With a hugely supportive family and peer group encouraging him to pursue his musical career, North London teen, Eric IV, fell in love with music at 12 years old after he started playing the piano. Fast forward a few years, and after discovering a passion for music production, he started to rap and sing over his tracks, finding his own sound for his music.

His musical inspirations include Drake, Tory Lanez and Chris Brown, and Eric is making versatile R&B and hip-hop influenced music that is getting a lot of love in his hometown of London and across the UK. He says that his latest track ‘True Colours’, a track that showcases his clear melodic abilities, is only just one aspect of his sound. The track is a low-key bop, and it definitely sounds like there’s so much more to come from Eric IV. We can’t wait to hear more!

1) For those who don’t know about you and your music, tell us a little bit about who you are and where you’re from…

I go by the name of Eric IV, born and raised in north London. I’m 19 years old and I got into music when I was 12playing instruments. My love for music came quite early when I was introduced to playing the keys at school and then decided to buy my own so I could teach myself how to play. About three years later I was introduced to music production and I fell in love with it and started doing it as a hobby with some of my friends. I then began to produce and write for other people. I then went on to write for myself and started to sing and rap on my own beats -gradually over time I developed my sound which has got me to the stage I am currently at in my music career.

2) Describe your sound in three words…

Melodic, versatile, mellow.

3) Who inspired you to start a career in music?

My family and friends because they gave me confidence as they saw my talent and ability from early on and this pushed me to get started with my career. Music wise, my inspiration and sound has come from a mixture of genres such as R&B & hip-hop.

4) Who are your biggest musical influences?

I listen to a lot of old school music, of most recent times I would say Drake, Chris brown, Lil Wayne are the artists I listen to the most for inspiration! I listen to such a variety of music, I take from all and fuse it into my own sound.

5) Tell us about the writing and recording process for your new single/album…

This studio session was quite different to the rest of mine because usually I wouldn’t have so many people in my session when recording. On this occasionI was in the studio vibing with my friendsfreestyling on the instrumental, Dan the producer was cooking up and everything came out perfect and that same night we decided we was going to release it. I didn’t really think much of it 'til I released it, I literally did it for fun. It was only later I realised the impact when I saw the reaction from all my friends, family and the public.

6) What can we expect from your live shows?

A great experience for sure! A vibe, I want to make sure people are entertained and remember my show forever! I’m excited to perform some of the unreleased songs I’ve been working on, you can also expect me to bring out instruments like the piano and perform live! My headline shows will be one to remember.

7) What has been your biggest career highlight so far?

Definitely Cadet reaching out and doing a song with me will be up there as one of my biggest highlights as he was the first artist to ever show me love and show me real support. Another huge highlight in my career so far is having the dream life sony team believe in me and my vision for true colours! I’m really excited for the future!!

8) Have you met anyone and been totally starstruck?

Not yet! But I can feel it coming soon.

9) What’s on your playlists that people wouldn’t expect?

Recently I’ve been listening to Roddy Ricch's album as well as Yxng Bane's recentproject! Another artist I listen to that people wouldn’t expect is Kaash Paige I think she is very sick!

10) When can we see you live?

As soon as lockdown is over and it’s safe to be outside, you can expect to hear live dates for sure! I’m really excited to get started!