Rory Graham, better known as Rag'n'Bone Man, has 'soul' tattooed on his right hand and 'funk' on his left. That's the best way to describe the powerful and energetic voice of Rag'n'Bone Man. He's a big-bearded guy with a shaved head and looks intimidating, but when he opens his mouth you can't help but melt into the song.
The singer-songwriter grew up in a musical family in East Sussex. He says his parents didn't have a TV but both played guitar and could sing. His dad loved to listen to John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters, while his mum enjoyed Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan.
While the 32-year-old appreciated that style of music, he developed his own taste for metal, hip-hop and jungle. His music career started in Brighton where he began performing at Slip-jam B with friends. But it was when his dad took him to a local pub at the age of 19 where he first realized he could sing. Before he started playing some blues songs, he told FaceCulture he had to have some whisky for, "confidence to perform just like one time, and this one time was enough."
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He released the EP Blues Town by himself in 2012 with eight tracks, which ranged from acapella, hip-hop, upbeat jazz and acoustic soul. It was a really wide-ranging collection of genres but successfully bridged the gap between hip-hop and blues. Following that EP he released three others, Dog 'n' Bone, Put That Soul On Me, and Disfigured.
Image from Put That Soul In Me Video Credit: Rag'n'Bone Man
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In 2014, Wolves was released, which featured artists Vince Staples (who recently featured on a Flume track), rapper Stig of the Dump and Kate Tempest. The opening track, Reuben's Train, opens like Harlem church doors on a Sunday with a roaring and howling Rag'n'Bone Man with gorgeous backing vocals. Lay Me Down is a gorgeous soulful addition, which showcases his broad range. Tracks such as Wolves and No Mother are also reminiscent of the old-school blues from New Orleans.
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Last year he dropped the single Human, which ended up being the title track of his album, which was released this month. The single was compared to Hozier's Take Me To Church by The Daily Telegraph because of its, "instant impact, honest lyrics and throwback to 'real' music in a time of corporate pop."
Human boasts a whopping 19 tracks, but some are from his previous albums and EPs. My favourite by far is Die Easy, which was borrowed from Blues Town, a soulful acapella that's been remastered to just have Rory's incredible voice crescendo with power and intensity. Other worthy mentions include Arrow, Skins, Bitter End and Grace. In several tracks he tries his hand at rapping, while perfectly mixing the style into his bluesy vibe.
Credit: PA
The album sold 117,000 copes in the first week, shooting straight to number one, causing Rag'n'Bone Man to become the biggest selling male debut of the decade. In a video with officialcharts.com he sent a message to his fans saying, ""A massive thank you for going out and buying my album, streaming it and making it such a success so quickly, it means the world to me."
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Last night he cemented his spot in the music industry by taking out the British Breakthrough Act at the Brit Awards, beating Anne-Marie, Blossoms, Skepta and Stormzy. He also won the gong for Critics Choice award, which has been won in the past by Adele, Florence and the Machine and Sam Smith.
He didn't hide his surprise when he accepted the award: "This is actually bonkers, I don't know, if you told my 15-year-old self I would be standing here with a Brit Award I would have told them to shut up.
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"I want to say thank you to all my supporters and everybody who has put their time and faith in me over the years. Cause I'm 10 years deep in this now so yeah thank you so much."
He's now embarking on a tour across Europe, which has pretty much sold out completely. Performing live wasn't something that came naturally to him. Telling FaceCulture, "I was very scared of looking at people in the eye." But his confidence grew after one particular show.
"I was performing somewhere, it was one of the first times a girl was singing my lyrics back to me. It was a really personal song and I turned around and I saw her and she was crying and I was like 'this is a beautiful moment.' So I wanna look at people and I want to see their reaction."
Featured Image Credit: BBC