James Blake

James Blake is a GRAMMY-winning producer, songwriter, and musician whose singular
blend of soul, electronica, hip-hop, and alt-R&B has shaped the sound of modern music.
Across six studio albums, Blake’s catalogue has been seminal with over 2.2 billion
streams: his 2019 album Assume Form, featuring ROSALÍA, and Travis Scott garnered
widespread acclaim, followed by his highest chart debut to date with 2021’s Friends That
Break Your Heart.
His transcendent vocals and visionary production have cemented him as one of
contemporary music’s most influential figures, and a sought-after collaborator for
Beyoncé, Frank Ocean, SZA, ROSALÍA, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott and more,
contributing to era-defining albums like Blonde, DAMN., ASTROWORLD, Lemonade, and
Motomami. Most recently, Blake collaborated with revered UK Rapper Dave on his
critically acclaimed album The Boy Who Played The Harp, and crafted “Séance” alongside
Ludwig Göransson, a standout from the Sinners movie soundtrack,
A champion of artistic independence, Blake is preparing to release his first fully
independent album, Trying Times, in 2026. Trying Times is a masterful display of the
breadth of his artistry and ability to articulate emotion with endearing transparency.
James Blake traces the uneasy space between intimacy and isolation in an age of
instability. The record moves along the pressure lines of modern life, where overwhelm
becomes both subject and atmosphere. The result is a body of work suspended between
hope and dread. It moves through the comfort of loving and being loved while recognising
how fragile that safety can feel when global anxieties and private doubts pull in opposing
directions.

SwaVay

SWAVAY may appear to be an ‘underdog,’ but the GRAMMY-nominated rapper & producer is positioned to be next up, no questions asked. Few artists have the musical depth & creative vision of the East Atlanta prodigy, whose brand of “soul-trap” has earned him cosigns and collabs fromWale, Leon Thomas, J.I.D., No ID, James Blake & Jermaine Dupri – to name a few. 

On the back of a solid 2025 with releases BILLY2 – EP (5.17M all time streams) and NO DELUXE, being direct support for Wale (16 cities), J.I.D. (11 cities), Chase Shakur (8 cities) on U.S. tours; featured on Jermaine Dupri’s “Magic City” soundtrack on “More Than Me (feat. Belly Gang Kushington) and A Ma Maniére x Air Jordan 5 Retro “Black Collective” film; it’s no wonder why SWAVAY is one of this year’s strongest contenders for the coveted XXL Freshman cover. 

SWAVAY released his first solo project, Poet Talk (2012), while still in high school and continued to drop independently until his persistence paid off in 2017 when producer Metro Boomin took notice, and signed him as the first act on his Boominati Worldwide label. 

Under Metro’s tutelage, SWAVAY dropped his breakout project, Pure Infinity (2019), followed by B4DAlBUM – EP (2020), and earned a GRAMMY nomination for his contribution to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack on “Elevate” withDenzel Curry & Cordae. In 2022 his major label debut album Almetha’s Son on Def Jam Recordings officially solidified SWAVAY as one of hip-hop’s next up, proving his genre-traversing sound is ready for music’s biggest stages. 

On his latest offering “The Prelude,” a 7-song EP with appearances from Jermaine Dupri, NASAAN, Girlfriend and Marco Plus, SWAVAY, over classic hip-hop and R&B samples, boldly claims 2026 as his. With a fall headline tour to be announced, yet another fire album on the way, and new brand deals and music collaborations in the pipeline – it’s proving his claim to be correct.