Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe.
J Hus appeared on the BBC Sound of 2016 longlist, but in fact it looks like 2017 is going to be his year. The 20-year-old East London rapper, born Momodou Jallow, just achieved his first top 20 hit with single Did You See and appears on tracks by UK hip-hop stars Stormzy and Ghetts, and fellow hotly-tipped newcomer, Dave. Did You See is the lead single from J Hus’ debut album Common Sense, which comes out this Friday. His sound brings an African influence to British hip-hop, merging the Afrobeats and grime trends, while his 2015 stabbing and criminal past give him a kind of gangster credibility. The album also features previous single Friendly, which showcases J Hus’ cheeky persona (if you can get past the sexist lyrics). His fanbase is growing fast, and he recently shut down a street in Birmingham because so many people turned up to a sold out, late night club gig without tickets, suggesting his fans may be dim, but there are a lot of them.