Formz: “I was always the confident kid in school, with a passion for entertaining and being the centre of attention..”

The world is a much tougher place to grow up in now. We all look back at our school days with a mix of good memories, regrets, and a few things that can stay in the past. For Hertfordshire rapper Formz, school was a great time where he learned how important it was to be himself, stick to his guns and how hard work does pay off.

Fresh off the back of a couple of hit singles, Formz took himself out on the road to tour the schools of the UK chatting about how he survived school, his advice for teenagers in his position and the lessons he took away from his time at school.

In our latest Cover Story, we sat down with Formz following two sold-out UK shows in Manchester and London to delve into his life story. From dealing with keyboard warriors to his favourite teachers to what his former schoolmates are up to these days, Formz reveals all to V13…

Thanks for your time, how’s life treating you and how were the recent shows?

Formz: “Life’s great right now! I’m still on such a high from my Manchester and London shows and it’s completely motivated me to hit these next releases harder and show more people what I’m made of!

In your new single “Level Up” you state “This single describes exactly who I am, the energy I bring to the table, where I was, where I am and where I’m headed”… firstly could you tell us an abridged life story?

“If we had unlimited time my story could go on forever so I’ll try and simplify my life into a few sentences. I was always the high-energy, confident kid in school, with a passion for entertaining and being the centre of attention. Music had always been in my life; driving to and from school, hearing a song on the radio once and knowing the lyrics back to front. So when I got old enough to develop my own music taste I went to a Tinie Tempah concert at the O2 in 2014 and the way he did what he did and had 20,000 singing back to him, I knew at that moment what I wanted to do.

“I was always the high energy, confident kid in school, with a passion for entertaining and being the centre of attention.”

So as a 14-year-old with zero musical experience, I started to write. Over the years I got branded “tragic”, “this is never gonna work”, and “what have you even got to rap about” but there was something in me that knew how far I could take it. I had a vision and I didn’t need anyone else to see it to make it happen. Nobody was going to dictate my life other than me. So I kept writing. Even after school (of which I did well in both GCSE and A levels) I decided to go into a job rather than Uni to support my family as soon as I could (single mum household since forever).

After 4 years of sales jobs and writing whenever I could, COVID hit and I got put on furlough. What work didn’t realise was they had given me more time than I ever had in my life to try and make it work. So I learned how to record, put on DSPs, learnt how social media works and started posting on there. Just pure consistent, relentless work and it took off nicely enough not to have to go back to selling offices, I became full-time time late 2020 and haven’t looked back since.

I’ve gone from selling things I didn’t care about to working with Mclaren F1 team, Spurs, Pepsi, the NFL took me to the Superbowl… life has changed for the better all for sticking to my guns and believing in what I was passionate about.”

Who was the first artist to have an impact on your life and how did you change after that?

“After Tinie Tempah’s concert, it was really Stormzy who gave me the confidence to start showing people what I was doing. I’d never seen an artist enter the mainstream with such confidence and self-awareness that it spoke to me on a whole new level and allowed me to show anyone and everyone what I was doing, regardless of whether they were a fan or not, I’d give it my all each time and that’s down to watching him do his thing so early on.”

We’ve talked about the shows but what else is going on for Formz right now?

“I’ve got so much new music coming this year it’s so exciting to talk about. Online I have a large football fanbase following so for my next single we sampled the Champions League anthem to create the most technical song I’ve ever made so I can’t wait to show the world. We should have some more shows/festivals lined up for the summer too which even thinking about gets me fired up!”

Let’s head back to your previous single “Keyboard Warriors”, where you’ve seen the bad and good sides of social media. What advice would you give someone from your experiences online?

“If you’re active online make sure you know why you’re there… If you are the type of person who likes to scroll and watch entertaining content, stick to those priorities and if you see something you don’t like, keep scrolling. Alternatively, if you post on social media and you’re passionate about what you’re posting, that’s all you need to keep going. If Steve from Surrey or Sandra from Ipswich don’t mess with what you’re posting, who cares, you’re doing it because you enjoyed it, so keep enjoying it and trust that you’ll grow an audience of people who see you the way you do.”

“If you’re active online make sure you know why you’re there… If you are the type of person who likes to scroll and watch entertaining content, stick to those priorities…”

While there are some truly vile people out there online there are also some brilliant commenters, what’s the funniest thing someone has ever commented about you on your social media?

“Someone once told me they were an Arsenal fan but couldn’t stop listening to my song “Prisoner,” but the shame of liking a Spurs fan’s song meant that he could only listen to it when he was alone… it makes me laugh every time because why should your team dictate whether or not you listen to my stuff?”

Let’s talk about the school tour, how did that come about and, although it was a two-way thing, what did you take away from it?

“The school tour was a long but rewarding period that allowed me to connect with thousands of pupils across the country. It came about when we were discussing how to market “Keyboard Warriors” and who our target audience was. We agreed that schools would benefit from hearing my story and the reasons behind the song, but also I would benefit because inspiring young people to do what they want to do is a superpower in itself. I made loads of memories, gained a ton of new supporters and it was an all-round success.”

Did you learn anything from the tour that surprised you?

“Schools are the same as they were when I went! It was a blast from the past.”

Any plans to do anything like that again?

“Unless we have a new song that could resonate with a similar audience and has a different powerful message, I think it’s on hold to focus on other ventures in the meantime.”

What is your least favourite and happiest memory of your time at school?

“Least favourite memory was by far my Maths A-Level exam, no more words needed other than painful. My happiest time was any time I was on stage… I was the main character in most school productions and that theatre was the place I realised I was born to perform.”

V13 – MagazineCover – Issue54 – FORMZ

What about favourite and least favourite teachers?

“My favourite teacher was my English teacher who supported me from Year 7 right through 6th Form, she was like a mother figure for me in school and she felt like a safe space for me to be in whenever I needed. My least favourite was probably my headteacher, he once told me to focus on the academics and forget about the creative subjects… well Sir, look at me now!”

Any funny school stories you can tell us?

“Nothing specific springs to mind but every time I got into trouble I lowkey loved it. From maybe Year 9 onwards getting into trouble was quite fun. I’d get the chance to shmooze my way out of it or just have to take the L and face punishment but either way, whatever it was that got me into trouble was worth it.”

What was the most important lesson you learned about surviving school?

“Being yourself is always the right thing to be. School is a place where it’s easy to fall into a system of fitting in or doing things because it’s what everyone else would do. I learned pretty quickly that being yourself and setting yourself apart from the rest doesn’t make you weird… it makes you, you.”

Have you ever looked up any of your old schoolmates on social media just to see what they’re doing now?

“I’m grateful and lucky enough to still be best friends with my school best friends and my god we’re all smashing it. One of us owns the fastest growing talent agency in the country, Connect Management, one of us is one of the biggest VFX creators and most viewed UK YouTubers in the world, and a bunch of us are smashing it in what we’re doing too. It was fate that my circle stayed tight and it’s no surprise we’re all growing together.”

Moving to the present then. With two sold-out shows, a slew of singles and the school tour under your belt, what does the rest of 2024 hold in store for you – ie. Where are you headed?

“More singles, more shows, praying for festivals and a load of Formz-run events to build and strengthen my community of fans. So keep an eye out for some events coming soon!”

“I was the main character in most school productions and that theatre was the place I realised I was born to perform.”

From all of those experiences in the previous question, how do you feel you have changed as an artist?

“I feel like I know myself more artistically. I’ve seen how people react to me on stage and how I can adapt to the audience I’m performing to. Musicwise, it’s given me a whole load of new experiences to write about and put into my next body of work so I am excited to continue to grow and deliver the vibes for as long as I can.”

And, as a football content creator, who’s going to win the Premier League and how will England do in the Euros this Summer?

“ANYONE BUT ARSENAL – I reckon City will take it again. England should win on paper but given our history and our manager’s lack of good decision making it could be anyone’s game.”

Finally, just to wrap up, thanks for your time, any message for fans or keyboard warriors from Formz?

“Whether you know me, like me or hate what I do, I LOVE YOU!”

For more information on Formz, head over to his social media here.

Formz “Keyboard Warriors” Single Artwork