With a dire economy and a news agenda where hatred tended to be the only thing trending, last year was draining for so many Brits. Thankfully, the UK music scene remains capable of providing escapism. Inside Issue 61, we’ve compiled a list of our favourite rising musicians for 2025 who all have the future in the palms of their hands and might just end up soundtracking the year ahead. From raw raps that elevate single mums to stadium-sized soul ballads about healing broken hearts, each of these promising artists is someone well worth getting familiar with.
Kofi wears LOUIS VUITTON
Wearing his heart on his sleeve like it’s the new fashion, Birmingham’s Mawuena Dzotsi, aka Kofi Stone, is a conscious emcee whose hyper-personal music makes the listener feel like they’re a direct part of all his family dynamics. “Growing up I wasn’t the smartest,” he raps amid a soulful guitar line on Stories in Pajamas, “but I always tried my hardest / I guess I owe it to my father”. The artist’s humble hustle is instantly endearing to listen to, while his beat selection, which tends to be built around chopped-up chipmunk soul samples that might remind you of early Kanye, feels like it’s chasing timelessness rather than cyclical chart trends. “You have to try a little harder to get noticed if you’re outside London,” he says. “I know I have to do something that really makes me stand out.”
For Stone, this involves standing up to power and calling out those who uplift racist ideologies. On the potent Black Joy he complains about the way Black people are painted in the British tabloids, rapping: “Saying there’s no racism is like pretending it ain’t raining.” And in an era where some of the biggest UK rappers seem more preoccupied with chasing TikTok trends than being politically scathing, Stone is aware you must stand for something or fall for anything. “Over the years I’ve seen a lot of misrepresentations and newspaper stories filled with micro-aggressions and flat-out racism, so that was the inspiration behind that particular lyric and song,” he says. “After seeing how negatively those who look like me are portrayed in the media, I was inspired to speak up.”
In 2025 he’s going on a tour across the UK, Europe and Australia, hoping to cultivate a word-of-mouth buzz that embeds a new sparky Brummie voice in the international map. However high he soars, Stone says he’ll never forget where he came from. “Working-class Black men need good mothers and good fathers in order to have a chance in this world,” he says. “If I could speak to myself as a child today, I’d tell him, be fearless, work hard, be kind to people, practise rapping every day and be unapologetically yourself.”
Taken from 10 Men Issue 61 – MUSIC, TALENT, CREATIVE – on newsstands now. Order your copy here.
THE NEW NOISE
Creative Editor PAUL TONER
Portrait ANNA STOKLAND
Text THOMAS HOBBS
Styling ELLIE RIMMER
Fashion assistant GEORGIA EDWARDS
Production ZAC APOSTOLOU and SONYA MAZURYK
