Sunday
Ever since he burst onto the scene in 2006, Ben Drew has been a truly irrepressible figure in the UK’s musical landscape. His debut album Who Needs Actions When You Got Words, an incendiary scream of anger and pride from the streets of East London, broke new ground for UK hip hop. With his sophomore album, 2010’s The Defamation Of Strickland Banks, Drew explored his lifelong passion for soul marrying the genre with hip hop in perfect harmony, the album went on to achieve quadruple-platinum status, hitting the #1 album spot and selling over 1.4 million copies in the UK alone, plus seeing him win both a BRIT and three Ivor Novello Awards. Always pushing his creative boundaries, Drew then turned his hand to directing and made his directorial debut with 2012’s iLL Manors. The film, along with its accompanying album, saw him boldly addressing socio-political issues with his often brutal cultural commentary, seeing Ben nominated for his fifth BRIT Award, being nominated for his first Mercury Music prize, and once again hitting #1 in the UK album chart. 2019 sees Plan B back with a bang.