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, so 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.
With an electric stage presence and a sharp focus on making the kind of feel-good indie pop that’s typically associated with white, middle-class bands, the down-to-earth Master Peace, 25, is redefining what types of genres young Black British artists are allowed to straddle. The South-East Londoner has a cheeky wit that sits somewhere between a New Romanticist poet and the Cockney spoken-word monologue from Blur’s Parklife. But while his commitment to making music that aims to revive both 2010s emo and the colloquial storytelling of golden-era The Streets (Mike Skinner is a friend and collaborator) might all sound a little ambitious, Master Peace has the rambunctious personality to make it all
somehow come together.
Master Peace wears trousers by VAGUE STUDIOS
“We are always changing the rules,” says the Ivor Novello Rising Star Award winner, “and I do this for the kids like me who never got a say! There’s a lot of pressure on my back, but I know what I can do and also what I’m yet to do. I’ve got to be that anchor for my people to feel like they can gravitate towards me and feel heard and respected in their craft, no matter what skin colour.” The tender coos of Eyes on You bottle the feeling of a runaway beach-based holiday romance, while This Time is like one of those audaciously lovelorn songs that used to appear on the classic Fifa video game menu music and get trapped in your head for what seemed like eternity.
This is all a long way from where Master Peace (real name Peace Okezie) started out, with an early Skepta co-sign and viral rap freestyles over kooky ’80s pop instrumentals initially suggesting a grime court jester-like energy. Yet the fact that he’s transformed so much and can’t now be pigeonholed into one genre is undeniably powerful stuff, a sign that he’s averse to being pushed around by industry executives and would rather be a free spirit. “The biggest challenges I’ve faced are people putting me in the same conversations as the other artists within the industry who are completely different, whether that’s pop or rap. I’ve felt like the dark horse at times, but I feel like that’s changed and now, when you mention British indie alternative music, you’ve got no choice but to mention your boy in that conversation.”
Taken from 10 Men Issue 61 – MUSIC, TALENT, CREATIVE – on newsstands now. Order your copy here.
THE NEW NOISE
Creative Editor PAUL TONER
Text THOMAS HOBBS
Portrait BELLA MACGREGOR
Fashion assistant GEORGIA EDWARDS
Production ZAC APOSTOLOU and SONYA MAZURYK
