Quantcast

SONY U.K.'S
CLASS OF 2021

Sony U.K. has a host of exciting new acts it's planning on developing throughout 2021 and beyond—read on for the lowdown on BERWYN, JAE5, Biig Piig, Cat Burns and Bad Boy Chiller Crew.

BERWYN, who came in third on the BBC Sound of 2021 poll, is a Trinidadian-born, Romford-raised rapper, singer, songwriter and producer signed to Columbia U.K. So far, he’s sold out three headline London shows in less than 24 hours (for a U.K. tour that had to be postponed) and amassed 3.2m streams for his debut project, Demotape/Vega, which garnered praise from a host of media including Complex, GRM Daily, The Fader, Pitchfork and Hypebeast. In addition, BERWYN has had radio support from BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra and gained a fan in Drake after performing “Glory” on Later With Jools Holland. He was also featured on the widely praised Everything Is Recorded album by XL Recordings founder Richard Russell. Berwyn is managed by Hamish Harris and Jonathan Dickins at September Management. His publisher is Copyright Control and his live career is looked after by Earth Agency. Expect more new music from BERWYN this year.

The sound of producer JAE5, who’s signed to Black Butter Records, was influenced by growing up in East London, where he was exposed to an eclectic range of genres including hiplife, hip-hop, house, dubstep, bashment, pop and Afrobeats. He worked with J Hus on both of his albums, which include Big Conspiracy, a #1 last year, while also contributing to tracks from NSG, Jess Glynne, Rudimental, Dave, Sam Smith, Mark Ronson and Burna Boy. JAE5’s production catalog boasts four U.K. Top 10 singles and 10 U.K. Top 40s. Last year, his work was recognized with a MOBO Award for Producer of the Year. He’s now moving from producer to artist; his debut single, “Dimension” f/Skepta and Rema, will be released in February, with more singles to come in 2021. Management is 2K Management, and publisher is Black Butter Publishing.

Singer and rapper Biig Piig, a new name at RCA U.K., is gearing up to release multiple projects this year. So far, she’s racked up 55m streams across three EPs and has a sold-out European tour under her belt, including dates at London’s Village Underground and Hackney’s 1.2k-capacity Earth. Born in Ireland, Biig Piig, aka Jess, spent her formative years in Spain before moving to London. At college, she joined NiNE8 Collective and has since emerged as an insightful chronicler of relationship power dynamics and identity. Fans include Billie Eilish, Clairo and Virgil Abloh, and Biig Piig has made multiple 'ones to watch' lists, including Spotify’s, Amazon’s and the Observer's, while garnering support at BBC Radio 1, most notably with tastemaker Annie Mac. Management is JP Duncan and Victoria Parkey at ATC, publisher is Ministry of Sound and live agent is Michael Harvey Bray at Paradigm. Look out for “Cuenta Lo” and its video to drop in February.

Outspoken singer/songwriter Cat Burns, an RCA/Since 93 artist, started writing songs at 12 as a London busker before joining the BRIT School. She’s since cultivated a fanbase by being vocal on matters concerning equality and sexuality. Across two EP releases, she’s gained 34.7k monthly listeners on Spotify and has 66k followers on Instagram. In 2020, her social presence brought her to the attention of TikTok, where, with 742.9k followers, she is now an ambassador and hero talent on their international campaigns. In 2021, Burns will be releasing her EP Emotionally Unavailable, written with a host of internationally heralded writers and artists. Management is Hal Hudson at Sweet Management, and live agent is Nick Matthews at Paradigm.

Bad Boy Chiller Crew—aka BBCC, consisting of MCs Kane, GK and Clive—is a Relentless Records project. The trio is deeply influenced by the bassline house-clubbing heritage they grew up hearing in the North of England as well as the emergent U.K. and U.S. rap scenes. The group’s early demos traded hands via bootleg CDRs sold from under the counter of a local Bradford vape shop and ended up selling thousands of copies. They released their debut mixtape, Full Wack No Brakes, in September to critical acclaim (press support includes NME, Rolling Stone, BBC, The Guardian, Vice and Pitchfork). Their Spotify monthly-listener count has reached 439.6k, and their busy YouTube channel has more than 115k subscribers. After releasing their first single with Relentless in December, BBCC is looking to have a big year with consistent singles releases and another mixtape toward the end of summer. Management is Dr. Google, and live agent is Danny Misell at Earth Agency.

NEAR TRUTHS: KINGDOMS
File under: The enemy of my enemy is my friend. (3/26a)
ONE SHINING HITS LIST
She shoots, she scores! (3/26a)
YTD MARKET SHARE
Zeroing in on the elite teams (3/27a)
BEST IN THE WEST:
STEVE BERMAN
High time for another Eminem skit (3/26a)
MUSIC REVENUE TOPPED $17B IN 2023: RIAA
Streaming subscriptions lead the charge. (3/27a)
THE NEW UMG
Gosh, we hope there are more press releases.
TIKTOK BANNED!
Unless the Senate manages to make this whole thing go away, that is.
THE NEW HUGE COUNTRY ACT
No, not that one.
TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN PLAYLIST
Now 100% unlicensed!
 Email

 First Name

 Last Name

 Company

 Country
CAPTCHA code
Captcha: (type the characters above)