Loyle Carner

Loyle first appeared on the scene back in 2014, with his debut EP ‘A Little Late’, which cemented him in the UK's rap scene as one to watch. He followed that up in 2017 with his BRIT (Best Male, Best Newcomer) and Mercury Prize nominated, top 20 debut ‘Yesterday’s Gone’. The bedrock of honest and raw sentimentality that you hear on ‘Yesterday’s Gone’ has left an inextinguishable mark on music in general and UK Hip Hop in particular, standing out as an ageless, bulletproof debut.

During this period, Loyle began showing his inherent commitment to the communities around him, launching a cooking school for young people with ADHD, which has offered support and guidance to young people for 5 years and counting. He has also been an active campaigner for improving mental health, as an ambassador for charities such as CALM and Black Minds Matter.

In 2019 Loyle Carner released his sophomore album ‘Not Waving, But Drowning’ to huge critical and commercial acclaim; featuring contemporary UK icons such as Jorja Smith, Sampha and Tom Misch. Not only did the album chart at #3 in the UK Charts, but sold out an entire UK/EU tour, with his Alexandra Palace show selling out in just 8 minutes. Through these two albums, Loyle has cut an impressively idiosyncratic figure within the UK rap and hip-hop scenes, offering up intimate, introspective vignettes about his day-to-day life.

Throughout his career, Carner has been continuously praised for the perfect matching of music to lyrics and is known for his love of golden age Hip-Hop. Released in 2020, his single ‘Yesterday’ saw these worlds collide when he teamed up with Madlib, arguably the greatest hip-hop producer alive. This marked a new era of growth and maturity for Loyle. As he grows to understand the world around him, he unapologetically speaks out against racism and his experience as a mixed-race man.

Through music, film and activism, Loyle remains a gifted voice of a generation. While we wait for his third LP, there is no doubt that his audience’s ears will be poignantly tuned in to his every word, for years to come. A book is on the (distant) horizon…so watch this space!