Artist Of The Week -- thecocknbullkid

The artist known as thecocknbullkid--no spaces, apostrophes or capital letters allowed, thank you very much--is the stage name adopted by Anita Blay, who was born in London to Ghanaian parents. After spending a few years absorbing a diverse collection of musical influences, ranging from Morrissey and Madonna to M.I.A. and Little Richard, she began forging her own distinctive sound, one that resides on the dark edge of pop and boasts elements of sex, death, ugliness, wit and depravity. “I’ve always thought pop should never just be saccharine,” Blay notes. “It should be black and tortured, too. There’s no point otherwise.” The critics seem to be in agreement: the NME called thecocknbullkid “Probably the most interesting thing to come out of London since Klaxons,” and praised her songcraft as “Freudian kitchen-sink stories set to Timbaland-lite beats. DIY pop brilliance,” while Dazed and Confused praised her as “witty and humane, frank and overt.” Plan B magazine took a more fanciful approach, stating, “If Morrissey had a child with Neneh Cherry this is what she’d sound like.” Not bad for an artist who just released her debut single, the aptly titled “On My Own,” in June 2008!

Check out the featured track of the week "Boys & Girls."

Download: "Boys & Girls"


www.myspace.com/thecocknbullkid