Western Sydney rapper KAHUKX named his second EP SYD TO LDN not only to highlight his goal of connecting the hip-hop scenes in Sydney and London, but also because he traveled to the UK capital twice to work on the project. Remarkably, each time he set foot on the plane he didn’t have a single session or collaboration booked. “We were blessed that everything went right,” the rapper born Jack Kahui tells Apple Music. “We were meeting up with all these artists, bringing them into the studio, then coming up with everything on the spot. Pick the beat, make our verses, and get an end product.” Those artists include some of the UK’s leading underground rappers, such as Fizzler, BackRoad Gee, LeoStayTrill, Kirky, Private Zero, Kayem2x, and Rv. “I was listening to a lot of these artists well before I started doing music,” says KAHUKX. “So to go there and meet all of them is a full-circle moment.” It also encouraged him to mix up his sound, taking his drill roots (“CARRY ON”) and embellishing them with trap (“DARKEST DAYS”), upbeat vibey anthems (“HOOD BE HOT”), and melancholy, introspective moments (“HOW?”). “When I was going into these studio sessions I thought [the artists] had only done rap, but they were doing a bit of singing as well, so it made me have to be more versatile,” he offers. Here, KAHUKX takes Apple Music through SYD TO LDN, track by track. “CARRY ON” (with Fizzler) “That track sets the tone for the EP. It’s hard hitting. I was embracing the original UK drill culture, paying homage to it, while switching it up as well. It’s with one of the most talented artists in the UK, Fizzler. [It’s about] enjoying the fruits of our labor and reminiscing on how life is better compared to back then. Since I started music [life’s] been looking up. Blessings have been coming my way and I’m planning on keeping it that way.” “CARIBBEAN” (with BackRoad Gee) “This song is straight vibes. I let BackRoad lead with the vibe ’cause I wanted him to do his strongest stuff. Then I came on and tried to match his vibe and energy. It was pretty random [how it came together]. We had a videographer who got to the studio early and he said BackRoad Gee was there. We asked him to try and stall him for a bit so we can meet him. We met him and within five minutes we were in the studio. It was all spontaneous.” “FRANCE” (with LeoStayTrill) “This one is just straight vibe: We can go to France! Before we couldn’t do that, now we can. It’s reflecting on the blessings we’ve got. That one’s not too meaningful with the lyrics. Just trying to set a good vibe.” “DARKEST DAYS” (with Kirky) “Probably my favorite track off the EP. That was a trap beat, which I’m not used to, but I knew Kirky liked trap beats so I practiced in the car before I pulled up to the studio, trying different flows. I knew that if I went in there blind I would struggle. The sample is very powerful—where were you in my darkest days? It’s reminiscing about how it’s crazy we’re in the positions we are now compared to where we were.” “TOO MANY TIMES” (with Rv) “[It’s about] being let down by people. This is kind of a ‘fuck you’ to everyone back in the day that switched up. The way Rv comes in is hard.” “HOOD BE HOT” (with Private Zero, Kayem2x) “This song is just energy. I remember being in the studio, and [Private Zero and Kayem2x] smoke a lot, but I don’t smoke too much. So I had the high energy, they had the chill, cheeky energy, and it all came together. The trumpets give it a good pump. It’s just another feel-good song.” “HOW?” (with Fizzler) “This is a more mellow vibe with Fizzler. I had the opening verse and I showed him, and then he started rapping a verse to me. He was just made for this song. He smashed it. [Lyrically] this one’s a bit deeper and on the emotional side—you still have love for previous partners but they don’t trust you, and once their trust is broken it’s very hard to come back from that. It’s telling the audience not to hold on to something that’s already dead. Learning to let go.” “SYD TO LDN” (with KBANDIT, Fizzler) “Everyone brought the energy to that one. This is paying homage to the community that brought me here, the drill community. So we had to bring it back with that, to show that Australians can do it too.”