London-based rap and R&B trio WSTRN are definitely one of this year’s acts to look out for! The band exploded onto the British urban music scene late last year with their chart topper ‘In2’ and are signed to one of the industry’s biggest record labels, Atlantic Records.
The members of the group consist of rappers Akelle Charles, Louis Rei, and songwriter Haile, who are all natives of West London (hence the name WSTRN!). However, long before they formed into a band, all three musicians were independent artists until one day, they agreed to a studio session and realized by bringing their voices together, there was potential for great music to be made!
I know, you’re probably thinking to yourself “great, another British boy band…”, but WSTRN is the complete opposite. They consider themselves more of a collective, kind of like A$AP or Wu-Tang; no boy-band vibe whatsoever! After streaming a couple of their songs, I realized that they don’t fall under just one genre; there’s a variety of hip hop, R&B, pop and reggae in their tunes, which makes it even more interesting and enjoyable to listen to. Even some of music’s biggest names are already fans of the guys, like Rita Ora, and Lily Allen.
Speaking of music’s biggest names, the group’s musical style draws on a wide range of influences, from Lauryn Hill and J. Cole, to Marvin Gaye and Evelyn King (old-school style!). However they also like some of the new faces, like Young Thug and Future (that would be a heck of a collab, just saying!).
So what can we expect from these talented young Brits? More feel-good music, as they like to call it, and an album dropping later this year. Cheers mates!
Watch the video for ‘In2’ and ‘Come Down’ below: