Mayhem Nodb

Operating far outside grime's birthplace of London, the Birmingham-based Mayhem NODB is a veteran underground MC who has distinguished himself with a mike attack that is cutting and urgent, augmented by clever ad libs. Active since the early 2000s when he debuted with the NODB crew, he quickly stepped out as a solo artist and independently released full-lengths including Mr. Splash (2012), Its Peakum (2013), and Mr. Hazeum (2018). Born Ojay Miller, Mayhem NODB began rapping as a youngster and came up through NODB, who in the early 2000s helped popularize grime in their native Birmingham. Although he was later part of another group, Stayfresh, Miller has recorded primarily as a solo artist, and has released several full-length projects, typically classified as mixtapes. First was Mr. Splash, issued in 2012 with multiple appearances from Preditah and DarX, as well as one from fellow Stayfresh member Saf-1. All of Stayfresh were featured on Mayhem's 2013 follow-up, Its Peakum, which augmented churning grime rhythms with front-loaded trap-style elements. Two years later, Mykal Million hosted Mayhem's Gassum! The Mixtape, a concise set with Big Narstie and Deadly among the contributors. Mr. Hazeum, highlighted by the full-throttle OH91, C4, and Mez collaboration "Cash Flow," followed in 2018. ~ Andy Kellman