With a delivery that can be described as more uniquely poetic than British lyrical, a 2018 that can be noted as more meditated than quiet, and a future that hopes to be more ceilingless than explosively promising, South London MC, Loyle Carner is starting off 2019 with a hit. When 2017’s Yesterday’s Gone made waves on the world circuit and earned cosigns from the likes of Tom Misch and Rebel Kleff, his modern blending of grammatically in-tact penmanship and affinity for traditionally jazzy production left the world waiting in bated breath for more. And though 2018 delivered but one single, Ottolenghi, it was another work of songwriting genius and emotionally-evoking prowess that left us knowing more was soon to come. 

 

And now, with You Don’t Know – a groovy, classic hip-hop beat strewn with a bookending verses from Loyle Carner, a fervently written delivery from Rebel Kleff, and a soulful hook from Kiko Bun, the next wave of Loyle Carner continues towards what we hope is a proper 2019 project. The spectrum of lyrical hip-hop, the young generation of British artists, and the world at large could benefit from more of this.