Devlin

In recent years, grime seems to have fallen into a little bit of a rut, at least in the way it’s been presented in the mainstream by the artists from that scene that have crossed over and enjoyed chart success; it’s not anybody’s fault, necessarily, but it’s ironic to think that Dizzee Rascal’s breaking of the glass ceiling with his brilliant Boy in Da Corner LP about a decade ago would actually lead the genre into a state of flux, where it’s half way between the underground that always proved its beating heart in the past, and a kind of mainstream, faux-hip hop scene where the successful artists are rapping about money and fame. James Devlin - or just Devlin on record - is one of the few artists to have made that crossover and yet resist the temptation to leave his old subject matter behind. On debut Bud, Sweat and Beers, you can imagine that he had his feet firmly on the ground just from the title, but follow-up A Moving Picture saw him instead channel his sharp eye for observation through a more abstract filter, to critical acclaim. He’s an impressive live performer, too, performing with a live band on his last UK jaunt and bringing the anger so evident in his songs to life through his delivery; still only twenty five, he’s got plenty to offer yet.