Skepta

Born Joseph Adenuga, Skepta developed within the Tottenham music scene and the network around Meridian and Boy Better Know. His work as a producer mattered alongside the voice: a spare instrumental figure and a carefully placed drum sound could make the space around a lyric feel unusually exposed. Greatest Hits appeared in 2007, followed by Microphone Champion in 2009.

The early catalogue moved through different relationships with radio and mainstream pop, including the later Doin' It Again period. The strongest performances kept a recognisable sense of timing and verbal economy. Skepta could make a line feel conversational, then repeat or sharpen it until it became the principal rhythmic event in the track.

Konnichiwa arrived in 2016, including Shutdown, That's Not Me and Man. The album won the Mercury Prize, bringing institutional recognition to a project rooted in a very different route through British music. Its impact did not depend on smoothing away the local identity: the voice, references and spare rhythmic settings remained central to the work.

Ignorance Is Bliss followed in 2019, extending the catalogue into another set of personal and public situations. Across these records, Skepta's production and rapping are difficult to separate neatly. The beat can make a phrase sound more abrupt, more amused or more threatening, while the placement of the words changes how the instrumental moves. The apparent simplicity often comes from deciding exactly what the track can afford to leave out.