J Hus, a Londoner of Gambian heritage, made a major impact on the 2010s U.K. rap scene with his distinctive blend of dancehall, grime, Auto-Tune-laced R&B, and Afro-beats. After establishing himself in 2015 with a series of freestyles and early singles, such as the heavily streamed "Lean & Bop," he broke through with his 2017 debut full-length, Common Sense, which hit the U.K. Top Ten and earned a shower of critical acclaim, garnering a Mercury Prize nomination, among other accolades.nnMomodou Jallow was born and raised in Stratford, London by his single mother. Influenced by 50 Cent, he began rapping, and went professional thanks to the help of two friends, who formed 2K Management. In 2015, they recorded a handful of demos and uploaded them to the Web, cut the single "So Paranoid" with London rapper MoStack, and uploaded a set of videos, including "Dem Boy Paigon." The latter was an instant street hit and quickly earned over a million views. J Hus then dropped his debut mixtape, The 15th Day, as well as the non-album single "Lean & Bop" (his first release on Sony imprint Black Butter Records), which was streamed several million times. J Hus began 2016 with the single "Friendly," and the three-song Playing Sports EP soon followed.nnThe burgeoning star had a busy year in 2017, as he featured on the Nines track "High Roller" and Dave's hit "Samantha," as well as Stormzy's "Bad Boys" from his hugely successful Gang Signs & Prayer record. In May 2017, Hus released his debut LP, Common Sense, which featured guest spots from MoStack, Burna Boy, Tiggs Da Author, and MIST. The album was recognized with a Mercury Prize nomination that same year; in 2018, it won Best Album at the NME Awards, and garnered the rapper three Brit Award nominations. J Hus followed his breakthrough success with the 2018 EP Big Spang. ~ David Jeffries & Paul Simpson