Rizzle Kicks on comeback with Competition is for Losers: "We were just kids mucking about"

They're baaaaack! Rizzle Kicks (or Jordan Stephens and Harley Alexander-Sule) may have taken a bit of time off (well, a lot - their last album, Roaring 20s, dropped in 2013) but the break has proved to be bountiful for the duo.

Competition is for Losers, their third and most impressive album yet, is the work of two artists who have done most of their growing outside of the glare of the spotlight, in the 10+ years that have passed since they put out a record together. 

Considering that their erratic, bouncy grooves present on the UK Top 10 hits Down With The Trumpets, When I Was A Youngster and Mama Do The Hump (as well as their guest appearance on Olly Murs's Heart Skips A Beat, a Number 1 hit in 2011) were, for many, a specific summer soundtrack of their hedonistic teenage years, it's a big surprise to see that on their comeback record, Rizzle Kicks's party lifestyle may have mellowed...but their lively experimentation certainly hasn't. 

Before the album's release, we sat down with both Jordan and Harley to discuss their time away, their brand-new point of view in 2025 and throwing it back to the summer that changed their lives.

Hi boys! Let's start as we mean to go on and skip to the good bit...how are you feeling?

Jordan: I feel good. I feel great! This is the best music we've ever made and I'm really excited for people to hear it. It's been a long time coming. You know, our last album was released 12 years ago...we've grown up a lot [since then]. I think we've become better musicians. There are things on the album we talk about that are very important to us [like sobriety and mental health] and we're excited to share those messages and just let people see where we are in our lives.

The landscape for releasing music, especially, has changed so much since your last album - it's a different world

Jordan: There used to be such a clear understanding of what to do [to get your material to chart]. But now there are so many different [factors], and you've got to be smashing TikTok! It's definitely a different landscape now, but ultimately we just want to release good music and hope there's still some currency [in Rizzle Kicks] and people go...yo, this album is big,

Bad Tattoo is such a good album opener, by the way

Harley: Maybe people say that because [it's the first track] and they're excited, but quite a few people we've sent this album to have said that's their favourite song on the record too. We never considered it as a single, maybe because of the length...it's quite a long track, and it doesn't really have a conventional structure.

Why is that the track that opens up the album?

Jordan: My friend Caleb Femi, who's an incredible poet and artist, suggested we put Bad Tattoo first, and I'm so grateful we had his feedback. I guess it still has the heart of Rizzle Kicks, but it's clearly more mature and incorporates more modern elements. Like, my rap flow is a bit more current. As for the lyric, I couldn't actually tell you where that came from - often our process [when writing songs] is that the sounds [on the production] emit the words we speak. But I'm very happy with that lyric. Hopefully people will relate to it, to our formerly reckless selves.

That kind of speaks to the theme of the album - Stereo Typical was the soundtrack to a reckless youth...and now you've come back down to earth

Jordan: Yeah, it's a different kind of fun now! There's a lot more fun in the peace and quiet of our lives now.

Does that make you look back on some of your older material differently, having grown up and past it now?

Jordan: We did a radio performance yesterday, and we performed Down With The Trumpets. Now, I love that song, it changed our lives, but midway through I just couldn't stop laughing. The lyrics to that song are so representative of a specific time in our lives like you mentioned. We were just kids, mucking about. We are so far away from those people now. It felt very bizarre saying those lines as a 33-year-old in a completely different place. We talk about love and our struggles with mental health and sobriety on this album. It's a very much a reflection on the vibe we're trying to emit now.

But we still have an appreciation for Rachel Bilson, obviously

Jordan: Do you know what's so weird, I actually looked her up yesterday. I realised we never ever reached out to Rachel Bilson...

Harley: Can I be honest, I still have no idea who Rachel Bilson is. 

Jordan: This is a massive news story, by the way. Like, breaking news. Her name is Summer [on The OC], why else would I be saying Rachel Bilson?!

Harley: I understand the lyric! I understand that Rachel Bilson is an actor playing someone called Summer...but I have no idea what she looks like.

Jordan: Bruv, I am in shock. I am shook to my core. Anyway, shout out Rachel Bilson. We love you!

You've collaborated with the likes of Maverick Sabre on the new tracks...how did that come about?

Jordan: Maverick is literally one of my favourite artists ever, and we've recently got close again, so I asked him to jump on. I said it would mean a lot for him to be on this comeback record, we kind of came up at the same time and similarly, I guess, shifted and expanded our outlook on life. 

And Jordan, you know what I'm going to ask now...where's the JADE feature!

Jordan: Jade's on the album! She's on Undefeated. She actually recorded the first demo for it, but we had to replace the voice on it [so the feature wasn't so obvious - you can still hear Jade's voice at the beginning of the track]. It's very difficult balancing having a f*cking pop star as your partner. The best pop star in the world! We've obviously been in each other's sessions a lot...it's very nice to have her nearby. 

We touched on this briefly but Stereo Typical was the soundtrack to a very specific moment in 2011/2012 - what do you remember of that time?

Harley: You're asking the wrong people! A lot of that period is quite blurry.

Jordan: Bear in mind, we were touring, doing festivals. It was a lot. It was hard, we haven't really ever sat down [to discuss it]. But, one thing I can remember is that during that period, we couldn't even get the tube. We were quite contained, so it's hard to have any memories besides, of course, carrying the Olympic torch. I mean, my iPhone photos only go back to 2013...

During that time you also ticked off a massive bucket list for many artists, a UK Number 1 single with Olly Murs on Heart Skips A Beat. Can I just say...that song still slaps

Jordan: Now, come on...we wouldn't have done it if it wasn't a banger!

Can you remember going to Number 1? Where were you when you found out?

Jordan: I actually vividly remember that, yes.

Harley: We were headlining BBC Introducing at Reading, it was back when the charts were still announced on a Sunday. 

Jordan: Trumpets was Number 8 in the charts, still...

Harley:...yeah and Heart Skips A Beat was Number 1. I'd go so far as to say that was the best day of my musical life, for sure. How I felt that day...it was definitely a 'I made it' moment.

Competition is for Losers by Rizzle Kicks drops Friday February 14 via BMG.