Originally from Birmingham, TrueMendous spent years busking between cities before landing placements with Adidas, the FIFA 21 soundtrack, Pepsi Max, and even McVitie’s.

In 2019 TrueMendous signed to High Focus Records, becoming the first female rapper on the label’s roster. Her debut EP Huh? featuring Chemo, Illinformed and Winchester arrived in 2020, and her 17-track debut album Misdiagnosis of Chyvonne Johnson followed in 2021 full of technical wordplay so densely packed that it takes several spins to fully unpack and appreciate.

Whilst her work has always been clever and witty, her most recent album, 2026’s Break Offline, Before I Have A Breakdown Online is explicitly uncomfortable, speaking to situations that sting. TrueMendous has been able to out-rap anyone in the room for years, but this record had a different aim entirely with songs that are extremely vulnerable, asking to be felt rather than admired for their technical skill alone. Her recent headline show at The Jago in Dalston brought a bill of friends from across the soul and R&B scene, with an attentive and adoring audience beaming with respect and shouting the words right back at her. More than a technically gifted MC, TrueMendous is an artist whose vulnerable honesty has made her a firm favourite of the UK’s hip-hop scene.

Hi True! First things first, can you tell us all about your time busking before you signed to a label? Where did you frequent, and do you think more aspiring rappers should do the same to cut their teeth?

A lot of benefits come with busking especially if you’re a vocalist who doesn’t really practise much. Over time you’ll see drastic improvement with your stamina, clarity, breath control, vocal strength and your overall execution is refined. This is excellent for live performances. Busking was introduced to me over a decade ago by a rapper called Obi Rudo and I still do it to this day. When I first started, I was doing roughly 8 hours a day in 5 to 6 different cities a week. I’ve definitely put in my 10,000 hours now, ha. I’ve busked all over the UK and most recently in New York. Yes, I do advise more rappers in particular to busk as a lot aren’t very good live but I reckon their ego gets the best of them so I think it’ll remain a small niche. 

We love High Focus here at Sherwood for so many reasons. Did you feel pressure signing to the label, or was it more of a support network?

Never felt pressure to sign anything it was always a choice. After being independent for so long High Focus gave my music a bigger platform to be heard on and introduced me to a lot more supporters of UK hip hop. Even though I’m not signed to the label anymore I’m still featured on some of the guys new albums such as Verb T’s track Minimal and most recently King Kashmere’s Unfunny. We actually have a visual dropping for that soon. The label still hits me up to be a part of their live showcases and birthday celebrations. I’ll always be grateful and will continue to pop up on their platform going forward. Shout out to Fliptrix. 

Presumably not many rappers can say they’ve collaborated with the legendary McVitie’s. How did that come about, and did you get any free biscuits?

I was put forward for that advert by a couple agencies I was in contact with at the time and managed to make it as one of the final 2 candidates before landing one of the lead roles. That was one of the first tv adverts I had ever done and the team I worked on it with were lovely. Thank you to Michelle and Dave for making that happen. From memory I think the only free biscuits I had was during the shoot, ha. 

Let’s talk about your amazing album that you put out this year. What were you hoping to achieve with Break Offline that you hadn’t done on your previous releases?

Relatable and raw. Out of all the projects I have released so far Break Offline is definitely my most significant for the time we are currently in. I’m confident a lot of people will listen to it and at least one song will speak directly to them about a situation they have been in or are currently going through. Some songs may even be uncomfortable to listen to due to how close to home they hit. I wanted to create a body of work which reflects how most of us feel right now. Hopefully some people find solace in it. My earlier 2 projects focused more on the lyricism being clever and witty with only a hand full of songs actually focusing on a specific theme all the way through. This time around I feel like from a lyrical standpoint though it is still present to some capacity I have intentionally simplified a lot of the songs to be more meaningful and straight to the point. I’m not excessively dancing around metaphors and double-entendres etc. trying to make it super complex for people to figure out why it’s so ‘brilliant’ and ‘genius’, I’ve just stripped it back and given it to the audience to consume without seasoning. It’s easier to comprehend and more relatable for a mass audience from start to finish.

The whole album is produced by Bear., can you tell us about why that was an important decision?

I’ve always wanted to collaborate with one producer on a full project. I met Bear. through High Focus and we built a bond while working on my previous album Great. On Purpose. which we have maintained to this day. He’s an exceptionally talented producer. I wanted Break Offline to be cohesive and I find it’s a lot easier to accomplish with less people involved. Too many people can introduce too many directions and opinions which I didn’t want. I wanted the project to have a running thread all the way through and at the time I believed Bear. would do it the most justice, which he did.

What do you hope that people get from listening to the album?

Themes of grief, financial hardships, mental and physical health issues, therapy and so forth are continuous themes throughout the project. But an underlining rebellion theme is also present in the album. I want people to no longer conform to anyone’s expectations of you, not seeking external validation so much and unlearning all the incorrect information we have been force fed since we were kids. I want people to realise how delicate and short life really is. Evict yourself from somewhere that makes and keeps you unhappy. You still have time. 

Your headline show at The Jago in Dalston was wonderful, not least because of the soul and R&B acts on the bill. Can you tell our readers about the guests you invited along that evening?

Curating my first ever UK tour will forever be my biggest achievement because I know how many years I procrastinated doing one. That London show is hands down one of my most favourite moments. I’ve delayed doing a tour or even just a singular headline show for a very long time in fear of no one showing up. In hindsight I do believe this has hindered my momentum to be honest. The show at The Jago is a moment in time I will never forget and I’m so happy I was able to experience it with so many people I care about. Though having an all-black female line up wasn’t intentional the fact it was the end result was perfect and 100% needed as it’s not common, especially in the UK. No one dropped the ball and everyone executed their performance to such a high calibre that people were refusing to go to the loo or have a smoke break because no one wanted to miss anything. Everyone in the audience was mingling and laughing with each other to the point you’d think everyone had met before and weren’t just strangers at a gig. People came in from Germany, New York and other cities in the UK just for little old me. I’ve also never heard so many people rap my lyrics back to me, I thought there was an echo on the mic at first. Big shout out to Danielle, Zion & Siobhan, Courtney Bennett, Rozzzqween, Janel Antoneshia and KSsense. Not only that show but that tour will forever be one of the best things I’ve ever accomplished in my life. 

Where would you rather be rapping, a sweaty venue or a street corner?

Whichever one pays me the most in the shortest amount of time, ha. 

Who are you currently listening to that more people need to be talking about?

Artists that more people need to be talking about are Sasha Keable, DAMEDAME*, NEONE the Wonderer, BUKKY, Priscilla Cameron and Electric Eenemy. I reckon a lot of them will pick up serious momentum over the next couple years. 

What’s coming next for TrueMendous?

I’ll be venturing off into other creative realms, can’t say too much yet.