Name: Master Peace

Where He’s From: South London

When He Started: 2016

Genre: Alternative Rap / Grime

File Next To: Bakar, Big Zuu, Ammi Boyz, Ali3nhead, YS Tekdinner

Sounds Like: Early grime-inspired stylings with a surf-rock lean.

First Track That Inspired Him: “No Doubt’s ‘Don’t Speak’. That song changed my life.”

Like me, chances are you probably first became enamoured—or at least acquainted—with Master Peace and his Mob Set crew during one of their many stand-out live sets this year. Their appearances on KISS FM with Rude Kid and Rinse with A.G were both sets that turned heads and got everyone talking. The “MCs on the set get spun right round” to the tune of the Wheels On The Bus was just one of roughly 1,000 highlights from these recent sets.

As one of the most prominent members of the Mob Set crew, Master Peace embodies everything that we love about them. His energy is boundless, his charisma is irresistible and his talent immediately apparent. But it’s not just the cheeky and infectious quotables that makes Peace and his people such favourites in the scene; it’s their versatility too. Master Peace himself describes his sound as “alternative rock and surf-rock”, and while that may come as a surprise, I’d urge you to take a look at this live set for Keep Hush. Not only that, but the fact that he shelled down A-Ha’s “Take On Me” harder than most would shell down a Swifta Beater riddim says it all.

What’s truly refreshing—and particularly appealing in a world where egos are reaching fever pitch—is his relentless drive. Far too many artists seem content with getting by on raw talent and premature hype. While his contemporaries coast by on modest plaudits, Master Peace has a drive that few others seem to possess. Testament to that is the fact that his wildest tour story isn’t a story of decadence or bad behaviour, but one where he “was on tour with Bakar and I performed at the Leeds show of the tour and more or less everyone knew the words of my unreleased songs that I had showed snippets of, and that just made me believe I have something special to share with the world.”

You won’t catch Master Peace stunting on Insta or making empty brags, and that’s just one in a long list of reasons he’ll outlive us all.

Photography: Hyperfrank