Audie, who gets support from LDN London, has written and recorded his first rap song.
Audie, whose artist name is‘Big O’, has released his debut self-titled single.
He co-wrote the song with his support worker Marcin.
Audie has a mild learning disability. One day Marcin heard Audie rapping along to ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ by Snoop Dogg (one of Audie’s favourite songs) and thought he sounded great. He asked if he’d like to write his own songs.
Together they began to write lyrics. The first line took about two weeks to write and practise.
The song is about Audie’s life, and he was inspired by things he sees and activities he does.
There is a model of a fish in his flat – one of the lyrics is: “I swim like a big fish”.
In another lyric he mentions his favourite breakfast cereal: “If you wanna know something about Big O / My flow eat Snoop Dogg for breakfast like Cheerios.”
His name, Big O, comes from one of his favourite rap artists Notorious BIG.
Audie also pays tribute to his support team in the song. “I chase my dreams until they became real, thanks to the whole LDN support workers team / I’m always myself, please don’t get me wrong / My nickname is Big O with my golden microphone.”
Marcin helped Audie pick out the backing music and record the song. They also got some help from friends, and people LDN supports, at Piper House, who feature in the recording.
Big O has performed his rap for other people who live at Piper House. “They liked it,” he says.
He has also rapped for an audience at his local church. (He was nervous, but he enjoyed it.)
Writing his first rap song has given Audie more confidence, he says, and he wants to write more in the future.
Recently Big O has been shooting his first music video. He also wants to make a CD. His dad has asked for the first copy, he says.
Find out more about the support LDN London provides for people with learning disabilities.
Interview by Ciaran Willis
