An interview with London 2019 Finalist Okeam Briscoe

To those who might not be familiar with you or your work, could you tell us a little more about you and your music?

So I’m from a city not far from London called Birmingham, my dream has always been to set out to London and work hard earning a spot to everyones hearts. I believe that in the UK music industry male singers are like gold dust, theres not enough of us! My aim is to prove that we still exist, also and personally speaking I feel like male vocalist don’t really show there vulnerable side in music anymore and that’s something I want to promote with my music, I’ve patiently waited 5 years to find a producer who matches my talent and vision, hopefully in the next few months the world will be able to see my music and lyrics come alive!

There’s a greater purpose driving The Coffee Music Project. What does Project Waterfall mean to you?

It’s a project that needs to be heard and seen by everyone! What they’re doing it for is for a good cause and what makes it so good is that the contestants and I are showing awareness through our music, something that everyone enjoys! Music can be used as a powerful tool to influence and change a lot of things worldwide and If I have to use my tool to create a change or difference I’ll do it…one note at a time!!

When and why did you decide to venture into music?

Music was my way of building my identity, it has been with me from day one and has helped me to nurture and mould the person I am today, to me its more than a lifestyle, bigger than a career its what defines me inside and out.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing emerging musicians?

Keeping a clear mind, I know as humans its natural for us to doubt and compare ourselves especially with all the talented individuals who are taking part in the competition but at the same time when comparing yourself to others it can be so damaging, how I discovered to over come this is from keeping an healthy mindset and showing support and love to one another.

As a musician, what's the best piece of advice you have been given?


I know it might seem so cliche but to always believe in your self because if you don’t believe in your vision how do expect other people to, it all starts from you! 

Name a few of your favourite acts right now.. 

Brooke Law has an amazing energy when she’s on stage her presence comes across as fearless, one of my biggest loves about her is her tone its truly unique! Another artist I would say is Lemzi the reason why is because I love how he portrays himself on the stage he shows a lot of character and personality, I remember when I first seen him perform it felt like I already personally knew him.


How did you find writing your London song for this competition?

The band and I came up with a few ideas but I weren’t personally happy with them I felt the song had to be heard with a strong message with a powerful instrumentation behind it. Finding a structure for the song I could possibly say was our biggest struggle lol as there were a lot of disagreements due to how many verses and choruses we should of had but after resolving that the process of the song became much smoother, the lyrics didn’t come to me straight away as I wanted to talk on a subject that’s wasn’t popularly spoken a lot in London. Once that was all done, we applied performance and character to the song which married soo well together. It was a challenging experience but worth it as I felt that every person in the band was taken out of there comfort zone.

What should we expect from your set on 1st May?

Lets just say its a performance where your eyes can feast just as much as your ears!