Interviews

Tottenham rapper becomes debut author

Olivia Opara meets multitalented Tottenham grime artist Shocka – who is about to become an author too

Broadwater Farm inset Shocka / Credit: Shocka

A Tottenham rapper has made his publishing debut with a book about his reconciliation with past trauma.

Shocka (aka Kenneth Erhahon), who hails from Broadwater Farm, started penning his autobiography A Section of Your Life in 2010 as a “therapeutic way to heal” past pain.

“There were certain memories that I realised that I just skimmed across,” he says. “They were difficult memories, traumatising things that happened but it was good to go back through those memories and gain closure in some way.”

Blending different forms, the book includes a series of poems written by Shocka during his time in hospital when he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act last spring – he had relapsed following the death of his mother. He self-describes the book as a “jeom” –
a journal with poems – interwoven with questions to help the reader explore and examine their own mental health, with space to journal one’s answers.

The message that Shocka hopes to get across is that everyone has sections of their lives that are not their whole story, and are not representative of their identities.

“The book talks about a section of my life that I had to deal with which was not favourable to me – when I was sectioned four times,” says Shocka.

The book will be released alongside an exhibition capturing this period of Shocka’s life, featuring visual art and extracts from his book. As a mental health advocate, Shocka has shared his experience of having been sectioned four times and diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, giving a TED Talk and guest speaking on numerous talk shows. Another key influence was his time in grime collective Marvell, alongside Double S and Vertex, who grew up in Northumberland Park. The book follows his life as an emerging artist touring with Tinie Tempah, Chip, Skepta and Diversity to becoming a solo artist – he has released six EPs to date.

Shocka insists: “It is important that I wrote this book because if someone had given me this book today, that would have helped so much because the main problem that I think that I face with mental health is feeling like we are in it by ourselves.

“But what is good about this social media era is that it is bringing us all together and allowing us to share our stories.”

Alongside his book, Shocka is preparing for the release of his debut studio album in which he explores the theme of vulnerability. He also has a short documentary, Me, My Music and Mental Health, which will be screening soon.

“My vulnerability was turned against me and all those perceptions that came with it,” says Shocka. “I want to show that vulnerability is the new cool and that is what helped me.”


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