Katus Myles Switches RnB for Gritty Road-Rap on Recent Single CNF

 

'CNF' - Katus Myles. Artwork by @vicmoy_ & @sixela.xo

Birmingham prodigy Katus Myles may be known for his slick, infectiously harmonious RnB songwriting, but recent single CNF perfectly exhibits his ability to shift from romantic slow-jams to gritty rap with lo-fi hooks and even grittier lyricism.

 

Coming straight off of the release of his 2022 EP The Inbetween, Katus’s newfound style sees him temporarily laying his avant-soul, hip-hop oriented pop stylistics to the side, instead opting for a sound that gives room for refined wordplay and harsher vocal inflections. CNF is Myles’s exploration into grimy road-rap, tinged with a signature soulful presence that seamlessly creeps its way into the chorus with a memorable vocal hook. Myles in fact manages to weave melody into the fabric of all of his songwriting, even on a track as diverse as CNF - combined with an effortlessly raw-sounding looped brass sample, the track takes on its own distinctive voice entirely.

 

The lyrical content of CNF is dotted with quick-witted lines and entendres that demonstrates Katus’s capacity to not just rap and write bars, but verbally represent this shift of genre – “must think ‘cause I make a love song I’m Romeo”. Myles’s reputation as a contemporary-soul Casanova is quickly dissolved through his recent effort. His storytelling details his come-up as a musician within the harsh confines of his concrete surroundings and the darker aspects of urban life. The film-noir inspired theme of the official CNF video goes perfectly alongside the grimy realism of his lyrical content, with clips of Myles driving through a black-skied Birmingham and the underground goings-on of the city detailed through a grainy lens sparking memories of classic nineties subculture movies like KIDS and La Haine. One particular shot at the beginning of the CNF seems to take inspiration from the classic mirror-scene of the previously mentioned French film, famous for its difficulty to capture.

 

The following interview was conducted in April of this year – Katus has since been busy with a steady stream of singles and collaborative works, CNF followed by the soul-soothing THERE4U, which sees the Birmingham native return to his RnB roots in the form of silky production and rich, heartfelt backing vox. Recent partnership with B4thursday saw the two release the addictive Blame It On The Drugs, which reveals his ability to delve into lo-fi indie-come-bedroom pop territory, reminiscent of the likes of Bakar and Steve Lacy due to its uncut, stripped back production quality and MIDI-sounding guitar and drum takes. Myles’s verse on this track is contagiously memorable with its simplistic melody and lyrics of summertime nostalgia. Latest tune WE$TSIDE VIBE switches up Katus’s ever-changing musical style, ringing bells of Brent Faiyaz and PARTYNEXTDOOR.

Continue reading to uncover the creative process of CNF, inspiration behind the visuals, Myles’s musical influences and more…

 

 

(DH) CNF has been out in the world for roughly two months now. How has the response been?

(KM) “You know what, the reception has been amazing, really organic. I feel like people really connected not just with the track but visuals also which is all I could ask for.”

What was the writing and recording process like while making CNF?

 “Different, aha, that track’s almost three tears old. It started as almost a freestyle with my first verse - that’s why there’s no real hook. I sent in a few of my artist’s friends who put a verse on and it just sat for months if I’m honest. In the end I sat with Sillkey who co-produced this. He went crazy on the second half of the track, this is about a year later I should probably mention. And I thought I gotta match the energy, try and do something timeless. We kept the hook that Kea laid down and the rest was history.”

What themes did you intend to convey lyrically with this tune?

“I really just wanted to push forward that underdog mentality, it’s how I feel a lot of the time. That along with just showing people I can bar, like yeah I make RnB but I can really rap rap.”

The visual aspect is clearly part and parcel of your artistic prowess, when and where was the video for CNF recorded?

“First and foremost, shout out to Benji. Seriously, that guy’s amazing. So much went on with the video shoot and the release with the song that I was basically over it and contemplating not releasing it at all. This guy almost forced me to finish it but we shot that in Birmingham, London and Bristol – three different cities. We originally shot that in September and re-shot everything again in January. I think it was worth it though.”

The ’La Haine’ inspired snippet of The CNF video is particularly impressive. Did you take direct influence from the film for this shot? How did you go about filming such a complex shot?

“Yeahhh definitely, Benji (@photosbybenji) and myself spoke about recreating shots from that film for a while. The mirror shot was both our favourite but originally we thought it might have been a little too complicated to shoot. Benji called me one day, like “I’ve figured it out… we’re doing that shot.”. We called on a friend – Rhys who basically made us a set, the fake bathroom you see in the video, which he put together and painted the night before. We got a stunt double – Josh, who acted as me – that’s who’s head you see from the back. We were all geeking from the moment we started shooting. I think we could tell that we were doing something monumental. But yeah shout out to Benji again, he put that all together and figured it out for real.

Shot from 'CNF' official video

Original 'mirror scene' shot from La Haine (1995)

Why was the decision made to include a beat change going into another song on the latter half of the CNF music video?

“That’s a whole other song (‘THERE4U’)! I just wanted to so a sneak peak to show people two sides of me, and get them excited for what’s to come.”

Your style encompasses an array of influences. Which artists, musicians, producers etc. do you cite as an inspiration to your own music?

“A lot, I can’t lie – Frank Ocean, Drake, J Cole, Kendrick Lamar, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Cleo Sol, Dpat and Silkey just to name a few.”

Any new musical releases, in or outside of your native Birmingham, that you rate at the moment?

“Let me go further an give you some Birmingham artists/friends that I think people should know about – KARIE, Landel, Ella Moore, Ninteen97, Kayfaraway, Hunter Bavaro, Kea, Lahlia Cole, JaydenClover and Neisha just to name a few, ‘cause trust me there’s more!”

Does CNF reveal the beginning of a new project?

“Haha, no comment!”

Finally, when can fans catch you live?

“June! I’ve got something special planned.”

 

 

Listen to CNF and the respectively released THERE4U, Blame It On The Drugs and WE$TSIDE VIBE on all major music platforms now.