Kwadwo Quentin Kankam (born 20 January 1997), better known by his stage name Novelist, is a British grime MC and record producer from Lewisham in South London. He was a founding member of the Square crew and was nominated for Best Grime Act at the 2014 MOBO Awards.[3] He has been called the "new face of grime"[4] and was described as "the poster child for the first generation of real grime kids" by DJ Logan Sama.[5][6]
Novelist | |
|---|---|
 Novelist performing at Field Day 2016 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kwadwo Quentin Kankam |
| Also known as |
|
| Born | 20 January 1997 Brockley, Lewisham, London, England[1] |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Labels | |
Early life
editKankam is from Lewisham in southeast London and is of Antiguan and Ghanaian descent.[7]
Career
editIn 2013 Novelist clashed with Wiley's younger brother Cadell for the grime DVD Who's Da Boss and began to garner attention from the UK underground music scene for his regular appearances on London pirate radio stations.[8] Novelist was featured in a BBC Radio 1Xtra documentary broadcast on mother's day called Grime Mums focusing on the role parents played in the careers of prominent grime MCs.[9] After an instrumental track called "Sniper" began to receive airplay on London underground radio stations Novelist was signed to produce an instrumental EP for influential grime imprint Oil Gang.[10][11][12] He recorded a song entitled "Take Time" in a studio session with experimental producer Mumdance in October 2013,[13] which was later signed to Rinse and released as a single in the summer of 2014.[4]
In early 2014, Novelist's music began receiving regular rotation on radio stations including BBC Radio 1Xtra and Rinse FM. He recorded a guest set for DJ Cable's "Sixty Minutes" mix, which was broadcast on MistaJam's BBC 1Xtra show on 28 May 2014,[14] he featured on Cable's Sixty Minutes mix again later that year recording a second guest set with his crew The Square.[15] In late 2013 Novelist began working with No Hats No Hoods.[16] In mid-2014, the label signed The Square, their first release on the label The Formula came out in August 2014.[17] In 2014, Novelist signed to XL Recordings and recorded a track with Jamie xx for his forthcoming release on the label, however the track was not released.[18] In September 2014, Novelist received a MOBO nomination in the Best Grime Act category.[19] In November 2014, Novelist was named on the longlist for the BBCs Sound of 2015 list and XL Recordings announced that his debut release on the label would be a collaborative EP with Mumdance.[20] The EP, entitled 1 Sec was released on 20 January 2015, the same day he turned 18.[21]
On 1 September 2015, Novelist left the Square with the stated intention of furthering his solo career.[22] On 17 October 2015, Novelist supported Major Lazer at Alexandra Palace, London, during their European tour. In early 2016, he featured on a Baauer single called "Day Ones" and appeared on Skepta's 2016 Mercury-winning album Konnichiwa with "Lyrics".
In August 2016, Novelist was dropped from XL Recordings.[23] He subsequently announced on 23 August that he is launching MMMYEH Records as his own label to release his own music along with his friends.[2] On 13 April 2018, Novelist released his debut album, Novelist Guy. The album charted on the UK iTunes Charts for a single day after its release at No. 38 and was a commercial failure. It was nominated for the 2018 Mercury Prize, losing out to Visions of a Life by Wolf Alice.
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | UK R&B |
UK Ind. |
UK Ind. Breakers[24] | |||||||||||
| Novelist Guy[25] |
|
— | — | — | 17 | |||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
Extended plays
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Sniper EP |
|
| 1 Sec EP |
|
| Yakuta EP |
|
| Be Blessed EP |
|
| Reload King EP |
|
| Inferno |
|
| Heat |
|
| Rain Fire |
|
| 4 Tha Homiez |
|
With the Square
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| The Formula |
|
| Lewisham McDeez |
|
Singles
edit| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "New Path" | 2017 | Non-album singles |
| "No Weapons / See Me" | 2018 | |
| "Nov Wait Stop Wait" | Novelist Guy | |
| "Pay What Is Owed" | 2020 | Non-album single |
| "Active" | Inferno EP | |
| "Stay With Me" | Non-album singles | |
| "Dun Know (Part 1)" |
Guest appearances
edit| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | UK R&B | |||
| "Take Time" (Mumdance featuring Novelist) |
2014 | — | — | Take Time |
| "Flavour"[26] (with Murlo) |
— | — | Monki & Friends EP Vol. 2 | |
| "One and Only" (with Murlo) |
— | — | ||
| "Bigger Man Sound" (Chase & Status featuring Novelist) |
2015 | — | — | London Bars Vol. IV |
| "Day Ones" (Baauer feat. Novelist and Leikeli47) |
2016 | — | — | Aa |
| "Lyrics" (Skepta featuring Novelist) |
2016 | 62 | 17 | Konnichiwa |
| "Can't Tell Me Nothing" (Nick Hook featuring Novelist) |
2017 | — | — | Can't Tell Me Nothing EP |
| "NRG" (Chase & Status featuring Novelist) |
— | — | Tribe | |
| "Serious Choices" (Kid D featuring Novelist) |
2020 | — | — | Substance EP |
References
edit- ^ Fraser, Tomás (5 November 2015). "Novelist: Next Generation". Crack Mag.
- ^ a b "Novelist on launching new label: 'I like to help the people around me' – NME". NME. 6 November 2016.
- ^ Hannah Ellis-Petersen (23 September 2014). "Mobo awards 2014: Sam Smith and Krept and Konan lead nominations". The Guardian.
- ^ a b "RA Reviews: Mumdance – Take Time on Rinse Recordings (Single)". Resident Advisor.
- ^ "Mixmag – TIP: MUMDANCE & NOVELIST". Mixmag. Archived from the original on 8 July 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- ^ "Daily Discovery: Meet Novelist, the Young Grime MC Who's Already Worked With Jamie xx". Pigeons & Planes.
- ^ "Novelist interview: 'I must speak the truth, I'll die for it'". Evening Standard. London. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ "Interview: Novelist, Grch 2013". Redbullmusicacademy.com.
- ^ "BBC Radio 1Xtra – BBC Radio 1Xtra's Stories, Grime Mums". BBC.
- ^ "Mixmag – DUBSTEP & GRIME: FEBRUARY". Mixmag. Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- ^ "RA Reviews: Novelist – Sniper EP on Oil Gang (Single)". Resident Advisor.
- ^ "18 record labels to watch in 2013". FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music. 9 January 2013.
- ^ "Mumdance introduces Novelist". Dummymag.com.
- ^ "BBC Radio 1Xtra – MistaJam, Angel is Inbox:FRESH!". BBC.
- ^ "BBC Radio 1Xtra – MistaJam, 20/08/2014". BBC.
- ^ "Life at 140: No Hats No Hoods Special". Clash Magazine. 15 September 2014.
- ^ "South London grime crew The Square – Novelist, Lolingo, etc – announce debut mixtape The Formula – FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music". FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music. 8 August 2014.
- ^ Joseph JP Patterson. "Premiere: Listen to Novelist's "10 Out of 10"". Complex UK.
- ^ "The MOBO Awards finally introduce a grime category: Big Narstie, JME, Novelist and more nominated". FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music. 23 September 2014.
- ^ "XLRecordings – Novelist x Mumdance – Listen To Shook". xlrecordings.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
- ^ Pattison, Louis (16 January 2015). "Underage against the machine: why labels are desperate to sign teens". The Guardian.
- ^ "Novelist Has Left The Square, and Dropped a Heavy New Freestyle". Noisey. September 2015.
- ^ "Women in Music: Scotland's Shifting Music Scene – The Skinny". Theskinny.co.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ "Official Independent Album Breakers Chart Top 20 | Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
- ^ "Novelist announces debut album details". The Fader. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
- ^ "Listen: Murlo x Novelist – 'Flavour'". Clash Magazine. 15 August 2014.