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‘Theresa May made the whole country rally against migrants’: UK rapper Berwyn on poverty, perseverance and hostile politics

He moved from Trinidad to Romford and was almost lost in the drug trade. Now Mercury-nominated and on a major label, the musician explains the trauma of those years – and his anger at being demonised by the Tories

From there, everything began to change: Demotape/Vega went on to be nominated for the Mercury prize, and Berwyn’s debut album proper, Who Am I – a gorgeous collection of ruminative R&B and rap – is being released by a major label next week. Born Berwyn Du Bois in Diego Martin, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago’s capital, the musician grew up hearing steel pan and soca music from the local Creole population, while its Indo-Caribbean communities played chutney and bhangra. Berwyn says that he struggles to remember the period between college and the creation of his mixtape: “It’s a fucking blur now; I’m chopping it up with my therapist to try to get a timeline of events.” He came close to canning his creative aspirations in order to work as a labourer – he’s had stints as a carpenter and electrician.

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