A
The Croydon singer-rapper first started releasing self-produced material under the A2 alias in 2012, gradually gathering a fanbase online while giving few interviews and keeping the social media activity minimal. The demure presence was befitting of a lot of the music, with intimate lyrics about swerving beef and relationship drama which felt like diary entries tapped out on a phone in a steamy night bus, and nocturnal-sounding beats built of deep, warping synths and warm blankets of bass.
It might not have looked like A2 was trying too hard, but he's always been quietly confident. On his 2014 track O B V S, he rapped: "And it's bless though/ Still give it out free, underground like the Metro/ dropping EPs like the price of the petrol/ do this for my niece, she ain't even got to stress bro". Recent years have seen the mechanisms of the music industry shift in order to be more supportive of UK rappers and MCs, and A2 has seemingly found himself in a strong position.
"It's definitely looking better man," he nods. We've met up on A2's first trip to Atlanta and we're sat outside 787 Windsor, a warehouse regenerated into an arts space where lanyard-wearing staff rush round to prepare it for tonight's event. "Before there was certain criteria you had to reach to succeed in the UK. But now, you almost just have to have good energy. There's a lot more acceptance now. And that's because of social media, the youth. They're truly the tastemakers."
Although a lot of the media is still ignorant and misinformed when it comes to reporting UK music – regularly mislabelling anything MC-based as grime – in recent years it seems like the industry has been opening more doors, with artists who create afrobeats-influenced music, drill and difficult-to-categorise hip-hop like A2's making serious waves. At the beginning of the year, A2 appeared on XL Recordings' New Gen compilation – a confident showcase of UK talent – and he's signed a 360 deal with Disturbing London, a "boutique cultural consultancy" set up by Tinie Tempah and Dumi Oburota.
The Croydon singer-rapper first started releasing self-produced material under the A2 alias in 2012, gradually gathering a fanbase online while giving few interviews and keeping the social media activity minimal. The demure presence was befitting of a lot of the music, with intimate lyrics about swerving beef and relationship drama which felt like diary entries tapped out on a phone in a steamy night bus, and nocturnal-sounding beats built of deep, warping synths and warm blankets of bass.
It might not have looked like A2 was trying too hard, but he's always been quietly confident. On his 2014 track O B V S, he rapped: "And it's bless though/ Still give it out free, underground like the Metro/ dropping EPs like the price of the petrol/ do this for my niece, she ain't even got to stress bro". Recent years have seen the mechanisms of the music industry shift in order to be more supportive of UK rappers and MCs, and A2 has seemingly found himself in a strong position.
"It's definitely looking better man," he nods. We've met up on A2's first trip to Atlanta and we're sat outside 787 Windsor, a warehouse regenerated into an arts space where lanyard-wearing staff rush round to prepare it for tonight's event. "Before there was certain criteria you had to reach to succeed in the UK. But now, you almost just have to have good energy. There's a lot more acceptance now. And that's because of social media, the youth. They're truly the tastemakers."
Although a lot of the media is still ignorant and misinformed when it comes to reporting UK music – regularly mislabelling anything MC-based as grime – in recent years it seems like the industry has been opening more doors, with artists who create afrobeats-influenced music, drill and difficult-to-categorise hip-hop like A2's making serious waves. At the beginning of the year, A2 appeared on XL Recordings' New Gen compilation – a confident showcase of UK talent – and he's signed a 360 deal with Disturbing London, a "boutique cultural consultancy" set up by Tinie Tempah and Dumi Oburota.
