Suburban Spotlight: Manchester

In the second edition of our ‘Suburban Spotlight’ series, we will be focusing on some of the best emerging rappers from no other than Manchester – the 0161! The Northern city has an undeniable abundance of up-coming artists that have created their own wave of sound. Often referred to as the next best city under the London musically, Aitch, Mastermind, Meekz, Bugzy Malone and more already reppin’ for Manchester – it’s only a matter of time until the next star rises and takes the scene by storm.

SVMI

Known for his distinct wave of melodic sound, SVMI has been turning heads across the nation for a hot minute. With an undeniable slew of bangers behind him including “Bait Lies” featuring A1 and P1 Caps, “Through The Grapevine” with Con M1, Kamali and A1 to “Way Back Then”, SVMI has proved his artistry time and time again. The 19 year-old started out his career as a videographer, creating music video’s for an abundance of artists around Manchester, SVMI flipped the switch and began claiming the well-deserved spotlight which saw him accumulate a tight fan base. Taking influence from both the Manchester and American music scene, he started to take music seriously around 2018. Earlier this year, he returned with his latest offering “He Say She Say” (below), a fusion of mellow vibrations layered with the newcomers indisputable pen game, flows and unmistakable tone which you can listen to below. Gearing up for his forthcoming release “Old Friends”, dropping on June 1st, make sure you purchase the single when it’s out – you don’t want to miss out on greatness!

Kali

21 year-old rising drill rapper, Kali, found his love for music from a young age. At the youthful age of 8, he wrote his first 32 bars with a group of local Grime artists – little did he know this was the start of what’s looking to be a prosperous career for the newcomer. Primarily known for being apart of the popular music group 7M, that were heating up the streets a few years back with tracks like “Breaking Bad”, this is where Kali started to build the foundations of his gritty sound. Influenced by an array of artists including Mastermind, Chip, Skepta, Kano, Nate Dog, Ice Cube, Jay Z and DMX to name a few, the newcomer recently decided to take music seriously again. Inspired by Mastermind’s success as well as the constant encouragement from his peers, Kali is determined to thrive and has proved that with his recent track “Mancunian Way” (below). Layered atop of a hard hitting, bass heavy and skittering backdrop, Kali delivers cold and honest bars throughout. With new music pending, Kali is proving why he’s one to watch this coming year!

P1 Caps

Who said Grime is dead? Reppin for the charismatic, 140bpm laced instrumentals is P1 Caps. The 24 year-old takes influence from the original pioneers of grime; Wiley, D Double E, Skepta and Sir Spyro. The rising emcee began his journey in music back in 2015 where he dropped numerous tracks onto SoundCloud. Later last year, he released his first solo single “HADOUKEN” (below), produced by whYJay, P1 Caps spits bouncing bars and flexes a variety of flows – it comes to no surprise as to why this track has turned so many heads. With an abundance of tracks behind him including “ShellyAnn Season” featuring K.I.M.E, “Sleepin” and his more recent single “Take Off My Hat”, where we see him switching the grime laced instrumental for something more laid back – P1 Caps has proved his versatility yet again, it’s only a matter of time until he gets the recognition he deserves.

Robin Knightz

Catching the eyes of Stefflon Don and more, Robin Knightz is proving to be at the forefront for rising female artists in Manchester. Having always loved music since she was little, Robin was inspired to start writing music of her own from a young age. Knightz only started to take music seriously as of June in 2018, since then the 22 year-old has been catching the eyes of many up and down the country. Earlier last month, the newcomer shared her first offering of 2020 in the form of “Cold” (below), a melodic track filled with skippy flows and infectious bars. Influenced by Juice Wrld, The 1975, Prince, XXX, Nicki Minaj, Octavian, Virgil Abloh, and Asap Mob just to name a few, Robin Knightz has created a sound that fuses various genres into one. In doing so. she’s been able to form a lane of her own. With an undeniable batch of tracks behind her including “Fiji Drip” and “heartbreakJORDAN” – hopefully we can expect a project from Knightz soon!

Con M1

Introducing one of Manchester’s waviest rappers, Con M1. If you ask around for rising rappers hailing from the 0161, you will without a doubt be pointed towards Con M1. Influenced by the nostalgic vibrations of 90’s Grime and RnB alongside Potter Payper, DMX, Future and a whole lot more, Con M1 has formed a hefty reputation surrounding his music. In march last year, Con M1 dropped his first official alongside SVMI on “Time Goes By” , making immediate waves around the Northern City. Following up with “Pullin Up” (below), this was produced by both whYJay and Metrodome. The pair created a wavey instrumental that enabled Con M1 to spit melodic bars layered atop of a catchy flow that’s bound to make your head bounce. Bouncing back to last September, the Manchester native dropped “Keep It Pushin” which boasted his signature laid back demeanor, he flew with ease over the backdrop. With an EP on standby, we can’t wait to see what else Con M1 has in store!

R.Dizzy

At only 19 years old, R.Dizzy has already proved his ability musically. The newcomer first started penning his bars from the youthful age of 14. Having found his footing after a few years of mastering his craft, the Manchester native decided to take music seriously just over a year ago. Influenced by an array of various genres, he released his debut single “Bandz” in April of 2019. Entering the game with a fierce first entry, R.Dizzy boasted his hard bars and flowed with ease over the hard-hitting drill backdrop. Having recently returned at the start of this month with his brand new joint “Break No Heart” (below), the energy-driven backdrop was seen layered with raw street poetics and an infectious hook. Considering he’s still at the very beginning of his career, R.Dizzy has already proved his potential!

Rowe Wrights

Journeying back to the vigorous age of 12 years-old, it was at this age that a young Rowe Wrights started laying subtle foundations for his wishful career in music. By the time he reached the age of 13, he release his first track alongside Samurai40 and Thile. Sparking his love for music, he began producing for a cluster of artists which in turn lead to him finding his own footing musically. The 21 year-old released his bouncing debut single “Pretti Boy” in the summer of 2019. Influenced by Kendrick Lamar, JME, Hans Zimmer, Childish Gambino and PartyNextDoor, all these artists have contributed to Rowe Wrights forming his own print not only lyrically but sonically as well. The Manchester native followed up “Pretti Boy” with “BROKE” (below), in collaboration with rising female rapper Juice Menace. Earlier on this year, he unveiled his EP titled ‘Du-rags to Riches’. Spread across 6 tracks, the budding rapper boasted his versatility and pen game, which he wove in with infectious hooks and backdrops that are bound to get you moving, especially on fan favorite “Prada” – I’m sure this isn’t the last you’ll hear of Rowe Wrights!

R3D

R3D, primarily known for his gritty sound that’s enriched with his signature gruff tone and bars filled with greaze; will be found soaring with ease over a skittering drill instrumental. The 23 year-old takes influence from fellow Mancunians including Bugzy Malone and Samurai as well as Sizzla Kalonji, Jah Vinci, Big Pun and more. The Manchester native began penning his bars from the thriving age of 7 and took part in clashes at school. Up until 2016, he would still spend his time writing and finally dropped a video on P110 under the name of Rthreedee. You may also recognise R3D from the 2016 release of ‘1K’ alongside the likes of Aitch, Samurai, Rager and Jayv, which saw all four artists adding their own individual styles atop of the melodic beat. Testing the waters and finding his footing musically, it wasn’t until 2017 that he really started to push his music further. In the last year alone, he has been accumulating views with his ‘Hoods Hottest’ which is sitting just under 100k alone, alongside his energy driven ‘Scene Smasher‘ and more recently with his latest single ‘Samurai’ (below). Soaring over the bass heavy and hard hitting drill backdrop, R3D layers a smooth and melodic hook woven alongside street poetics. With more music on the way, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for Manchester’s next rising rapper.

What city should we go to next?

Check out the first edition in Leicester here.