TIPPER OF THE WEEK: LEE HAWTHORN

We continue to shine the spotlight the biggest and best emerging acts from across the UK. Each Monday, we ask one of our esteemed tippers to select five of their hottest tips to be featured on the site throughout the week.

Next up we have Lee Hawthorn, founder and editor of multimedia hip-hop and grime platform TheRootMusic. Recently hired as Team Assistant for BBC Introducing in the North East, Lee has also worked in radio as a presenter and producer with Spark and as a writer for Complex, Pigeons & Planes and the MOBO Awards. Read all about Lee’s top picks below.

 

---

 

CHIEDU ORAKA

In Scott Lewis’ Tipper Of The Week feature, the Clue Records founder mentioned Hull’s emergence as one of the most exciting breeding grounds for new music in the UK right now. Chiedu Oraka is the leading example of this in terms of grime with his latest single, Darcy, dominating Spotify playlists at the minute. I caught Chiedu and DeezKidd who features on the aforementioned streaming hit at Evolution Emerging this year, and was won over immediately. FFO: Wiley & Bugzy Malone.

 

SHOTTY HORROH

UK Battle Rap’s biggest export has experimented with a number of sounds in his music output. From working under DeadMau5 to now signed to Sony and melding classic Mancunian britpop influence with raw aggressive hip-hop. Shudehill is a masterpiece. FFO: Oasis, The Streets.

 

P SOLJA

Known predominantly as a clash MC, P Solja is turning his attention, focusing solely on music and with the Nah Watch Face EP its clear to see why. Hardest Spitter is one of the best grime releases of 2018, and I’m excited to see what else is to come. If you can catch the Leeds MC supporting Lunar C’s Dirtbrain tour – I’d highly recommend it. FFO: Ghetts, P Money.

 

YIZZY

Having broken through the ranks of London’s grime scene through smashing radio sets, Yizzy established himself with the S.O.S EP. Returning recently with Hype Ting seems to be a signal of intent that the young MC is here to takeover. Fingers crossed 2019 produces a collaborative EP with Gemin1 after that 1Xtra set with Sir Spyro. FFO: Chip, Jammz.

 

EYECONIC

What happens when a Polish MC moves to Middlesbrough and learns English through American audio books? Eyeconic’s unique voice helps set him apart in the burgeoning North East sceNE and Spit One Lyric is the hypest live grime record the UK has spawned in years. Way more than just a grime MC, Eyeconic experiments across genres and hasn’t missed yet. FFO: Mac Miller, Dizzee Rascal.