Kibo has spoken to NME about being a part of a viral cypher with Dave and Central Cee, as well as radio and grime culture.
Cyphers (also known as radio sets) are when multiple rappers come together and share a microphone, rapping over randomly selected beats. Before mainstream media aired the underground genre, pirate radio, handmade mixtapes and DIY videos were the only way fans could hear these rhymes. Radio sets turned some of UK rap’s biggest stars, like Skepta and Tinchy Stryder, into chart-topping acts.
Back in May, Dave and Central Cee participated in a surprise cypher alongside fellow London UK rap talent, including Niko B, Rushy, Kirbs, BXKS, and JayG. The video was viewed over 230,000 times in 11 days and came ahead of the duo’s debut collaborative project ‘Split Decision’, which followed later in June.
The cypher appeared on Victory Lap Radio, an audio-visual platform hosted on the Peckham-based radio station, Balamii. Victory Lap is known for promoting the UK underground rap scene and has affiliations with NME 100 alumni such as Sainté and Jim Legxacy.
One of the highlights of the cyphers on the platform comes from Kibo, Harrow’s genre-exploring rap talent known for his comedic chops. Originally establishing his career in GrimeReportTV videos, the self-described “Kwengletarian” found popularity with a ChuckleVision freestyle before becoming a Victory Lap mainstay and making cyphers his “bread and butter”.
In the cypher video, Dave co-signed the Londoner, telling viewers: “You see my man over here, he’s coming like the Victory Lap warrior. This is you man’s hero, innit? This is you man’s king, innit? I feel you because he’s actually moving superhuman today.”
Later in the video, he told Kibo he was “something different” and “working with serious powers.”
Kibo said it was “great craic” seeing Central Cee and Dave jump on a cypher with him. “They’re mashing it, doing crazy things on a global scale,” he told NME. “But, when you condense everything to a mic and decks, it’s a cool reminder that we’re all here for the same love of the sport.”
When asked what it was like when Dave called him “superhuman”, Kibo replied: “It was cool. Of course, I appreciate the props. He was murking it as well, so I was enjoying swinging [the] mic with him and everyone else in the room.”
He added: “I think Victory Lap is doing a beautiful thing, getting everyone together to just run tunes and have everyone touch [the] mic. It’s like a shoobs [a party], but the main thing [is that] it’s a good time.”
For Kibo, Victory Lap’s freeform nature is what makes it stand out from other platforms. “I do a lot of grime sets, which obviously is important,” he said. “The whole radio set culture is very important in grime, whereas, for a show like Victory Lap – where it’s a lot looser [being a] rap show – there are all sorts of different sounds and styles going on. I think that gives people the space to be more inventive and fun, and that’s why you get so many cool, unique moments in sets like that.”
Cyphers are opportunities for rappers to test and preview new sounds and lyrics. In their video from June 3, Central Cee and Dave performed the then-unreleased track ‘UK Rap’ from their joint EP. After seeing all the comments from the viral cypher, Kibo noticed that people were calling for more mainstream MCs to do cyphers – something he agreed should happen more. “For the listeners as well as the artists themselves, a good set is a great source of inspiration,” he said.
“A DJ could be blending two songs together, and an MC grabs a mic and spits a new flow over it, and all of a sudden, you’ve just made a new sub-genre on the spot. There are real sparks of magic that happen. It’s still a breeding ground for new styles, new flavours.”
He continued: “People want to get in there and they want to shine the hardest. For the audience, they want to see who’s sick, who really has the tekkers. Blade sharpens blade, you know, it’s good for everyone.”
Kibo explained that he participates in cyphers “genuinely […] for fun”. “People love to see [cyphers] and it makes for great content, but I’m just doing it for the craic,” he said. “It’s fun as hell. It’s high-level craic. I’m there to just bust up with my mates and have a good time. That’s my joy and that will always give me joy.
“A lot of the older sets back in the day, there was that edge, that energy, that aggression of everyone’s trying to be the best, which in of itself was a beautiful thing, and it made for some beautiful music and pushed the music in a beautiful direction. It’s just a different thing.”
Radio sets reminiscent of ‘00s grime culture are seeing a resurgence in the underground scene. When asked why radio is still pivotal for upcoming stars, Kibo said he believed that “radio is primarily in the hands of people who understand what’s going on as opposed to industry heads” and rappers “bouncing off” one another makes the experience an “organic thing” you can’t find outside of a cypher.
That’s why he started his own radio show, EFFUM FM, on online music channel Pound and Yam: “It’s a bi-monthly hang out for all my Kwengletarians worldwide where we play tunes, bust jokes and share cool shit, and we’ll typically we’ll end on a set.”
Kibo released his debut mixtape ‘FBFR: FUEGO BABY FURTARDO RETURNZ! (SORRY 4 DA LONGNESS)’ this February, which boasted features from Kwes e, YT and Ryoko Virgil. Meanwhile, he debuted his audio-visual radio show on Pound And Yam, EFFUM FM, in March.
Elsewhere, Dave and Central Cee’s ‘Sprinter’ recently became the most streamed song in a single day of the year so far.
Dave also joined Burna Boy on stage at his record-breaking London Stadium gig to perform ‘Location’. At this year’s Glastonbury, Central Cee brought out Dave to perform their record-breaking Number One single, ‘Sprinter’, which was the track’s live debut.