Acclaimed rapper Berna has been one of the most resilient and rousing names in the UK scene for the past five or so years, never succumbing to the trend-centric peaks and troughs, instead staying focused on his own pathway. The journey has seen the Cape Town-born, East London-raised MC moving to Essex to escape the rat race and the rigamarole of the streets he grew up amidst.
It’s a story he has now documented with visceral coherence on his standout new mixtape, “East2Essex”, a nine-pronged deep dive into Berna’s past, present and future. Boasting feature from rising star Glizz and Peckham general Tiny Boost, it’s an exciting and engrossing body of work that further raises Berna’s renowned reputation within UK rap ever higher. Berna gave us an exclusive insight in the mixtape, taking us through its making and meaning, track-by-track…
Listen to “East2Essex”…
Read Berna’s thoughts….
“E.A.S.T”
The intro and sets the tone for the mixtape, setting the scene and depicting what East London looks like through my eyes. The environment and the people you meet in east.. Setting the scene and creating that world. People are stepping into the world of east London in track 1… Its gritty and everyone is out for themselves.. You cant trust anyone.
“MOOD”
The track is coming off the back of East and is an in-depth description of what East London was and is to me, how I grew up and the different feuds and politics that were in my area. It’s more of a description of East London and the production in contrast is a complete vibe, which is masking that grittiness and that hood feel.
“Forty”
“Forty” again addresses how growing up in East London effected me. I talk about losing my brother and how that affected me, my state of mind and my surroundings. My brain definitely plummeted into a dark place—lots of negativity and bad things occurred after and during those events.
“Straight Outta Newham“
This was a very big single for me.. It focused on my borough and the video was shot in my area and areas of significance in my upbringing. Similar to the intro (East) it describes Newham and that scene.. what it means to me. Touches upon losing my brother and talks about spirituality and how that helped me. “Straight Outta Newham” uses the sample from Roy Ayers’ “Everybody Loves The Sunshine” to illustrate how Newham is, and the reference/influence for the video was the film Straight Outta Compton but I tried to make it my own. Its a very special song/video to me, it’s symbolic as I am becoming more reflective on the events of East London and that period of my life.
“Rap Saved Me”
As we progress down the mixtape and move past “Straight Outta Newham”… “Rap Saved Me” is me concluding the East London chapter and coming to the realisation that my life has changed. Since I started putting my time and effort into music, my life has taken a turn for the better, out of the darkness and into the light. I have established a powerful relationship with God, who without him I wouldn’t be where I am today and I wouldn’t be who I am today. This single is me thanking him for the blessings that he brought into my life and for removing me from the negative and dark surroundings and into the light of Essex.
“Different”
You can tell from the instrumental.. After “Rap Saved Me” which was sentimental. This was the first track of me moving from East London and into Essex Berna. The vibrant beat and uplifting vibe are much smoother and cool, notably less aggressive and dark. “Different” reflects on the paths and struggles we go through and the different lives we all lead, ultimately we are all searching for happiness and success. I wanted to say—however you are making a living and maintaining your lifestyle, whatever is sustainable for you. You just have to stick at it as ultimately we are all trying to reach the same goal… success.
“Know Me”
“Know Me” featuring my guy Tiny Boost. This track is an entire flex—this is rapper Berna now, this isn’t Berna who was struggling with loss, depression, sadness, and stress from East London. This is me as a fully fledged rapper, I am lit and nothing can stop me. You lot aren’t shit I am the shit.. Haha, I had to get Tiny Boost to compliment it. The back-and-forth flows and the energy is a familiar sound for Berna fans. I am moving into my rap bag moving into Essex. Conventional rap flow and tempo and introducing a similar sound with a new twist.
“Greece”
“Greece” is a side to Berna that fans haven’t seen. A side that Essex has bought out of me, its more sensitive, sentimental and loving side to me. I wrote the song whilst on holiday in Greece with my Mrs. It’s a side of me that I couldn’t show in East London but now life is better and I can share these feelings and emotions to my fans. Who knows I might make more tracks like this in the future..
“Silly Billy”
This is our outro. A reflection of my entire journey and everything to this point… reflecting on everything I have seen, done and been involved with throughout my life. It’s a conclusion of it all. Smooth beat and flow which allows me to talk my truth. I was in the darkness I was sad, upset, depressed, and suffering but now I am happy and full of life. I appreciate that life could be a lot worse, life is good and we are now in Essex. This is me!