With two U.K. #1 albums to his name and a #6 debut, J Hus is up there with the most successful acts in British rap. He’s collaborated with Drake (on “Who Told You,” which hit #2 in the U.K. in June), has four BRIT-certified gold and eight silver singles and has tallied a total of 2.2b+ streams to date.
J Hus was discovered by Sony Music U.K. Director of Artist Development DJ Semtex through word of mouth in 2015. He later signed to Sony U.K. imprint Black Butter Records. “It was blatantly apparent from his lyricism that he was different,” Semtex remembers. “His metaphors, flow and cadence were different from everything else at that time.He was clearly a very special, highly original artist who could rap and sing while effortlessly fusing U.K. slang with African [his parents are Gambian] and Caribbean influences.”
Since then, Semtex has worked alongside Moe Bah and Kilo Jalloh at 2K Management to build J Hus’ career, which he calls “a great, groundbreaking voyage." He continues, "No single or album campaign has been the same. The only constant is that everything starts from the streets. His music fuels pirate radio and social media, dominates the clubs and rings out across the diaspora. J Hus is incomparable, and his cultural significance is unquestionable; his music is constantly discussed and celebrated.”
The campaign for Hus’ third album (and second Mercury Prize nominee), Brutal and Beautiful Yard, which arrived in July, started in 2019 at Drake’s O2 London residency; in April of that year the Canadian star brought J Hus onstage for a surprise performance the day he was released from an eight-month jail sentence (stemming from a 2018 charge of carrying a knife in public). The 20k-capacity crowd’s response was “ecstatic,” Semtex says. “It was one of the highlights of Drake’s U.K. tour and it triggered anticipation for a collaboration between the two artists.”
In May 2023, after a hiatus from social media, Hus’ debut TikTok post generated 1m views. His Brutal and Beautiful Yard tagline, “Don’t Say Militancy”―which he explained in a YouTube video by saying, “Don’t say it but do it”―appeared on billboards and police tape across London and around the world with a phone number for fans to call, which led them to an exclusive message from Hus. At the end of October, he embarked on his first arena tour, including two dates at The O2. Hus is returning to the Afro Nation concert series in Lagos, Nigeria, in December.
STATS
Streams: 2.2b; 114m for “Who Told You” f/Drake, 2023; 70m+ for latest album, Beautiful and Brutal Yard, 2023
Charts: Two U.K. #1 albums, #6 debut; #2 single BRIT certifications: triple-platinum single “Did You See”; platinum singles “Bouff Daddy” and “Spirit”; four gold and eight silver singles
Awards: BRIT Award for Best British Male, 2021, and three nominations; two Mercury Prize nominations
Live: The O2; Afro Nation
TEAM
Management: Kilo Jalloh, Moe Bah, 2K Management
Label: Black Butter; A&R: Joe Gossa, DJ Semtex
Publisher: Amber Davis, Warner Chappell Music U.K.
Agent: Craig D’Souza, WME
