Dave

Few artists can move between a grand piano and a street-level monologue with the authority of Streatham’s Dave. He emerged fully formed, using the therapy-session framework of his 2019 debut Psychodrama to unpack family trauma and Black British identity with a staggering lyrical density. This wasn't just another road-rap record; it was a psychological document that rightfully won the Mercury Prize. Even before that, his seven-minute political dispatch "Question Time" had earned an Ivor Novello award, while an early Drake co-sign on "Wanna Know" signaled his arrival. Dave doesn't just write bars; he builds worlds with a composer's precision and a novelist's eye for detail.