Beku – ‘I See You Lurking’: Review and Interview

There’s a casual little lyric on Scared To Sleep, the heartfelt last track on Beku’s debut EP, that reveals a lot.

“Still gotta go to Wigan for a TT scan on Friday, though.
Can’t be arsed.”

It’s a flippant line, seemingly innocuous when delivered in Beku’s relaxed, languid style, but it transports you to a very specific moment in his life, into a very intimate, personal space.

As you delve deeper into Beku’s lyrics, you quickly learn of the extreme health issues he has been dealing with these past few years – he was diagnosed with sarcoma, a rare and aggressive soft tissue cancer, in 2022 – and you can’t help but feel gratitude for being allowed in.

He has many cut-through moments across the EP’s four tracks; glimpses of his everyday life that run deep yet sparkle with charisma:

“I’d love to go on Pointless with my mum and try and win the Pointless trophy. I just hope those bright studio lights aren’t my tipping point.”

“You ever smoke a blunt and just listen to Charlotte Church? Pretty relaxing, actually.”

“People count sheep and I used to envisage Championship Manager tactics. Now the emails from solicitors about my will rattle through my brain…”

In the months leading up to his diagnosis three years ago, he had presumed the pain in his thigh was nothing more than a sports injury. When the news came it was, of course, “earth-shattering.” Beku has since undergone extensive chemotherapy but, despite the treatment, the cancer has spread to high-risk parts of his body and doctors have advised that the NHS have now exhausted all options.

It’s no surprise that Beku’s songwriting centres around the immense life-threatening challenges he’s been facing. He tends to work with frank insights rather than emotional waterfalls. That said, while his lyrics are full of honesty and humility, they also possess huge character. With that, you get the grit, but you also get the true heart of the person – the joy, hope, love, fear, apathy and all. What stands out is the candid wit and charm with which Beku crafts his messages.

“As simplistic as it sounds, I think it’s just about fully embracing and living in the moment” he explains, when describing his sources of creative inspiration. “With such an intense and gloomy diagnosis, before I turned 30, I just try to embrace everything. Eating good meals with my family and friends. Going the football with my mates. Going for long walks and talking nonsense. I find a lot of solace in films. I love a director called Aki Kaurismäki at the moment.”

Tellingly, his favourite movies are La Haine and Withnail and I, both of which create astute, powerful portraits with minimal effects.

A “proud West Yorkshireman”, Beku’s vocal style is a mix of knowing, spoken word bites and warm, soul-flavoured brush strokes. There are Mike Skinner vibes throughout – Beku was a big fan of The Streets growing up. His current influences come through too – on heavy rotation right now he goes for John Glacier, Kojey Radical, Ian Brown and Loyle Carner. But it all started with Bob Marley.

“I first got hooked by reggae. Me and my family are rastas so I just remember throwing my locks around like a wild child when I was a kid. My dad and uncle owned a record shop and some stalls in the 80s across London so music really has been an integral part of our entire family DNA. My dad was a musician. He was a ‘professional’ percussionist and one of the best drummers I’ve ever seen. I was fortunate enough to be taught the basics by him and luckily both him and my mum love music, so I’ve always been surrounded by it.”

Moving into the mid-noughties, Beku’s older brother introduced him to the world of grime.

“He was showing me Lord of the Mics videos and these underground mixtapes from London, which were absolutely blowing my little mind. I was just this kid from a sleepy town in West Yorkshire, so finding this new genre of music, and it being so different to what I’d heard before, was really exciting.”

Two other famous figures have stirred Beku’s creative spirit over the years and he puts them both firmly in the category of “the untouchables” – dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah and jazz musician Gil Scott Heron.

Beku’s lyrical agility and effortless melodic grooves have not gone unnoticed. The EP’s title track, I See You Lurking, has attracted the love and attention of 6 Music’s Lauren Laverne.

In fact, he has many supporters – across the music industry and beyond. Beku needs a lot of financial help to get the right care. A GoFundMe campaign to help raise money for private treatment has surpassed all expectations. Local band The Orielles have helped organise a day of live music at The Deaf Institute in Manchester to raise more funds. The line-up also features Pulled Apart By Horses, Brad Stank and Loose Articles.

Beku is an inspirational figure. Swim deep in these four songs and you emerge feeling altogether more connected to the world at large, more in touch with the human condition, and ultimately more appreciative of what it truly means to live.

LYRICS: ‘I See You Lurking‘

I see you lurking out there and I’m scared of you. You tempt me outside, I don’t know what to do.

I find myself scared, not like haunted house scared, but like triple checking the front door before you leave for the fear of the unknown pleasures.

In my peak Joy Division era I used to think about death once a day. Now it crosses my mind about ten times a day and I don’t see the cool squiggly lines anymore.

Every interaction is flavoured by the possibility of it being the last one. I don’t want the postman to think I’m a mardy git, I always wave him off with a smile. Sometimes I smile through gritted teeth because I’m having an existential crisis. I still like to yam on my marmite and toast with a glass of orange juice.

Just trampled on that parking ticket for the third time today. I must be going in circles, cos I keep seeing it everywhere.

I’m pretty sure the guy stood next to me at the traffic lights just farted and tried to blend it with the MX5 passing. I think a cough would have been sufficient.

You ever sat in the traffic in Oldham and contemplated the meaning of life? I’ve got nothing against the place, but absolutely fuck Oldham. I’m a proud Yorkshireman who simply wants to see my hair turn white as the rose, to see my ears and lines and the blood capillaries in my nose.

Oldham, ageing swine, pork that’s seen better days. I never thought I’d wander and wander in an industrial state again. Old ham, ageing swine, pork had seen better days. I never thought I’d wander and wander in an industrial state again.

I see you lurking out there and I’m scared of you. You tempt me outside, I don’t know what to do.

I low-key miss walking round Big Tesco high as shit. See what £4.59 for a bargain could get me.Sometimes I take the £2.50 club card voucher off the fridge and go crazy. Bottle of Volvic and some rollers and shit. I get anxious when the local schools finish nearby, not cos the kids are everywhere and they drink the last Yazoo in the shop. But the reality is I wanna make my own little sprog, a blend of me and you. I just don’t know how to go about it.

Just seen an Uber driver hand an order to a homeless guy. His face lit up so bright. I bet it was worth Sarah putting in a complaint. She never got her burrito and I’m pretty sure that that driver’s pissed. But you know what? We’re all having a good time on this Friday.

I’d rather get punched in the car than squashed on the bus. Notions are not always subject to reason, but subject to action. Mountains don’t grow, but men always do. The world is full of beauty when my heart is full of love for you.

I see you lurking out there and I’m scared of you. You tempt me outside, I don’t know what to do.

‘At The Drop Of A Hat‘

Whether you like it or lump it, you’re all stuck with me now. I’ll keep pestering you until the very bitter end, but there’s one person who had a choice, who just stared right back, could have left at the drop of a hat, but chose to stand there militantly instead.

I can’t really articulate or put into words this holistic feeling, but their selflessness gets me a little choked up. It’s like watching David Seaman scramble for a Ronaldinho free kick when you’re eight years old. Some things you feel more than you can actually express.

And at the drop of a hat, there’s still time to circle back, these things are not set in stone.
And at the drop of a hat, there’s still time to circle back. These things are not set in stone.
And in the blink of an eye and the wings of a butterfly, you change the trajectory of my life.
And at the drop of a hat, there’s still time to circle back, these things are not set in stone.

I don’t feel like being brown bread, man. I’m still very much here. I keep crying in the kitchen but I haven’t cut onions in a while. You ever smoke a blunt and just listen to Charlotte Church? Pretty relaxing, actually. Similar to when you pass me a Yakult first thing in the morning. Like a butterfly wings, you change the course of certain things. Someone to fill the void, to hold my hand. At the very end it was all worth it for the Luna Moth energy. It’s easy to say these things when you’re the salt of the earth. I never knew what they meant until I’d met you.

The idea of disappointing you scares me more than the thought of death. Pretty good incentive to fight like my life depends on it then. I’m having the time of my life, despite being dead poorly, as wild as it sounds. You’ve shown me the meaning of love and what life truly has to offer.

’26 To IJburg‘

Cold, foggy or persistent rain. Always greeted with the warmest of smiles. Picked up from the airport or navigating the trams. It’s practically a stone’s throw away in the grand scheme of things. Not linked by blood but a power just as great, adopted family that has become our fate. The sick, twisted plan of the universe connecting us by a disease, poking our heads above water so we can still breathe.

26 to IJburg runs on time.
Might be your house, feels like mine.
Across the water, not alone.
I got family on the phone

You took my photos when I had the best box in the west. You’ve taken my snaps now I’m bald as all the rest. You never treat me any different and always put on the best breakfast in Holland. I didn’t even know they did vegan chocolate melt. Patta, Daily Paper or the New Originals, you put me on to Game before they were all cool. Indonesian cooking worth turmeric stains alone, smiling from ear to ear as I eat the chicken on the bone.

26 to IJburg runs on time.
Might be your house, feels like mine.
Across the water, not alone.
I got family on the phone.

‘Scared To Sleep‘

I’m scared to sleep, not just because I’m pranging out about not waking up in the morning, but because I’m left with my thoughts and there’s no distractions for the night. People count sheep, and I used to envisage Championship Manager tactics. Now the emails from solicitors about my will rattle through my brain while my lips touch that warm cup of cocoa.

I spray my pillow with lavender blend to help calm the senses, but my pillow still stinks of fear and regret mostly. I started to read the Harry Potter books again to aid in the drowsiness
. It kind of works getting transported to a fantastical world. Still gotta go Wigan for a TT scan on Friday, though. Can’t be arsed.

Scared to sleep, but still shut my eyes, the thought of you enough to keep me going. I get right tired, I will not get behind the wheel.
Scared to sleep, but still shut my eyes, the thought of you enough to keep me going. I get right tired, I will not get behind the wheel.

I never used to wake up bright-eyed and eager to start the day. I’d always be stoned over and on the search for caffeine. Now every day I wake up grateful just to be here, but it’s that constant niggle in my chest that reminds me of my darkest fears. The first 30 seconds of my day are usually my favourite, just because my mind hasn’t had enough time to remember what’s going on. It’s the only normality I’m afforded anymore. The rest of my time is tainted by the big C, and I’m not just talking about capitalism.

I end most nights crying into my pillow nowadays, the sound of your blocked nose being the metronome to my heart that sets me off. You can always tell when I’m getting a little emotional before bed, probably due to the saltiness of the goodnight kiss I fumble and deliver. You have this knack of reading my face, even when I try and mask it. You say that’s why I’d be rubbish on The Traitor. I’d love to go on Pointless with my mum and try and win the Pointless trophy though. I just hope those bright studio lights aren’t my tipping point.

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