ACL Artist Spotlight: Skepta

Hip-hop fans coming to Austin City Limits festival will get a taste of what artists from across the pond have to offer. Hailing from the UK, Skepta is a grime artist who will be performing on both Fridays, October 6 and 13. Early in 2017, Skepta reached mainstream ears in the US with his interlude on Drake’s “More Life” album (Listen here).

The son of Nigerian immigrants, Skepta’s unique sound has been at the forefront of the UK grime scene since its beginning. More recently his incredible energy and cadence have been getting attention in the US after cosigns from artists such as Kanye West and Drake. Not only does Skepta rap, but many of his songs are self-produced. The man has carved out his own lane in the music industry and states, “I don’t want to look like all these other little punk, dress-up, fake, manufactured artists. I’m not a rapper. I’m an activist.”

Some of Skepta’s most successful tracks include 2011’s “Rescue Me” which reached #14 on the UK charts, “Shutdown”, and “Man”, the latter two coming from his most recent studio album “Konnichiwa” which earned the Mercury Prize for 2016.

Skepta is closing out a 2017 tour that included performances at Coachella, Governor’s Ball, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza. His US takeover will be capped when he brings his high-energy performance to fans in Austin next month. Don’t miss your chance to catch one of the UK’s all-time greats at ACL, tickets are still available and you can get yours here.