Up-and-coming grime artist Fusion has taken his experiences of growing up in Newham and put them into song.

Newham Recorder: Up and coming Grime Artist Quincy Oyenuga outside the Queensland House flats where he grew upUp and coming Grime Artist Quincy Oyenuga outside the Queensland House flats where he grew up (Image: Archant)

Born and bred in North Woolwich, Quincy Oyenuga (a.k.a Fusion) used to spit rhymes outside his home in Queensland House.

Now he’s written track Newham that has made it on to popular grime compilation album Lord of the Mics. And, while not exactly a love letter to the borough that bore him, the 20-year-old praises his east London roots for making him who he is today.

“I feel like if I did not live in Newham and see some of the things I did, I would not be able to express myself and things the way I do today,” he says.

“The word Newham just means a lot to me.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxEuRl6iYHw

Raised in a tower block, Fusion grew up in an area that has already seen some of grime’s biggest names emerge – artists a young Fusion would watch on TV and hear on the radio.

He briefly moved to Essex with his family aged 13 but has since returned to the Plaistow and North Woolwich area.

“I had a glimpse of what the road is like and the struggle,” he says. “I have seen it all – shankings and shootings – so in a way I’m happy my mum moved me to Essex before I got properly involved.

“From a young age I was listening to what the streets were giving me because I was raised in the Newham tower blocks where I used to watch Wiley on top of the pops and used to hear Dizzee Rascal being blasted out everywhere.

“I used to watch all the clashes, watching people express themselves in a non-violent way, like clashes with Wiley and Kano, Devilman and Skepta battling it out.”

Fusion’s childhood was filled with looking up to influential, big name artists like Dizzee Rascal and Skepta.

“They’re two artists I look up to not because of who they were but the way they carry themselves,” he says.

“They’re both African men with a Nigerian heritage and for me it’s refreshing to see people that are coming from nothing to something – I’m happy I had people like that to look up.”

After its initial release in November, Newham was given new life as a remix featuring Plaistow-born MOBO award nominee Ghetts and Stratford’s MIC Ty.

“I’ve got about in Plaistow since I was a teenager and always see Ghetts walking about,” explains Fusion. “We had a conversation about Newham and it just came about naturally from there.”

Lord of The Mics VII, featuring Fusion is available to purchase now.