Hey everyone, I’ve not done any interviews since the very start of the year and as I get back into the flow of things, what better way to kickstart the end of my hiatus with my very first interview with an A&R and stylist.
Hope you enjoy reading as much as I did writing.
MEGAN: “WHO IS LENNOX FORSTER?”
Lennox: “Yoo, im Lennox. I’m an artist manager, A&R and stylist from East London.
Originally I’m from Tower Hamlets but have grown up in Newham from a very young age so it’s pretty much all I know. With my family it’s a bit of a mix, my dad is Sierra Leonean and my mum is Jamaican and Guyanese which always surprises people. I’m very proud of where I’m from so I’m always trying to represent for my people.”
MEGAN: “CAN YOU TELL US HOW YOU GOT STARTED IN THE CREATIVE INDUSTRY? WHAT CAME FIRST – FASHION OR MUSIC?”
Lennox: “The last couple years has been a bit mad for me because none of this was in the plan. I went to a Lancey concert late 2021 after coming back from Portugal, where I was playing football, and I was just mad inspired. I believe that was even the show where we found out Lancey styled Kanye and Kim Kardashian so the whole wanting to get into styling thing kinda started from there for me especially seeing someone who’s also from Newham doing that.
I also even met my brother Joe Frais randomly at that show and he was showing me his brand @chroma.tone and we connected from there but it was really 2022 when I got more into fashion.
My boy Antony (@studiocadogan) played a big part in that for me he was the first to believe I could work in fashion and we’d link up, go shopping or fashion week. All of 2022 and 2023 I was dropping fit pics on the gram which was getting a lot of attention and then Novemeber 2023 is when I started styling forreal and running up shoots with my brothers @priv8.ab @jimmysjpeg @ajay_q and @timpson.1 and now we’re here today.
I only started working in music last year February, we had formed a record label SC-I.CO (@sc_ico) a few months prior. It must have been my first time in the studio and I was chopping it up with New World Ray and after speaking with him he believed I have a good ear for music and would be a good A&R. Shortly after that I was finding upcoming artists and just tapping in with them and trying to help them anyway I could. I remember finding Goosey early last year when he was teasing “Know Dat” and Mukki when he was teasing “Get It Down” and thinking yeah I’m really good at finding talent. Fast forward to last summer I found Quancarlos, brought him to our studio and a few months after mentoring him I wanted to manage him which also led to me being the artist manager at SC-I.CO too. I also ended up connecting Ray Matix and New World Ray together after bringing Matix to our studio in the summer. Now they have a collab tape ‘X-RAYTED’ dropping this summer and Matix is our newest SC-I.CO artist.
On top of that also we have a first London headline show for New World Ray this July with Ray Matix and Quancarlos supporting.”
MEGAN: “GROWING UP, WERE THERE ANY SPECIFIC CULTURAL OR ARTISTIC INFLUENCES THAT SHAPED YOUR TASTE AND VISION?”
Lennox: “Growing up in London, there’s a lot of influences for me in the field I’m in now. A big influence for me is Jamal Edwards, the way he changed UK music and had such a massive impact on our scene is exactly what I want to do for the current and next generation of artists.
Also back in the day there was that cypher which had Tinchy Stryder, Giggs, Example, Devlin, Tinie & Chip which kinda inspired me to put together the SC-I.CO cypher with New World Ray, Quancarlos, Goosey, Mukki, Ishe Soniq and Camsoulja prod. by JayF and Nxah which is dropping real soon. I’m also putting together another cypher with UK Rap Daily this year with a crazy lineup of artists and producers which we can’t wait to reveal. Recently I’ve also been thinking about working on another project for next year which is focusing on a completely different genre of music that I definitely want to have an impact on in the UK too.”
MEGAN: “WHAT’S YOUR APPROACH WHEN IT COMES TO STYLING AN ARTIST? HOW DO YOU ALIGN FASHION WITH THEIR IDENTITY AND SOUND?”
Lennox: “Usually I’ll also tell them to send me a moodboard or tell me what type of vibe they’re after but I also tend to go through their music myself and do my own research to get some ideas. When I locked in with Cadell what people don’t know is that his previous album “SORRY” had a purple theme so the purple jacket and chain I styled him in was done intentionally to show he’s moving on from that era and onto the “Watch and Learn 3” era, with the next fit being all black to match the theme of the next like a transitional phase. It’s little things like that that makes styling artists more interesting for me.”
MEGAN: “AS AN A&R, WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN EMERGING TALENT? HOW DO YOU HELP ARTISTS REFINE NOT JUST THEIR MUSIC, BUT THEIR VISUAL AND CULTURAL PRESENCE?”
Lennox: “I look for originality first and foremost and something that’s just different in everything really. There’s a lot of rappers about so naturally it’s harder to stand out. You gotta remember I come across a lot of artists everyday. When I first found Quancarlos I literally heard a 10 second snippet scrolling on the gram and that short snippet grabbed my attention and made take a chance on him and he’s been proving me right ever since. As an artist you’re also a brand too so having your own swag is important, this is why I rate AR Jiggy and N4T. Jiggy got the whole sapei thing going on (ODLANRA cover styled by me) and N4T is out here with the Ghana Must Go bag it’s just something different and shows some character.”
MEGAN: “DO YOU FEEL THERE’S ENOUGH SPACE FOR AUTHENTIC BLACK BRITISH EXPRESSION IN MAINSTREAM CREATIVE INDUSTRIES?”
Lennox: “I dunno you know. I’d like to say yes but I’m not sure right now it’s such a small space at the moment there may not be room for all of us but I do see it changing in the near future once people adopt the culture a bit more. Who knows?”
MEGAN: “WHAT PIECE OF WORK ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF? WHAT’S A DREAM PROJECT OR COLLABORATION YOU HAVEN’T DONE YET BUT WOULD LOVE TO?”
Lennox: “There’s been a few I can’t lie. I had pretty much no knowledge of women’s clothes when I started styling female models and in my opinion it’s some of my best work so I could say that. Styling Efosa for the cover of his song with Darkoo I could say that too. The Quan fit for “STYLEAINTFREE” is up there too (big up @by26folly, @evlye__ and @0time4tears). Even working with brands. There’s been a few I’m really proud of but I’d say working with Lancey as it was a full circle moment for me and actually something I spoke into existence. Shoutout @dianahgwendu every time. If you know me you know my dream artist to work with is Drake he’s the goat.”
MEGAN: “LAST BUT NOT LEAST, ONE PIECE EVERY ARTIST NEEDS IN THEIR WARDROBE?”
Lennox: “Boring answer but everyone needs a plain white tee you know. Probs say some fly boots too nun too crazy.”
Here’s where to find and keep up with Lennox.
Thanks for reading,
Until next time,
megankamangawrites.
megan kamanga writes 
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