Tice Cin unveils debut mixtape with self-directed short film
The mixtape and short film serve as an audio-visual companion to her acclaimed debut novel Keeping the House
Multidisciplinary artist, poet and novelist Tice Cin is set to release her debut mixtape, 'Keeping the House – The Mixtape', on July 1.
Coinciding with the announcement, Cin has unveiled a self-directed short film titled 'I’m About', soundtracked by the track of the same name, produced by Rei Sky and featuring North-West London poet and MC Kareem Parkins-Brown alongside Cin herself.
Described as “a portal fantasy through ends”, the film introduces a surreal narrative universe. “An all-seeing entity known as The Window watches over a girl being chased by two assailants, as her path crosses with a local dealer lost in his own quiet storm,” Cin explains, speaking to Mixmag’s Editor & Digital Director Patrick Hinton.
She adds: “Woven from key elements of my novel Keeping the House, exploring ‘What if?’ scenarios for scenes that sit 'off-camera’ in the novel. Kareem Parkins-Brown interpreted one of the book’s characters to create Mide Ya, a hustler navigating ends. My character The Window bears witness to what characters like Filiz and Mide Ya might have experienced outside the novel’s original bounds.”
The cast includes Elikem Agbesi, known for Top Boy, and Aziz Kemal, whose credits include Gangs of London, with Willow Hazell serving as director of photography.
Sonically, 'I’m About' blends moody, textural production with Cin’s measured vocal delivery, counterbalanced by Parkins-Brown’s urgent, poetic cadence. The track leans into an uneasy, atmospheric rhythm built around off-kilter beats and sub-heavy bass.
Reflecting on the track, Cin says: “I want it to be known that I’m doing something within poetry and rap, something in between – I’m barring with an out of time-ness, going between slow and fast. I’m heavily inspired by grime, and the poetry of grime, and also the rhythm of non-anglophone poetry, along with these Turkish epics that have these long monologic introductions before we get into the sweep of song – it’s become its own flow in my mouth.”
The mixtape, which will arrive via Cin’s own label and creative platform Neoprene Genie, is a sonic companion to her acclaimed debut novel Keeping the House. The book earned widespread recognition, with The Guardian calling it “a cult classic in the making”. It was shortlisted for the 2022 British Book Awards in the Discover category and went on to win the Somerset Maugham Award the same year.
Spanning eight original tracks and three remixes, the mixtape sees Tice Cin collaborate with a close-knit group of local creatives to bring the world of her novel into new sonic territory.
Born in Enfield, North London, to Turkish Cypriot parents, Tice Cin's upbringing and cultural influences are deeply rooted in the Turkish diaspora community in the UK. Her debut novel, Keeping the House, reflects this heritage by exploring the lives of Turkish Cypriot women in North London, weaving in themes of diaspora, identity and community.
Stream/download ‘I’m About’ on your favourite platform here and watch the video below.
