AJ Tracey bought his mum a house after independent success

‘Ladbroke Grove’ artist has been releasing music without a record label since the beginning of his career

AJ Tracey has revealed that he bought his mum a house despite not being signed to a major record label.

The “Ladbroke Grove” musician has been releasing music independently since 2011. He told BBC Newsbeat that going it alone had allowed him to focus on his “main goal” of helping his family.

“Obviously I wanted to enjoy the music and achieve artistic success, but I wanted to give my family an opportunity to live a better life,” the 26-year-old, said.

“I’ve done that now by buying my mum a house. Whatever I do now is a bonus. Signing a record deal would have given me financial comfort but now I’ve done it my way, it doesn’t really matter.”

Revealing that he only worked with a “small team”, AJ, real name Ché Wolton Grant, said that working independently allowed him to feel like his success was all off his own back.

“You really understand how much effort you’ve put in and you really get the fruits of your labour by being independent,” he said. “If I take a loss it’s my loss to bear. If I win, it was my call and we won.”

AJ released his self-titled debut album in 2019, which featured collaborations with artists including Giggs, Not3s and Jay Critch.

His single “Ladbroke Grove”, named in honour of his west London home, peaked at number three on the UK chart and was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2020 Brit Awards.

He recently released a new single with a similar theme, “West Ten”, with singer Mabel. AJ is set to receive the Innovator award at this year's AIM Independent Music Awards.