NAMESBLISS

Namesbliss, nominated for the 2026 MOBO Awards in the “Best Newcomer” category, made his debut on the British alt-rap scene with his own lexicon. You could call it “neo-grime” and “jazz-rap.” His signature sound, which he has made entirely his own, is a fusion of raw grime energy and the measured essence of jazz, both occupying the same space without either giving up ground.

That musical identity has its roots in his childhood in Kilburn, where his older brother’s passion for jazz and the afternoons after church—which he spent absorbing the music of Miles Davis—shaped his understanding of how music could feel. East Coast hip-hop followed shortly thereafter, and with it a deep admiration for the master storytellers: Nas, Chance the Rapper, Noname, and Mick Jenkins, as well as the British pioneers Kano and George the Poet. That same precision is the driving force behind his own lyrics.