His 2024 opus, with features from the likes of Sampha, Kano, Wretch 32, Unknown T, Lancey Foux and Moonchild Sanelly among others, represents the peak of his creative powers, lyrically enriching as he battles the world around him. “[On Purpose, With Purpose] feels like a continuation of my evolution that you heard in Conflict Of Interest,” he tells GAFFER on the day of his photoshoot, draped in a majestic all-white one-piece tracksuit, measured in his every response as he playfully spins in his chair. “I was recording so much between albums I didn’t have a lot of time to live. So it’s less about me and more my perspectives on the world.”

The MC born Justin Clarke has been a constant in Black British music since before many of our formative years. This writer was just 12 years old when he first heard an enraged Ghetto, as he was known then, on ‘Typical Me,’ from his close friend Kano’s 2005 debut album Home Sweet Home. As a young Ghetto climbing the ladder of the music industry, his ferocity was his unique selling point, spitting with the intensity of a runaway train. See his Risky Roadz freestyle for proof. Even on a track like 2007’s ‘Top 3 Selected,’ he was brash enough to declare: “There’s no introduction needed / I’m a genius / And I’m even schooling seniors.”

Ghetto harnessed his raw energy and potency into meaningful art, making sense of his murky world. “I find a lot of my creative inspiration through pain unfortunately,” he shares. “I feel like I’m at my best in those situations; I know how to convert pain into creativity. That sounds really morbid, but I’ll be alright!” He signs off this statement with a gentle chuckle to assure us that he’s good, but his honesty and knowledge in who he is as an artist is what has drawn millions to his orbit.

As he gradually morphed into Ghetts, he smoothened out the anger with calming introspection and an increasingly ambitious worldview. But his charming, deliberate and undeniable style continued to reign supreme. He has always worn his heart on his sleeve, owning it where he has needed to. Take a track like ‘Autobiography’ from 2021’s Conflict of Interest, where he eloquently relays his life and career, and you hear a composed presentation of a journey which has, at times, been prickly, leading to soured relationships and bruised egos. “Mind's still on war / Knife with me still / I'm five figure poor / Why give in for?” he candidly rhymes, illuminating the high stakes game he was playing with his life as a youth. Or the song ‘Double Standards’ featuring Sampha from On Purpose, With Purpose, which calls out some of the world’s many hypocrisies and how they have personally affected him, verging into political and social commentary. He spits: “They're givin' brothers life sentences for drugs / When a paedophile would probably get less than twenty months / In the same court, same day, same judge / We only break the law because the law tries to break us.”

The wider music industry has slowly started catching up to his powers. In 2024, he received the MOBO Pioneer Award, an acknowledgment of all he has contributed to Black British music and yet another reminder of his iconic status. Accepting the award with his mother and father on stage made a legendary night all the more poignant. “It was mad but I’m super appreciative,” he reflects. “In Black households, when you first get into music, your people are waiting for you to get a MOBO. That’s when they know you’re doing something. For a long time, I told myself I don’t give a fuck about awards. I remember when I released Freedom of Speech in 2007/8, the streets were only talking about that and Giggs’ Walk In Da Park. We were both overlooked by the MOBOs and I was pissed and I was hurt. But I just cracked on. That’s why I always say we have to make awards about music and not music about awards because you just have to keep it moving and enjoy what you do. Then when awards come, you appreciate them even more.”

The extraordinary elements of his career are levelled by a secure foundation in his general life. Ghetts is a rapper’s rapper, but he’s also a documentary buff and SWV superfan who wishes he could’ve invented Mariah Carey’s eternal Christmas classic ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You.’ “I don’t even have to think twice about that!” he proclaims. Above all, he is a proud father of two, once stating that fatherhood was the greatest gift life could’ve given him. He credits his son to restoring a flavour of the old Ghetts. “He made me hard again,” he quips, comedically tensing his muscles to feign strength. “My daughter made me soft, but when my son came it was all about bikes and football. Balance!”

But he remains driven to provide for his family and continue contributing to Black British culture through his music, tackling subjects such as women’s rights (‘Black Rose’), knife crime (‘Street Politics’) and his faith (‘Preach’.) Simply put, standing up for what he believes in. “My music will always be a true reflection of how I’m living,” he says. “People can confuse what being real is. Rap fans love a certain side of rap, as do I, but when you’re painting a picture of your life, these are the things you’re going to end up rapping about, because it’s real stuff. These are the conversations we have with our friends and family. It’s not just one thing. To be able to listen to myself and know that I ain’t capping, I have to talk about what’s in my heart.”

Acting may also feature more in Ghetts’ story. 2024 saw him feature in Rapman’s superhero series Supacell on Netflix, which will be remembered as one of the year’s most absorbing and defining cultural moments. This was his first acting gig since his turn in Femi Oyeniran’s 2014 flick The Intent 2 and arguably long overdue. “I never saw myself as an actor, to be honest,” he admits. “It’s one of those ones where people could see something in me before I could. I’ve only just seen it in myself after filming Supacell, now I know I’m cold! The script was amazing, and I got incredible help from the seasoned actors around me.”

Getting more animated as he waves his hands in the air, he shares an experience from filming that has stayed with him: “I did a scene with Eddie Marson and he is a general in the field of acting. He looked at me and said, ‘you’re doing alright, kid,’ and that fucked me up! He did to me what I do to rappers in the studio, and I felt it. From then I knew I wanted to get better. The acting bug has kicked in, and I will be back. I want to play someone so far away from my world that people will say ‘how did he that?’”

Learning how to tap into the emotional arc of a TV and film character in turn has handed Ghetts a musical boost. “When I would go back to the studio,” he explains, “I found myself being able to tap into emotions easier and faster because I had to do it on set. Like when you’ll be talking normally then have to tap into a sad or angry emotion. I realised that it’s all connected in some way.”

He is a prodigious worker, often creating albums worth of music that as yet haven’t been heard. It speaks to the idea that the hunger for more has never left Ghetts. “Every producer I’ve worked with might have at least three albums of their own from me in a hard drive somewhere,” he calmly inserts. “Crazy amounts.” 2024 promises more music and a currently unnamed mixtape, emerging from the hundreds of MP3s in his computer. “I make music so frequently that I sometimes sit on songs for too long and lose the initial feeling I had when I made them, and they just stay on a computer. It’s because I suffer from overthinking, so much so that my friends and close collaborators have had a serious word with me about it. So moving forward, I’m going to just put the music out in real time and let it do the rest. One thing I will say: mixtape Ghetts is a different Ghetts!”

The journey his life and career has taken isn’t lost on Ghetts, however, and much like the title of his latest project, he has been purposeful in navigating his past and present, getting to every point through a relentless vision of greatness. All while being thankful that he’s still here, breathing and impacting this scene we love. His final musings are those of a true innovator: “I’m most proud that I’ve been able to stand the test of time. Like I’m able to say that time tested me, and I’m still here.”