Spotlight On... PAQUE

Scotland’s hip-hop scene might be in its infancy, but PAQUE is already a standout voice. Following the release of his TRUTH BE TOLD EP, released late last year, we dubbed PAQUE as one of our artists to watch in 2025. He's starting the year off strong with his latest single Circus – due out this Friday (28 Mar) – ahead of an album set to drop later this year. PAQUE’s music is bold and raw, bringing a grime-adjacent brand of rap perfectly suited to the rain-lashed streets of Glasgow where we catch up for a chat.

He’s called the city home since moving to Scotland from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as a child but keeps a close connection to his roots through his music and charitable works. 2025 promises to be a big year for PAQUE, with a slew of live shows coming up this summer in the build up to the album release – all that’s left for the rest of us to do is sit back and watch as he etches his name right across the Scottish rap scene. 

You’re making waves with your sound right now, so I’m interested to know who your musical influences are? 
My biggest influence is probably Giggs; he’s what really got me into rapping. When I was younger, I looked a bit like Giggs, and I had this deep voice, so random people on the street would get me to rap his verses. I would be rapping Talking the Hardest for my mates when we were 16 and out in town with nothing to do, and it was from that I realised, “I’ve kind of got something, let me start writing my own lyrics.”

But the artist that really made me focus on music-making rather than just bars was Kanye West. When Woolworths was closing down, I went with my mum to get some stuff, and I remember looking up and there was one CD left on the shelf – Graduation. And I think it must have been a sign from God! I begged my mum to get it. I know that album word for word, back-to-front.

Your lyrics can be quite gritty and personal – where do they come from? 
I write my bars based on how I’m feeling. When I was younger it was a lot more about trying to sound cool, or projecting for the future. Nowadays my bars are a bit more introspective, more of a commentary of how I feel, what I see going on around me.

I’m also a Christian, and my faith shapes my music in the sense that it shapes the core values I want to be associated with my music. But I never want to be preachy – so even if I’m not saying the Lord’s name in my songs, I know that I’m never going to say anything that might promote evil or invoke the devil. For example, I don’t rap about trapping – selling drugs, I mean – like other rappers. I’ve never trapped, but I’ve been asked to do it by people I know, people who only know that life and can’t see it from my perspective. But it goes against my faith and it's about realising it's not something to be glamourised.  

On your new single, Circus, you talk about feeling undervalued at the start of your career. How much does that still motivate you, especially as a rapper coming out of the smaller Scottish scene? 
It motivates me to this day. People want to wait until you’re on a big stage to congratulate you and give you your flowers. When you’re overlooked from the outset, you deserve that sense of achievement with every milestone. Being a rapper in Scotland, it’s definitely more difficult to gain recognition, but also, it is what it is. People are always like, “It’s so hard coming out of Scotland!” And yeah, of course it is – we’re still building and growing.

But I always think there’s a kid who’s ten years old right now who’s gonna be the biggest thing to come out of Scotland. They go to school every day and write bars in the back of a maths book. And by the time they’re a bit older, it’s about being in the right place at the right time to capitalise on the Scottish scene as it grows. Right now, it’s just about laying those foundations – that’s my job. 

Image: PAQUE by @youzzzuf

You send the proceeds from your music to charity and you’re vocal about the causes you support, especially the conflict going on in the DRC right now. What motivated that and why is it important to you?
Being Congolese, I’ve still got family there, so it’s still very close to me. I couldn’t say I’m proud to be Congolese and not speak about what’s going on there. Even more so because I’m not there, I have a bit of a responsibility to speak up on their behalf and be a bit of a voice for the voiceless. 

The way I see it, I’m already giving something to the world – my music – and I’m not currently making loads of money from it, so I may as well donate what I do make to charity. The money I make from my music can help someone a lot more than what I’m gonna benefit from it. 

What does the rest of the year hold for you? 
I’ve got a couple more singles I’m going to release from my project before that drops, so watch out for those. It’s also gonna be a big summer of live shows for me – I’m looking forward to my set at The Skinny’s Pyramid Stage at Kelburn Garden Party, it’s gonna be litty. And I’m also performing at the Clyde Chorus festival on 30 May, which is part of the Glasgow 850 events celebrating the city’s 850th anniversary! It’s an honour to be recognised by the city I’ve given my music to, and I can’t wait.

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Circus is released on 28 Mar via Frictionless Music

PAQUE plays Clyde Chorus festival at Box Hub Vennel, Glasgow, 30 May; Kelburn Garden Party, Kelburn Castle, nr Largs, 3-7 Jul

Follow PAQUE on Instagram @paqueofficial