Next Wave #793: S4U

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Initially, S4U caused a bout of confusion with Clash’s creative team. Although their ghostly R&B has been floating around corners of the Internet and airwaves for some time, Google Images didn’t help to clarify the group’s identity. In the few pictures that exist, they’re a gaggle of galdem wearing retro sportswear. At their core, it turns out, they’re the mythologically-named duo Prinz George and Rosita Bonita (which, we suspect, aren’t their birth names). “We used to turn up to shoots and there’d be a rack of clothes for six girls,” laughs George.

Their ethos, however, is as a collective. And it’s “expanding all the time,” says George. On our Next Wave shoot, the pair urge a throng of onlooking construction workers to join them in front of the lens (unfortunately, they come over a bit shy).

S4U, they stress, isn’t just the pair of them. “Our managers are S4U as much as we are,” Rosita explains. “Any link in the chain that’s cracked is gonna affect everything. It’s really important to make sure everyone feels a part of it. It’s a story.”

Introduced to the world by forward-thinking London label Limited Health, the current ’90s revival has made the biggest impact on the S4U sound, with echoes of bubbly garage and faded hip-hop permeating their vibe. “The ’90s sonically was very, very adventurous. It was way ahead of its time,” states George, who used to be a metal drummer, and counts Slayer and post-hardcore band The Blood Brothers as inspiration. “I love percussion,” he says, “finding interesting things and putting them with things they shouldn’t really go with.”

‘Breathe’ borrows the hook from the Blu Cantrell cut of the same name, throwing it over a dusty hip-hop beat, while ‘Too Much’ deploys the kind of hyperactive vocal chops you’d find on a Pure Garage compilation.

Though the word ‘DIY’ is thrown around to describe almost any artist these days, S4U can wear that stamp with pride. From choreography to graphic design, to producing their own videos and events, the pair have dirtied their hands in all creative aspects. “We have input on everything,” says Rosita, adding: “Everyone’s been doing so much work for us out of the love of music. It’s been humbling as fuck.”

WHERE: London
WHAT: Ghost-like hip-hop/R&B that resurrects the ’90s
GET 3 SONGS: ‘Twice’, ‘Isle Of Dogs’, ‘Too Much’

FACT: Despite naming their track ‘Isle Of Dogs’, Prinz George has a phobia of the animal. “I hate dogs,” he sighs, pulling out a photo of a recent shoot in Berlin with one in the pic. “See how far away the dog is from me? He knows I don't like him.”

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Words: Felicity Martin
Photography: Sophie Mayanne
Fashion: Josh Tuckley
Hair stylist: Zateesha Barbour

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