JESHI

"North London rapper’s debut album is an artfully told portrait of life on the dole".

You wouldn't expect from an artist who makes music halfway between UK drill and US underground hip-hop to have influences such as Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Toro y Moi and Lana Del Rey. However, in Jeshi's case, it's not much of a surprise. His musical richness and downbeat themes fit seamlessly with those big names, even though he is just at the beginning of his career.

With his previous mixtapes and EPs, it quickly became clear that this is a major talent, but it wasn't until debut record "Universal credit" that Jeshi confirmed how great his potential really is. The international press fell off a log, and comparisons to The Streets, Dizzee Rascal, and slowthai soon followed. For Jeshi knows how to make heavy themes negotiable. 'Universal credit' is about a generation growing up in the biggest economic crisis in almost half a century, about young people who are all too easily pushed aside by how they deal with the dire circumstances they live in. It's not easy listening, but Jeshi brings it all with just enough humor and self-deprecation to give us, above all, a window into a world we often tend to ignore.