When Potter Payper was in prison, he watched from the sidelines as the other inmates would freestyle rap. “I’m just there in the corner like, ‘I think I can do that but I’m not sure,’” recalls the Barking-bred rapper, born Jamel Bousbaa to an Irish mother and Algerian father. “I was doing all of this memenemenem sh**,” he puts an air-microphone to his mouth, mimicking the fast adlibs of garage MCs popular in the early Noughties. “But that’s for guys that don’t have anything to say.”
Bousbaa, it quickly transpires, is a guy with plenty to say. After spending his teens in young offenders centres, Bousbaa served half of a four-year sentence in what he calls the “big man prison” for running a county lines drug smuggling operation. Upon his release in 2020, he wrote a handwritten letter to his fans, apologising for letting them down. Months later, he dropped his mixtape Training Day 3. His music, at the time, was a gritty exploration of old struggles contrasted with newfound riches. He became known for his impressive freestyles and witty lyricism. Within a year, he was signed to the UK division of Def Jam Recordings; his music had appeared in hit Netflix series Top Boy, and his track “Gangsteritus” cracked the UK top 40. He has since collaborated with Ed Sheeran, Maverick Sabre, and Nines. Now, he’s set to release his debut album Real Back In Style.
