Finn Askew x Ibrahim Mbaye - Being your own biggest fan

Finn Askew, 25, had his early life moulded by the county of Somerset which lies in South West England. The former Indie band front man, now R&B rising star, reflects on his home county with an air of conflict. On one hand he describes how nobody he knew aspired to be a successful musician and that helped him grow at his own pace, learn independently and mature a lot faster as a result. But on the other hand he wishes he was able to have a tight-knit circle of like-minded people he could come up with. People he could be inspired and infatuated by.

Ibrahim Mbaye (18) never had that problem. That’s because Mbaye has been growing in a hotbed of talent his whole life. Born and raised in Trappes, Paris, the same neighbourhood which produced Nicolas Anelka, Mbaye was ensnared by PSG’s academy at the age of 10. You have London, you have Rio, you have Catalonia and you also have Paris as the most frequent producers of world-beating football talents in the world. Mbaye was coming through in one of the most competitive environments around in one of the most esteemed academies around and yet he still stuck out like a sore thumb.

He stuck out from the minute he was signed to PSG. Stuck out so much that despite lacking much size and physicality, he was almost always playing a year or two age groups up. Mbaye’s lighting pace and relentless 1v1 dribbling catapulted him through PSG’s youth ranks up to the point where he was playing, and starring for their U19s side at the age of 16. Coaches and watchers of La Parisien youth games at the time were said to not be able to get his name out of their mouth.

Finn Askew’s rise to fame was slightly less glamorous but still gave a glimpse towards who he was going to become. All he has known is music. His dad used to play The Beach Boys and Green Day whilst he was going downstairs getting ready for school. And as a result of such an early exposure to the stuff, all he has wanted to be was a musician. He started performing in pubs and at any gig he would take him. Word of his legend reverberated through his home town to the point he amassed quite an audience singing his songs and strutting his stuff on stage. Just him and his guitar.

Slowly and slowly, with every performance and with social media beckoning a new wave of hungry musicians into the fore, his stock began to rise. The unwavering pursuit of his dream resulted in more bookings, more views and keener attention. When COVID hit and he had no excuse not to, Askew began releasing songs on Spotify and pushing them on his socials. One of those songs was titled ‘Roses’ and that was the song which turned his regional fame into the international spotlight. BTS member Jungkook posted an Instagram story of the song in 2022 and from there, he was really rolling.

Mbaye’s reckoning was slightly more natural. He bided his time in PSG’s youth side until Luis Enrique had seen enough and decided to take the winger on the 2024/25 pre-season tour with the first team. Mbaye started the first game against Sturm Graz and impressed enough to start the second game against RB Leipzig. He impressed enough in that one to start PSG’s first game of the Ligue 1 season against Le Havre, becoming their youngest ever full debutant at 16 years and 205 days old.

Mbaye played a part in 5 of PSG’s first 8 games of the season. When he wasn’t in the first-team, he was dropping down to the youth teams and terrorising defenders, most of whom were still older than him, in games deemed important enough to require his services.

The next season, Mbaye played 32 games compared to 10 the year before. He was playing in the Champions League and starting significant domestic fixtures, but it wasn’t enough for him. Because when you want to be the best, you can’t settle for being down the pecking order - well that’s according to Mbaye anyway who was perhaps hypnotised by the words of his controversial camp. He said he saw the likes of Kvaratskhellia, Dembele, Barcola, Ramos and Doue as competition. Competition he needed to be better than, that he needed to start over. And so, his lack of minutes led to severed ties between him and PSG. Aston Villa came swooping in for the now 18 year old and secured his signature for over £40 million.

If you were to ask Finn Askew in 2022 if he was surprised at where he’d be at so early in his music career, performing international shows and palavering with Post Malone, he’d tell you he wasn’t surprised. Because Askew, like Mbaye, has always been very self aware of his talent. He says that ‘making it’ was never in doubt. That success and fame were a formality and that it was all bound to happen. If anything, he manifested his own reality. 

Some might pass this off for arrogance but the truth is, if you don’t believe in yourself then who will? Askew’s ambitions haven’t slowed down since he became a more well-known figure. Now at 25, which is still incredibly young in the music industry, he speaks of becoming the biggest artist in the world and going down in history just like the artists who’ve already cosigned him, Justin Bieber, SZA and Justin Timberlake, have done.

You don’t get such names endorsing you if your music is ordinary. But Askew’s upbringing renders him slightly fortunate in that regard. Because he had nobody to share and hone his ideas with, it means the music was made was completely unique to him. The lack of outside inspiration means that the R&B singer’s sound is somewhat left field of anything that’s out there right now. It’s very love song heavy without being too wet and cringey. It has shades of Justin Bieber but is also merged with some pretty unorthodox instrumentals that his rangey voice contrasts almost perfectly.

Back to Mbaye who’s education was not solitary but instead shaped by some of the continent’s greatest developers of youth. Due to a combination of his own talent and the coaching he’s received, Mbaye is capable of playing at high level on either flank. Though he’s predominantly right footed, he’s more than capable of using his left to good effect. He’s extremely fast off the mark and so hard for full-backs to pin down. The Senegalese international prides himself on his ‘provocativeness’ and 1v1 ability and is so hard to stop because he can rip you on the outside or dance inside and change the game that way.

Described as quite shy and seemingly cold but very self assured - his childlike personality comes out once you become close enough to him. Although Mbaye grew up in France his whole life, he describes a deep emotional connection to his Senegalese father which made him choose to represent them at senior level. In Senegal, he’s already viewed as the face of their footballing future. His hard work and humility have left locals to describe him as the son every parent wants and despite only playing for Senegal for less than a year (and shining at both the World Cup and AFCON) he’s already endeared in fans’ hearts.

There’s such a good emerging R&B scene right now in the UK with the likes of Elmiene, Nia Smith, Cleo Sol and Odeal all taking the genre to new heights. Askew sits at the table with them. His recent EP ‘Blueboy’ features some epic singles such as ‘Move On’ and ‘Distance’ which really hammer home his one-of-a-kind sound and the fact that no song he makes sounds the same. Yet to put out a full length album yet, it’s a matter of time until he does and with the self-belief he possesses, there’s no telling how far that might go.

Both Elmiene and Mbaye have got to where they have, not just because of their talent but because of their vociferous confidence. It’s what you need to separate yourself from your competitors and it’s what’s going to take them very far in their respective industry.