Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe.
Drake has had his eye on the UK music scene for a while, from sampling Kyla’s funky house hit Do You Mind on One Dance to his long-standing obsession with grime. Now he’s lent his vocals to a new remix of rising British rapper Dave’s latest single, Wanna Know, and released it through his OVO Sound label, in partnership with Warner Bros. Dave, formerly known as Santan Dave (his full name is Dave Santan – I’m still unsure if this was meant to be a pun on Santander), is a smiley, charismatic 18-year-old from South London. His rap style is monotonous (as is the trend) but quite melodic, verging on singing, and Wanna Know was produced by a man with some top pop credentials, Fraser T Smith. He films his videos in different countries – perhaps a statement that he doesn’t want to be restricted to the UK scene. Or maybe he just wanted a free holiday with his mates.