Top Ten for 2012

It’s that time where I get to do the thing I love most which is to speculate on newcomers/underground artist that are going to cross the rubicon and pop up on the mainstream radar in the forthcoming year. Yes a lot of blogs will post the usual suspects but here are Kwa.me Blog Heights we try to pick out the ones that have been over looked or are just too nang to ignore, so here we go.

1. Etta Bond is fresh off Labrinth’s Odd Child Record Label and she has already set up 2012 nicely with her Wretch 32 collaboration ‘Forgiveness’, and a slew of live performances and recordings. I find Etta an exciting prospect as she already displays that avante garde sense of style which I think is a hallmark of artists coming out of UK where genre and style mashing is a given. Having only heard a few tracks judgement could be reserved but her writing and singing on ‘Forgiveness’ is so spine tinglingly good that I have little doubt that she will fail to deliver, and also we must remember this is a Labrinth production so this should be good.

2. Youngman, this Digital Soundboy has spent most of 2011 dropping tasters with Magnetic Man Benga and as part of the Digital Soundboy Team he is on one of the hottest labels at the moment and with his vocal dubstep leanings and his strong affiliations it is pretty clear that Youngman will be supplied with the best production on the scene, henceforth a strong contender for 2012.

3. Marger has been putting in some serious work for years and has gone from being a very good Grime MC to Phenomenal MC. Consistently releasing solid mixtapes this gravel voice beast has got himself a solid team around him delivering sick beats and wicked videos. As a grime artist Marger is not afraid to push the sound and that is precisly why I think this year will see him dominating.

4. Dub Phizix & Skeptical marked the end of 2011 with their official release of Marka signalling a new era of D&B where gone is the clutter of hi hats and breaks and the desire to fill and space with some kind of frantic noise and a new dawn where Drums and Bass do the work in providing a minimal but solid groove. When I was first introduced to the sound of Dubphizix (Cheers C Diddy ) I was immediately struck by how sparse the sound was but it was recognisably D&B I made me realise how much of an effect dubstep had had on the Drum & Bass scene and it bloody worked. With a slew of other monster bangers in the pipeline and an album in the works for Dubphizix. This pair have acheived what a lot of artists wish they could acheive and have championed a new sound. Manchester stand up.

5.  Ayah Marar, after years of hard Hussle* this beautiful Jordanian Bunhead struck gold with her collaboration with Wretch32 Traktor producer Yogi. What seems to be slowly unfolding since is a wave of Ayah Marar releases from her time with Hospital Records and some more potential releases in the pipeline. Now this could be anyones story so why is Ayah any different. Well when I met her she was rocking a crowd single handedly DJing flawlessly and singing at the same time, she was also running a label.  Since then she has been under Calvin Harris wing and has now launched her new label Hussle Girl. Trust me when I say Ayah is going to be big in the game for 2012.

*Hussle not a typo ref Ayah’s Hussle Girl Records (bad pun)

6. Pepstar initally struck me as an average MC but it wasn’t until his Beats & Bars series on SBTV that I had to pay attention. Watching him pick up instruments and craft a beat with ease just illustrated to me how much talent this dude was packing. Even if he quit MCing today this cat would still go on to crush as a producer but there is no need for that, Role Reversal off his No Fly Zone Mixtape demonstrates his storytelling and lyrical ability. Quite simply this dude is the nuts.

7. Harry Shotta has been grafting so hard you would not believe it, this dude has spent decades in the making forged from the flames of 90′s UK Hip hop to fine honing his double time delivery in the D&B scene, I know this because I have freestyled with him on many occasions and he is a beast. Unlike the likes of Scrufizzer, Shotta has his own brand of quick fire spittin’ and the years of practice are self evident because his delivery is super fast but impeccably clear, no mumbles or stumbles just straight winding flows. Harry has made a nice start with his Regular Rap Round Up on DJ Semtex’s BBC Radio 1xtra show and has a solid partnership with D&B Legendary MC Skibadee. I expect 2012 to be the year for Harry Shotta and Gang.

8. English Frank is bad man standard, I don’t even need to say one on this but just for you cats who haven’t come across Peoples Army Representative ol’ Frantic Frank now English Frank, prepare for a barrage of pure awesomeness. The beauty of Frank is that he has gone beyond the classic UK Hip Hop paradigm where you are just spitting complex lyrics to creating a persona. English Frank is that Brixton Don who has just merked the game, when you listened to his stories you can hear the years of pain and paranoia, the dramas that he has experienced all laid bare in his rhymes. But what makes it more magical is Frank as a character and the obvious humour in the real life stories. Probably what you would get if you mixed Notorious Big with Phil Mitchell. Dench!

9. Sam Frank has already made a name for himself in his numerous collaborations with Skream and the Magnetic Man Crew but I feel he really shines on his single ‘Simple Life’ which is a throwback to the electro funk of Roger & Zapp. I get the impression that this is where Sam Frank’s passions lie and that we could be seeing the resurgence of the funk.

10. The McMash Clan, these dudes are on another level when it comes to DJ outfits. Recently signed to Play Me Records this trio of musical renegades have taken to grabbing handfuls of genres dumping them into a large bucket and mashing the hell out of them with a large sledgehammer. From Moombahcore to Drum & Bass they throw everything into the mix to glorious delirious hands in the air effect and this is just from their Braindrop nights. They are crafting some awesome tunes which total encapsulates what they are all about. Check out their Kick Ass EP to get an idea. Heavy!

 

Notable Mentions:

Ghetts after years as one of the MVPs of Grime Ghetts is looking set to crush in 2012.

Broke N’English after Strategy’s devastating delivery on Marka and DRS’s superb collaboration with ‘Need For Mirrors’ these Mancunians are looking super strong at the moment.

Redlight also know as Clipz has spent years in the making, mastering his craft in the Drum & Bass arena, now he has carved a niche of his own by drawing from 90′s Rave and early house to create some classic bangers.