Spirit

J. Hus recorded this song as an encouragement for people to keep their head up as we listen to him reflect on his journey. The singer explained to i-D: "I was in a situation before, when I was in prison or whatever, and I wanted to make a tune that could be on the radio. When I was in prison I used to listen to a lot of radio, so I thought if I could make a tune that would go on radio then I could almost talk to myself, like, myself in prison. I listened to a lot of tunes in prison on the radio that were good, they were alright, but I wanted a song that could really resonate. So if any of my tunes from this album get played on radio, it's great, but if Spirit gets played on radio then I'm going to be so happy. It's a song that's about keeping your head up; we all go through stress, but keep going. I wanted a song that had a good message, and that's the one. Prison, I learnt a lot in prison you know. I learnt I don't want to go back (laughs). I don't want to go there again. I learnt how much I love music and how much I love doing music. Before that experience, I had a negative mindset. I saw a lot of people in [prison] who were in there for way worse things than my situation so it helped me to understand that I needed to have a much better, more positive mindset. It taught me a lot. All the time I'm sitting there and planning; I knew when I came out I wanted to make music that meant something, that lifted the spirit. I don't want to just be the guy who makes wavy tunes for the club. I love that too, but I wanted a balance. I want to be the most diverse act, I want to be that all-round guy."

Hus told Q Magazine that "Spirit" was written to uplift people, especially women. I know how to treat a woman proper, can't see mama suffer "It's to hold your head high, it's a motivation", he said. "I want it to touch the females as well. It's to show that people still have morals. Bringing it back to the old school, I guess." Hus added that he wanted to write a song that would make his mum feel good. "A lot of hip-hop, rap, grime, whatever, it's not always - I don't want to say female friendly, but we don't always describe females in the best way," he said. "Always negative, always sexual, or whatever. Women play an important role. My mum played a very important role in my life. I wanted her to listen to it and feel like... Yeah."