Without Skepta, grime would have never gone global. His 2016 breakthrough record Konnichiwa showed that grime could go toe-to-toe with American hip-hop. (Literally: it featured Pharrell Williams and A$AP Nast alongside JME, Wiley, D Double E and Novelist.) Entirely written and mainly produced by Skepta himself, it came out on Boy Better Know, the label and collective he founded with his brother JME and fellow MC Jammer. It was a calculated statement of intent: Skepta was going international, but staying true to his roots.

Since then, the only way has been up. He’s gone on to collaborate with everyone from Drake and Playboi Carti to Goldie and Sammy Virji, notched two more hit albums (Ignorance is Bliss and Insomnia), become a house artist (in 2023, he and Jammer launched their Más Tiempo project), and recorded a surprise EP with Fred Again.

None of this has dulled his hunger for the game: he’s still one of grime’s sharpest lyricists and one of its most underrated producers, a stadium-ready showman with a one-of-a-kind flow. With a new album - Fork & Knife - set to come out in early 2026, we can’t wait to welcome him back to Sónar.