‘You can take the kid out the ends, but you can’t take the ends out the kid’: a look into Kano’s affinity for Newham and the meaning of home.
It is not clear who coined the phrase ‘home is where the heart is'. However, it is an immemorial proverb that has been uttered by many people, including myself. A proverb about belonging, familiarity and warmth provided by what we call our homes. So, what is home? Honestly, it is more than any word used to describe it. Home can be found in memories, in places or even in people. The meaning home carries is beyond the buildings we live in, buildings made of bricks and mortar. Home is where the heart is. But, for Kano, it is evident that home is where the art is.
Kano has always been a huge artist; it is safe to say he was grime’s star-boy during its emergence. Grime is a sub-genre of rap that incorporates jungle, garage, reggae and hip-hop. It is a division of music that is unlike anything else with its hyper-speed, boisterous lyrics, and immense energy. Born in estates around east London, it is a sound that Kane Robinson, musically known as Kano has managed to dominate for many years. Beyond grime, it is well-known that Kano is arguably the best rapper to come out of the U.K. you can even ask Jay Z if you need further clarification. From pirate radio days with the rest of N.A.S.T.Y. Crew in the early 2000s to a present-day Kano with a more structured musicality. He has produced some of the best critically acclaimed albums in U.K. history and has plenty of notable achievements. I often think about Kano and the legacy he has built for himself. Where has that legacy come from? The answer is Newham and has always been Newham.
Sometimes you can tell where someone is from as soon as they begin speaking, but Kano’s musical tone is a wonderful adventure, an adventure that boasts a cockney accent intertwined with patois and Multicultural London English (MLE). Even if you could not tell that he is an east ender, I am sure his discography will point it out for you.
It was only recently that I realised the message of home is consistently weaved throughout his music. Almost every song he has links back to the environment he found himself in. Thoughtful sentiments of the ‘ends’ and what it means to be an east ender has been sustained from ‘Home Sweet Home’ to ‘Hoodies All Summer’.
Kano’s debut project ’Home Sweet Home’ was an impactful introduction to Kano as a fully established artist beyond the collective he once belonged to. He wanted to affirm who he was and where he came from. First-time listeners can refer to ’Home Sweet Home’ as ground-breaking and honest, an album that is listened to regularly, allowing people to reflect on the golden age of grime and an era that Kano had worked on pioneering.
Kano's most recent body of work ‘Hoodies All Summer’ shows growth in his character and integrity. A sense of pridefulness emanates from this album as he depicts life in and around Newham, Kano’s authenticity shines beyond his music.
The YouTube series and GoFundMe fundraiser he produced centring Newham and those affected by COVID-19 shows how much his area means to him. Songs like ‘Free Years Later’ and ‘Can’t Hold We Down’ stand out as they are songs that feel like battle cries. The title ‘Hoodies All Summer’ refers to protection and resilience in scorching weather. There is a poetic strength in Kano’s catalogue that makes you feel like he is directly rapping to you. It is potent and painfully honest music.
Newham is not the best area to grow up in, a borough struggling with acute levels of poverty, crime, and suffering. Yet Kano has cultivated a discography containing songs of rebellion, hope and solidarity. I think he subtly and sometimes not so subtly aims to convey the meaning behind familiarity and all the ideas associated with it, translating what it means to be from Newham. I also think that even if you are not from Newham, you can appreciate an artist who always remembers the place he found himself.
We can all learn from our environments and attempt to make the best out of unfortunate situations, Newham is not the only place that harbours pain. But like many areas that are plagued with suffering, the strongest and most talented people exist and that stands for something.
Music was a medium that Kano used for self-expression and exploring his identity in the environment he came from. I also think that can apply to all of us and how we interact with our homes, bonds, and everything familiar to us. There is a lot to the areas we have grown up in and Kano has always managed to reinforce the importance of home and belonging. He is one of the most introspective and self-aware rappers of our time and someone I will never hesitate to write about with the utmost respect.