Notorious UK hip-hop grime duo Stööki Sound is pretty much omnipresent at this point. They’ve been dropping hit after hit ever since their breakout banger “Ball So Hard” including a recent remix of Grandtheft’s “Summer in the Winter,” and the pair have played more raucous IHC shows than we can count on our beautifully shaped fingers. Their huge tour with Keys N Krates was a major turning point for them, and the myriad collaborations they’ve taken on (Troyboi, KRNE, Marky D and more) did nothing but add to the hype. And all the while, they’ve been keeping up with the design arm of the Stooki brand. Subscribing to the “art-is-music-and-vice-versa” ethos, they create one-off t-shirts and jewelry for their more sartorial fans. Long story short, they’re everywhere, doing everything, and the word count of this article is simply insufficient to describe it all.
But although they’re increasingly subjects of the public eye, and their rising fame qualifies them ever more as property of the people, there are still things that no one, not even their own moms and stepdads know about them … things we’ve convinced them to tell us here.
Here are five things no one else knows about Luke and Jamal … except you, us and the internet.
Luke
1. My dad was in a British reggae band and he performed on Top of the Pops. The family band was called Storm and their hit “It’s My House” reached No.1 in the reggae charts. He’s the legend in the cream suit playing guitar … look:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2_CLFAk2fE
2. I have a ramen addiction. I have to have at least one Asian soup a week. Ramen is king, but sometimes I’ll settle for won-ton or pho. Shoryu and Bone Daddies are my favorite spots in London. Shouts out to Shin Sen Gumi ramen in L.A. too.
3. I’m also a graphic designer. I design the Stooki Sound artwork and have a t-shirt commission on sale at the Tate Galleries in London at the moment.
4. I’m Grade 3 Clarinet. I became a Grade 3 badman at school before Timbaland and The Neptunes got my attention and I decided I had more of a passion for making hip-hop beats.
5. The 3 Ninjas were my childhood idols. Growing up I pretty much wanted to become a Ninja. They were three brothers who were trained by their Japanese grandfather in the art of Ninjutsu and would defeat evil organizations with 101 henchmen whilst wearing baseball caps backwards. The story line was pretty much the same through movies 1 to 3. What’s not to like?
Jamal
1. I play games … a lot *DJ Khaled voice.* I’ve always been a gamer from the time I was a young boy because of my cousin. I’ve owned almost every console since the PS1 (excluding handhelds). My favorite game of all time is probably Fallout 3, but I also play FIFA way too much.
2. I’m always on my phone. I get told off all the time for this. But most of the time I’m taking care of business. What can I say, I’m a millennial.
3. Mean Girls is one of my favorite movies. You can’t sit with us, blud.
4. I’m a chocoholic. I LOVE milk chocolate, but I have a stomach problem that doesn’t allow me to indulge anymore. Prior to me having that, I had to have at least one chocolate bar a day otherwise I’d start getting agitated easily.
5. I watch Training Day at least five times a year, and listen to 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’ at least 10 times a year. I have a weird habit where I love routines, and this flows over into my favorite things in life. However, it probably stretches too far with this one, lol.
Well, now that you know these things … they can’t be unknown.
Stööki Sound is playing our upcoming SXSW Showcase alongside The Range, Miya Folick, HO99O9 and many more amazing artists. Come and see them March 17th at 800 Congress; they put on an insane-e-e live show (peep photos from our past shows with them here), so we promise it’ll titillate the living heck out of your little bod.
