INSIDE KID RAISE KID: TRUMAN ON IDENTITY, TRAUMA AND BECOMING
- 43 minutes ago
- 7 min read
WORDS MAISIE JANE DANIELS
Born from the mind of London-based musician and poet Charley Palmer Rothwell, Truman is a project that exists somewhere between reality and reconstruction; an alter ego shaped by memory, environment, and the things left unsaid.
His debut album Kid Raise Kid is an unravelling body of work rooted in working-class London, it traces inherited trauma, identity, and the systems that shape us - often without us realising. Through sharp lyricism and moments of disarming honesty, Truman navigates emotional excavation with a kind of uneasy grace, where darkness is often softened by flashes of dry, instinctive humour.
But beneath the introspection sits something wider. Kid Raise Kid doesn’t just document personal experience - it gestures toward the structures surrounding it: masculinity, class, and an industry that increasingly sidelines the very voices it depends on. Truman doesn’t claim to have the answers, but instead sits in the discomfort, asking the questions that linger.
In conversation with F Word, Charley reflects on the making of Truman, the catharsis and confrontation behind the record, and the realities of creating as an independent artist today - offering a perspective that feels as vulnerable as it is vital.
Maisie Daniels: For readers discovering you for the first time - who is Truman, and how does he differ from Charley?
Truman: Yeah, it’s a good question. I think Truman is me trying to personify my upbringing - what made me, I suppose, which is also Charley - but it’s about taking that world and building something new out of it. It’s like an exaggeration, an extension of my life. And with Truman as a project, I’m trying to bring to light - in an artistic, creative way - things I probably couldn’t talk about before, or was told not to talk about. It gives me a kind of filter and outlet for that, which art does really well.
MD: Your album title Kid Raise Kid is really striking. Can you talk about that phrase and what it represents for you personally?
Truman: Yeah - I mean, it came to me, and I just really liked it. Even visually, the pattern of it - the word “raise” in the middle almost feels bigger than both the kids. Personally, I was raised by people who were children in many ways. Where I come from - not just geographically, but culturally - there’s a lot of trauma down the line on both sides of my family. So there’s a lot of… adult children, really.
MD: Growing up working class in London plays a big role in your storytelling. How important is it for you to document that reality in your work?
Truman: Do you know what - selfishly, it’s not that it feels “important” in that sense. It was more that there was a period of my life that I needed to express. Looking back now, I can see how much the system I was in played a role in what was going on - but at the time, I don’t think any of us really knew that. I don’t want to get too bogged down in that with future work, but for this record, it was clearly something I needed to talk about.
MD: There’s a real sense of confronting difficult past experiences on this record - how did it affect you emotionally? Did it feel more like catharsis, or excavation?
Truman: Both. I made these songs quite a while ago - longer than people might think. At the time, it felt cathartic. I was doing a lot of therapy alongside making the album, so that fed into the writing. Now, looking back, it feels more like excavation. You kind of hope that through that process, you grow - and I think parts of me did.
MD: Musical therapy. When did you start writing it?
Truman: About five years ago.
MD: Your lyricism balances something quite heavy with moments of dark humour - where does that come from?
Truman: I think partly it’s cultural. Not just London - anywhere where people are going through something traumatic, humour becomes a coping mechanism. I watched this documentary about Syria called For Sama, and there’s a scene where they’re inside a building being bombed, with babies - and all they can do is try to laugh. I don’t consciously think, “I’m going to be funny here,” but humour helps me talk about things that would otherwise feel too heavy. If you’re too serious with it, it can be unbearable. And also, in my family, my role was the funny one.
MD: Can you name a lyric from the album that’s hitting you the hardest right now?
Truman: There’s one that feels quite savage - “looking for a womb to put my wrongs in.” I write in a stream of consciousness, so I don’t always analyse it in the moment. But now, I feel quite sad for the part of me that wrote that. There’s a lot of self-judgement in it - like I’m something that needs fixing. It works in the context of the song, which is about relapse, because there’s such a strong link between shame and addiction. But yeah… it’s a heavy one.
MD: I think it’s really important that you’re vocalising those things. It helps break down stigma - and I’m sure it’ll make people feel less alone.
Truman: If that’s the case, then that’s amazing.
MD: If Kid Raise Kid was a film genre, what would it be?
Truman: Magical realism.
MD: You’ve covered the topic of toxic masculinity in “Tell Him” - what conversations are you hoping this opens up?
Truman: I hope it creates a bit more nuance. There’s so much conversation around things like the “manosphere” at the moment, and it can get very clickbaity - like, “this person’s bad,” “they’re disgusting.” And while there’s space for that, it doesn’t really go anywhere. I think we need to ask why. Why does toxic masculinity exist? It’s more complicated than people give it credit for. When I’ve watched certain documentaries around it - as a man who didn’t grow up with a dad, which a lot of these men also have in common - I’ve felt both repulsed and able to identify with parts of these men. It’s uncomfortable, but I think compassion is important. Because ultimately, that benefits everyone - including the people being negatively affected by it.
MD: You’ve mentioned you write in a stream of consciousness - when do ideas come to you?
Truman: When I was making this album, I wrote almost every morning. I’d put on a beat - literally just search something on YouTube - and write for 10 minutes, sometimes an hour. It’s not always in that moment that something comes, but it sort of switches your brain on. Then five hours later, a line might come to me and I’ll put it in my phone. So it’s a mix of structure and spontaneity.
MD: Do you think your acting background plays a role in your songwriting?
Truman: Definitely. There are some quite character-driven songs, but more than anything, acting has helped me get in touch with my imagination. And that’s invaluable for writing - just being able to lose yourself in it.
MD: This is your debut - what does that moment feel like?
Truman: I feel proud of myself.
MD: Looking back at the version of you just starting out - what would you tell him now?
Truman: Just keep doing what you’re doing. You’re doing everything right.
MD: Have you got anything coming up that you can share?
Truman: I’ve got another project pretty much done - I just don’t know how it’s going to be packaged yet. There might also be another video from this album, to kind of tie everything together. And I might do an album event - but saying that out loud makes me accountable now…
MD: I think people are craving that though - real-life experiences. Everything’s so online now.
Truman: That’s what I’m craving too. But honestly, the reason I hesitate to talk about it is money. I’m fully independent. I work in a restaurant and fund everything myself. I love doing it, but that’s the reality. From the outside, things can look polished but the industry, as it stands, just doesn’t work. You end up with a class system where only people with financial support can sustain making music, and others burn out.
MD: I was reading that Kate Nash thinks she will make more money on OnlyFans than from her concerts...
Truman: Exactly. And you don’t realise that until you’re in it. At the same time, there’s so much content now - especially on platforms like TikTok - that people just consume what’s in front of them. Meanwhile, there are incredible artists who just aren’t being seen. It’s mad.
MD: You said on Instagram to listen to the album from start to finish, and I loved that. That’s how we used to consume music.
Truman: Exactly. When you set out to make something, you’re thinking in a full narrative - not just one song. But the industry pushes for singles, for hits. It doesn’t really support how artists naturally want to create anymore. I do have hope though - I think things might shift.
MD: Finish the sentence: the world would be better…
Truman: …with more women in charge. And if subjects like psychology or anthropology were taught in schools from a young age - things that actually help people understand each other.
MD: The world would be better without…
Truman: …people who aren’t politicians pretending to be politicians. And without outdated viewpoints being treated as the norm. A lot of people just aren’t given the information or context to understand things properly - and that’s a systemic issue.
MD: Final question - what’s your favourite F-word?
Truman: Funk.
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