Yxng Bane

If Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” sounded like summer, Yxng Bane’s remix took you straight to the sun. The British rapper and singer turned the song into a simmering Afropop anthem in 2017, marking his place in genre-melting UK hip-hop with his springy, relaxed voice. Yxng Bane was born Larry Kiala in 1996, and grew up in London’s Canning Town neighbourhood. His parents, from Congo and Angola, flooded their home with a mix of African music, gospel, and R&B. That may be why, despite being a grime obsessive and prodigious freestyler in his teenage years, Bane loves to write soft, buttery tunes. His songs—like his warm 2017 hit “Rihanna” and 2021 collab with Stefflon Don “Birthday”—can feel like an escape, and they’re some of the finest examples of the London hip-hop scene’s rich diasporic art.