Geko

Named after a lizard species that can alter their appearance to suit their needs, Geko’s career is a case study in adaptability. Inspired by the sounds of Jadakiss, Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G., the Manchester native began writing his first raps at the age of eight, letting loose linear rap stylings as a member of the UK’s now-defunct USG at the age of 13. By 14, he delivered a freestyle on Charlie Sloth’s Fire in the Booth, becoming the youngest artist to do so. When he released his LionHeart project in 2017, he’d morphed into a genre-fluid vocalist who could swerve between Afrowave, grime and Arabic swing within any song. Two years later, he dove further into varied melodies with 22, a project that includes features with artists like Stefflon Don (“Link Up”) and French Montana (“New Money”) as well as “6:30”, a song that accumulated tens of millions of streams shortly after its release. The project saw Geko double down on the inventive, genre-morphing songs he introduced on his first solo effort, cementing his status as one of the most stylistically elastic artists the UK has to offer.