Novelist

Producer and MC Novelist hails from Lewisham, South London, where he works to perfect his lyrical and production skills with his crew The Square.The 17-year-old, whose real name is Kojo Kankam, grew up immersed in the grime scene, and built a following through appearances on underground radio stations such as Flex, NTS and Rinse – where he played solo for an hour. His collaboration with Mumdance, Take Time became one of 2014’s biggest Grime tracks and he recently signed to XL records – home to Adele and Radiohead – where he has already recorded a collaboration with Jamie xx. A former candidate to be Lewisham’s young mayor (he came second), the teenage prodigy has been widely praised for his skilful delivery and ear for musical innovations. Grime lynchpin DJ Logan Sama said Novelist was “representative of a generation that has had Grime around them for the entire time they have been aware of the existence of music. That’s really exciting, because that’s a first. He’s a product of Grime, musically.”