Fekky

Delivering rapid, garage-infused hip-hop laced with uncompromising, defiant, and scathing lyrics, Fekky is a grime MC from South London, U.K. First appearing on the scene in 2011, he got his start laying down a number of ideas with some friends and put out “Ring Ring Trap” with an accompanying online video. The song was a success, drawing in around 10,000 views in a matter of days. The young artist didn’t waste time and quickly followed up with “Fire in the Booth,” which earned him even more fans. Not one to rest on his laurels, the rapper decided to embark on small-scale nationwide tours, gaining more and more exposure throughout the country. Honing in on the fact that grime isn’t necessarily associated with the high-class lifestyle that various aspects of hip-hop are quick to depict, the young MC stated that “grime is tracksuits, it’s not Rolexes.” His approach to the scene proved a refreshing one, with many citing and commending the raw honesty in Fekky’s music. More success followed when he was snapped up by Stateside hip-hop heavyweight the Game to open up for him on his 2014 U.K. tour. 2015 saw Fekky march into the brighter limelight of the U.K. urban music scene; he produced a remix of Dizzee Rascal’s Boy in Da Corner cut, “Sittin’ Here,” which prompted Dizzee to contact Fekky with a verse, proposing a collaboration that wound an extensive reworking of the track titled “Still Sittin’ Here.” The same year saw Fekky collaborate with Skepta on the track “Way Too Much,” which proved hugely popular. Fekky made waves in the live arena; kicking off 2015 when he appeared alongside Kanye West and a whole host of other grime artists at the 2015 BRIT Awards, to perform West’s song “All Day.” He went on to perform at the Royal Albert Hall’s 2015 Grime Symphony that summer, and made his debut performances at the 2015 Reading & Leeds Festivals and BBC 1Xtra Live at Leeds’ First Direct Arena. Fekky dropped his first mixtape, Brandy and Coke, in December 2015 and spent the following year working on his debut full-length effort. The album, El Clasico, arrived in June 2017 via Island Records. ~ Rob Wacey