Northampton born and bred, slowthai is the rapper speaking out for a generation of kids who’ve been ignored for too long by the powers that be. His lyrics are cut through with a rawness and unflinching honesty that has the listener hanging on every elongated word (the slowthai moniker comes from a childhood nickname, born out of friends commenting on his slow, drawled speech). He speaks directly to a generation of kids swinging between anger and apathy at the unsettled times they’ve found themselves born into. His music is unmistakably British, treading a line between grime, rap, dubstep and garage – riding rough-edged beats with an adolescent charisma and confidence that recalls buzzy pirate radio sessions and handicam freestyles. All of this is encapsulated by live shows that are drenched in sweat and spit and booming with the sound of slowthai’s hooky flows and street-smart bars being chanted back at him.

100 gecs is a duo between Laura Les and Dylan Brady. Scavenging scraps of musical influences and welding them into dangerous machines, they destroy the competition with their army of lethal bangers. Critically heralded as “very good” and “music”, their ambition knows no bounds.