A Brit Awards nomination for your first proper single isn’t bad going.
Mitcham rapper Ramone Rochester is better known as Ramz and will be rubbing shoulders with Calvin Harris, Dua Lipa and George Ezra in the British Single category next week.
His song Barking was such a surprise success that he had to take time out from university in Portsmouth, where he was studying in the Department of Sport and Exercise Science, to keep up with it.
A relaxed, melodic, sung-rapped tune about a casual hook-up in the same vein as Not3s’s hit Addison Lee, at one point it was sitting boldly in between rap giants Drake and Eminem at number two in the UK singles chart.
As of this week it’s on over 150 million Spotify streams and has become the most viewed video ever on the urban music portal GRM Daily, at 53 million plays. But it’s over a year old now, so he’s capitalising on the renewed attention by releasing another catchy, feelgood love song, Hold You Down, this week.
It doesn’t repeat its chorus as often as Barking’s remarkable 12 times in three minutes, but stands a fair chance of shielding him from one hit wonder status.
Wireless festival, July 6-8, Finsbury Park, N4. wirelessfestival.co.uk