim. People really took to the Ruff Sqwad one so I tried something similar. But eventually, it got to a point where I couldn’t keep doing that. I didn’t feel like I could get the best out of myself at the time."
Instead, Hardy eventually found his sound by turning towards UK rap, which he feels is more reflective of who he is as an artist compared to grime. Hardy grew up in New Addington, Croydon, so perhaps it's no surprise he'd cite inspirations like Giggs and Krept & Konan, the premiere rappers from the south side of the city. Although he now lives in Bromley, he says Croydon was the area that first had a hand in refining his own artistry. “As I got older, I started going deeper and looking at the local rappers from Croydon like Hooligan and Bully who had these hard Croydon flows. But when I got a bit older, I wanted to sound like me. My area definitely taught me how to rap.”
2018 was a big year for Hardy Caprio for a number of reasons. The same week he passed the one-million mark on single streams, he graduated from Brunel University with a first class degree in Finance and Accounting. It was a remarkable personal comeback for the young rapper, who was set to graduate in 2017 but had to push his exams back to due to health complications. “I’ve been saving up to move out of my area while working on this new project and where I want my career to go,” he says, “There’s been a lot of self-realisation.” He’s understanding of the ever-changing landscape within music in the digital age but he’s taken a step back to look inward and ask what he wants for himself. “With music, it’s easy for it to be fleeting in this day and age. But I want to be someone that lasts. So I’ve been asking myself what I bring to the table, why should someone listen to me?”
Hardy is inquisitive throughout our conversation, keen to learn more about himself through the words of others. “How do you think I’m doing?’ he asks at one point, and it’s a difficult question to answer given how subjective the idea of success is – particularly for musicians who have their own individual measures. I tell him that based on the conversations I’ve had with people, Hardy Caprio is certainly a rising name – if not a household one. However, Hardy himself isn’t quite sure where to place himself. “With me, it’s weird because I feel like my name isn’t in a lot of conversations. If you ask someone on the street who their top five is they may not mention me,” he says, “At the same time, my music’s enjoyable and to be honest, that’s a win itself. I don’t feel like there’s anyone in my lane and that’s not to say I’m the most unique person but I don’t know who else is doing it like me.”
Hardy Caprio performs at Red Bull Odyssey, 2018
© Fanatic
Most rappers find a box and tend to stay within that but I want to encapsulate my whole personality in my music
Hardy describes his music as being about "capturing moments". His song Best Life, featuring Tottenham rapper One Acen, uses a popular social media catchphrase "living my best life" as the basis of its hook. By using it in his lyrics, it's like Hardy is allowing his fans to attach his music to their own memories. “I almost want my career to be journalistic in a sense, by capturing the moments that are happening around us, whether that’s culturally or socially," he explains. Songs like Best Life and [my verse on One Acen’s] EIO are two occasions where I’ve tried to capture moments that are happening among young people." That said, he doesn't want to limit himself. "My personality is quite relatable but it’s hard to transfer it to rap – I’m quite sarcastic but at the same time mellow, so how do you bring them together in rap? Most rappers find a box and tend to stay within that but I want to encapsulate my whole personality in my music.”
Any day now, Hardy’s set to release his debut full-length mixtape With My Eyes Closed, which follows the two EPs he dropped in 2017, Hardy Season and The Hollywood EP. “The project is about me having fun while observing where I am in life at the moment," he says. "There’s the good and the bad but it’s not packaged in the most heartfelt, traumatic way, I’m trying to be my sarcastic self that I usually am.” There’s a sense that Hardy has been holding aspects of himself back but he feels that With My Eyes Closed will bring him closer to his fans.
Hardy Caprio has achieved a lot in his 23 years and within music, he still has some time until he figures out what space he wants to remain in. However, one thing he is certain of is his own ability. “I feel like I’m a humble B-List and that’s a good space to be in,” he says. There’s no reason why Hardio can’t make the A-List, alongside Stormzy, Dave and J Hus. But he’s grounded enough to admit that there’s still loads more work to be done. One thing is for sure: this is just the beginning.
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