Jae5

The summer-heralding sound of afroswing has warmed up the past half decade worth of shoobz in the UK and beyond, via melodic tracks like Dave and Burna Boy’s “Location”, J Hus’ anthemic “Did You See” and NSG's sleek club tune “Options”. The man behind those tracks is British Ghanaian producer JAE5 – the scene’s genre-shifting pioneer.

His unique blend of rap production, layered minimalism and afro-beat instrumentation has won him mainstream awards (Best Producer – MOBOs 2020), nominations (Best Contemporary Song – Ivor Novello 2020; plus multiple BRIT and Mercury nods) and platinum records along the way.

With his partner in crime J Hus – who he has a classic producer-artist relationship with in the vein of Dre and Snoop or Timbaland and Missy – JAE5 helped open the door for heritage-embracing British African artists. Now, with two Hus albums in the bag, he’s about to go solo, featuring a room full of dial switching acts – leading with debut single “Dimension”, featuring UK rap heavyweight Skepta and afropop hotshot Rema.

Having galvanized artists across several continents with his afrobeat tinged sound, there’s plenty more music en route. Think – big superstars and homegrown acts, combined in the JAE5 way, with his melodics, his smoothness. He’s released some of the biggest songs in modern British history. With all the accolades under his belt, it’s now his turn to lead. Get the BBQs out and the drinks poured – summer is coming again and JAE5 is ready.