Spotlight On: TjTUCKER

Photo Credit - Ash Florien

West Yorkshire is home to an incredible array of talent - both on and off the stage! We wanted to shine a Spotlight On some of the amazing people working in our region. If you have someone you would like to feature (self-nominations welcome) please contact: westyorkshiremusicnetwork@gmail.com

Could you start by telling us about yourself, and how would you describe what you do for someone who’s never heard your music?

Zimbabwean roots, raised in London, and now based in Wakefield, West Yorks. I’m a rap Artist, Songwriter, Producer, musical alchemist and occasionally frontman of 7 piece band - The Legends With No Name.

At my core, I love crafting and making things. I’m an old soul with an appreciation for storytelling and music that moves me, no matter what the genre is. If you haven’t heard my music before I’d say, “that it’s music you can live your life to, not just the ups or downs but the whole roundabout”.

What motivated you to start HeroesNeverDie and what’s the vision behind it?

HND was born out of loss. The passing of my eldest sister left a significant mark on me, just like the passing of anyone loved in our lives is difficult. 

I personally believe that just because these people aren’t present physically it doesn’t mean that they're no longer present in some form. When we play the work these people left us (Michael Jackson, Mac Miller, a Nipsey Hussle) Their presence and energy lives on through us. 

That’s what HND is. It’s about legacy, being the heroes of our own stories and using that truth to make work that lives on. 

Heroes Never Die is currently run as a production house focused on; Music, Audio branding, and podcast production. Eventually I want HND to help the artists we work with feel seen, truly supported and lasting.

When you’re creating a track, what does your creative process look like from start to finish: beat production, lyrics, collaborations, mixing, etc.?

So my process is a little drawn out, I like to really live with the music, follow my intuition, but I do have a rule to finish every demo that I start to help reign that in a little. 

Beat production and selection - I usually start at homebase, I have a bunch of quality producers around me (DigitalCashh, Ash Florien, Chillsmyth, MazeForam) so luckily I can focus primarily on my writing and recording. Sometimes I’ll craft the beats in sessions with the producers or they’ll cook a few and ship them across for me to work through. I’m always building new relationships with musicians and producers around the world thanks to social media.

Living with the music, Lyric discovery - Once I know what instrumentals I want to work with, I just cycle through them while living my everyday life. That just allows the words to come to me, from whatever I’m feeling at the time, whatever subject is on the mind it usually reveals itself and I run with that. Unless it’s a collaboration, then I’ll usually bounce off the other Artist or lean on the subject matter to keep the work consistent. 

I always have the notes page on my phone open, and have more than a few notebooks so I’m always writing.

Recording to post production - Self sufficiency and my autonomy is important, so I’ve slowly learnt how to work each step of my process. I have been self-engineering my sessions since starting University in 2016. Only recently, I’ve started mixing my own tracks. I used to always outsource this but as I grow I gain confidence in who I am and being able to craft my own sound. Mixing usually takes me a few days to a week per song when I’m locked in. 

My favourite parts of the process is definitely lyric writing, arranging and mixing. Mastering is still outsourced to the most trusted ‘Taylor Made Studios’.

How important are collaboration and community, whether that’s with other artists, producers, or local venues, in your work and growth? Are there recent or upcoming collaborations you're excited about?

Collaboration has and will always be important in my work because of the ability to learn and grow through the genius of others, which only feeds back into my work.

Community is something I’m growing to understand the importance of as I develop and start to collaborate with more local businesses and like minded creators. 

Collaborations worth mentioning: My Hot Sauce collaboration with Wakefield based Sandwich shop ‘Subs & Suds’...that was an incredible perk of my pop up performance in their location. 

Wah Wah Records (Wakefield) and The Vinyl Whistle (Leeds) stocking my Calm + Casual EP NFC mini CD in store.

Upcoming, my joint EP with local producer K_RR titled ‘Preseason’. Diving deeper into my drumless hip hop and Y2k inspired rap bag. The project is pencilled to be released in January 2026.

Being based in West Yorkshire, how has the local music scene influenced or supported your journey? What strengths and weaknesses do you see in the scene there for upcoming artists?

I’d say once I found my people…the local scene has supported and inspired me in a way I never thought it would. There’s always someone who’s experienced what you have, someone willing to work, willing to give advice or point you in the right direction. 

The strengths I see is that the music scene is very healthy right now, every artist seems to be active and The North is getting a lot more light shone on it so it’s a good time for us to really do our thing.

Weaknesses I see, There’s a split. The scene has the music genres it’s been used to supporting but there’s also so much more bubbling right underneath the surface especially in terms of hip hop and rap…So much potential untapped. I think the area of artist development , representation and support for other genres could definitely do with improvement. Sometimes the support doesn’t always translate into tangible opportunities.

As an independent-label founder and artist, how do you balance business and creativity? Do you think the role of grassroots initiatives (small venues, indie labels, etc.) is changing?

I’ve found that keeping schedules for my time and activities for both my business and creative brain is extremely helpful. The two beasts usually feed themselves quite well, forward thinking also helps a lot.

I almost see grassroots initiatives as partners of artists more than anything. Independent labels assisting with distribution or admin tasks, small venues that are very accommodating and cater to specific needs. From what I’ve seen so far, I'd say it’s all an eco-system and I think that’s great.

Looking at your journey so far, what’re you most proud of? Are there things you wish you’d done differently or lessons learned along the way?

I’d say I’m most proud of carrying on, through everything. I’ve faced many hardships that could deter anyone or have pulled me off ‘the path’ but I’ve managed to hold my resolve and keep the bigger picture in mind along the way. 

I’m also incredibly proud to be a black independent artist (currently with no management, major backing or agencies) with a band who performs consistently, playing the Clarence Park Festival in Wakefield is still a top moment for me.

I wouldn’t change anything other than I’d choose to learn guitar back in school instead of starting now. 

As for lessons learned, Always have a back up of the back up then a back up for that. 

My intuition is my greatest strength and compass whether I’m writing or navigating life.

I always feel 10x better once I’ve just finalised everything and released it than when I’m holding ideas hostage and sitting on my hands.

You can find out more about TjTUCKER via his social media.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ7yQdkwrDc