Rapper Woodie Smalls is ready to take on the world

Woodie Smalls’ life has changed radically since the release of his debut album in September. “I’ve barely been home these past few months,” says the 20-year-old rapper. “People recognise me on the street and ask me for a selfie or come up to tell me that they love my music. It’s all strange, very strange.”

Since the release of Soft Parade last year and the single “About the Dutch”, Smalls’ career has gained so much momentum that he still finds it difficult to believe that any of it is actually true. Because when he talks about home, he still refers to the house where he grew up. Living with his parents and siblings comes as a reality check – his mother still tells him to clean his room. (It should come as no surprise that he’s looking for his own place.)

The rapper, whose real name is Sylvestre Salumu, was born and raised in Sint-Niklaas, East Flanders, a halfway point between Antwerp and Ghent. His parents moved here from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and he grew up speaking French. You can catch hints of it in his Dutch, which is also regularly punctuated with English words and expressions.

Hip-hop legends

Hearing Smalls rap, you would have no idea he’s from Flanders. His rhymes are first-rate, his English flawless, and the music, solid and infectious, is on par with the best American hip-hop.

“It’s a reaction I often get,” he admits. “I was eight when I started rapping and writing lines in English. As far as I can tell, I never used another language. I continued working on my English throughout my childhood, so I could control it better. That’s why now my English is flawless.”

His role models have always been American hip-hop artists. “Kanye West, Jay Z, Pharrell Williams,” he says, “I really dig them. They made me feel less alone. And it was important that they were black. Black and successful.”

Smalls has encountered racism in Sint-Niklaas, though he’s not really keen to talk about it. “It’s a small town, and there aren’t many people of colour,” he says. “If you are different, you automatically stand out. Growing up in Brussels would have made a real difference, I think.”

Earlier this summer, Smalls joined Niveau4, a one-off collaboration between Flemish and francophone rappers initiated by the Couleur Café festival in Brussels. Working with 11 artists from across Belgium, Smalls says, was a good experience.

“It was really interesting for me to see what’s been happening in Belgian hip-hop because I must admit that I have never followed the local scene, not in Dutch or French.”

Smalls’ lyrics are immediately recognisable to anyone familiar with mainstream American hip-hop, packed with fast cars, gold jewellery and scantily clad women. But the young rapper does give his music a more personal touch. On Soft Parade’s first track, “Nuggets of Wisdom”, he looks back to a time when he was suicidal. In another song, he asks himself: “What if I don’t make it?”.

Living the dream

He never considered a back-up plan. “I can’t picture myself getting a normal job,” he says. “What I do now is not work. I love rapping, and I could do it for the rest of my life.”

But the sudden success did come as a surprise. “I absolutely didn’t expect this,” Smalls says. “In my wildest dreams, I was certainly hoping that things would turn out this way, because I want to play live as much as I can and reach out to the widest audience possible.”

The rapper isn’t shy about his ambitions, but he doesn’t come off as pretentious. “I’m just trying to be super big,” he says, laughing. “I want to tour all over Europe and, of course, the United States.”

This might not be such a far-fetched vision. Earlier this year, Smalls made a splash at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, one of the largest music festivals in the world. “Hip-hop was born in America, and I don’t know of many European rappers who have played there,” he says. Going back “would be super crazy”.

He’s already been introduced to the French. In March, Leuven singer Selah Sue invited him to perform with her on the country’s most influential music show, Taratata. “It was a last minute thing,” he recalls. “I had never met her before, and I was really surprised she’d heard of me. I was happy because it worked out well.”

A short video on the show’s website shows him rapping backstage without accompaniment. It’s a wonderful moment that confirms his vocal fluency. Without a doubt, the future looks bright for Woodie Smalls.

Photo: Pieter-Jan Minnebo