With her soulful RnB vibes and real rhymes unsigned south London singer Ray BLK has been announced at the BBC Sound Of 2017 winner, heading a 15-strong list of artists to lift the much converted award.
Sound of... is an annual BBC poll of music critics and industry figures to find the most promising new music talent. It was first conducted by the BBC News website in 2003, and is now widely covered by the corporation's online, radio and TV outlets, as well as other media.
Straight-talking Catford girl Ray BLK has already been dubbed “the Lauryn Hill of the UK” and nominated for best newcomer at this year’s MOBO Awards.
Ray didn’t come from a musical background, but educated herself by watching MTV Base, grime station Channel U, and listening to Missy Elliott, Lil Kim and The Notorious B.I.G.
Aged 13, she formed a group with superstar producer MNEK, called New Found Content “which is a terrible name”. Although the songs they made in his father’s garage never saw the light of day, it fuelled her hunger for a career in music.
Fast forward to 2015, and Ray released 50/50, a sassy riposte to a hapless boyfriend that secured the singer a spot on 1Xtra’s playlist, and a record of the week honour from Radio 1’s Huw Stephens.
Her stage surname BLK stands for Building Living Knowing, which she describes as her three main values, and she says she wants to connect to fans through her lyrics.
“It’s important to stand for something, to have my music stand for something,” she says, something which is much evident in My Hood, her collaboration with Stormzy. A frank account of her upbringing in Lewisham, it balances grim portrayals of daily struggle with a message of positivity: “On these streets, through concrete, flowers grow”.
Ray recently self-released her debut mini album Durt, featuring collaborations with Stormzy, Wretch 32 and SG Lewis.
And she has every reason to be excited and optimistic about her future with the list of previous winners of Sound Of…. Showing that the judges know what they are talking about, with the likes of Sam Smith, Jessie J, Ellie Goulding, 50 Cent and Adele claiming the title.
Of course winning it doesn’t guarantee success. In 2005 New York dance-rock band The Bravery topped a list that included amongst others Bloc Party and the Kaiser Chiefs, but they only graced the top 40 once with a single, and had disbanded by 2011.
Likewise 2009 winner Little Boots headed a list that included Florence + the Machine, Lady Gaga and Kid Cudi, and for all a number 6 single followed later that year, she was largely out of the mainstream a couple of years later.
But let’s not put a downer on things.
From 2003 till 2009 it was a list of 10, with the 2004 winners Keane heading surely the most impressive list on there that included (from 2nd to 8th) Franz Ferdinand, Wiley, Razorlight, Joss Stone, McFly, Scissor Sisters, and The Ordinary Boys.
Last year’s winner was British singer-songwriter Jack Garratt. Since then he’s scored a top three album, won a Brit Award and played to packed out crowds around the world. And if that wasn't enough, Barack Obama himself is a fan apparently.
The rest of the top 5 this year were as follows:
2nd - Rag ‘n’ Bone Man
3rd – RAYE
4th – Jorja Smith
5th - Nadia Rose
Check out when Ray BLK played her breakthrough song My Hood on BBC Radio 1 Extra last year, and for more information about the Sound Of 2017 please visit the BBC website here.