Soul musician Michael Kiwanuka to play Birmingham's O2 Institute
He's released one of the best albums of 2016. But soul musician Michael Kiwanuka wanted to give up music after suffering for his art.
The star, who will headline Birmingham's Institute tonight, released Love And Hate earlier this year, four years after the release of his debut album, Home Again.
He hit a low point after Kanye West sought him out to sing on his Yeezus album at sessions in Hawaii and Paris but it left Kiwanuka feeling far out of his depth.
"I didn't even get why he wanted me to be there. I was lost, absolutely lost. I just felt stupid sitting there with my acoustic guitar with all these producers and rappers. He didn't tell me what he wanted, he just said: 'Do your thing and it will be good enough'. I don't think I really believed that. I wanted him to tell me what to do because I didn't know how to do it."
Kiwanuka eventually left, regrouping to make Love And Hate.
It was a tough record to make, following the success of his debut. "The kind of success I had was weird. It was good but I wasn't like Ben Howard or Jake Bugg, selling out three Brixton Academies."
