Novelist - Novelist Guy

The Guardian 60

(MMMYeh Records)

The true test of whether a scene has a lifespan is to look at the new crop of talent following the greats. Grime might have had a mainstream moment, but what’s next? The answer for many fans comes in the form of 21-year-old Novelist, the south London MC who fondly bought us Lewisham McDeez as part of grime crew the Square, a jubilant homage to a local landmark. This introspective offering takes us through his frustrations with industry obstacles, black masculinity and our current political moment. At its best, with punchy tracks such as Afro Pick, he reminds us that he’s not divorced from the young people you might be reading about in the news: “Afro pick in my hair / Look but I don’t recommend you stare … I do what I do for the young youth from back in the day when I ran for the mayor,” touches on his brief stint as former deputy young mayor of Lewisham. His politically confrontational moments are the best – on Stop Killing the Mandem he furiously repeats the title, taken from a sign that went viral when he held it up at a 2016 Black Lives Matter protest in London, 16 times before we even hear him rap. The production too, can be a thrilling exercise in beat-spotting from an artist who pays his dues. Nov Wait Stop Wait pays homage to Rebound X’s iconic Rhythm and Gash grime instrumental, and the radio skit (Nov B2B DeeCee) is a nostalgic revisiting of pirate radio sessions, but there are points, like on Gangster, when songs feel unfinished, taking a while to draw us in. Overall, though, this is a confident salute to a scene still rich in talent.

The Guardian 0

The idiosyncratic young south London rapper adds moral weight to the tales of black lives on this vivid debut album

It starts with the name. Novelist, a 21-year-old MC from the south London borough of Lewisham, didn’t go with a particularly gritty byline when he started rhyming in his early teens. He chose Novelist, perhaps because novelists use words to a purpose; they are the masters of their own narratives.

It follows, then, that Novelist (Kojo Kankam on his passport) is one of grime’s brightest young hopes, one of a clutch of artists in his early 20s releasing key grime projects this year, and yet – simultaneously – a real maverick.

The track Gangster is actually about how Novelist didn’t turn into a thug