BERWYN: Last News

BERWYN has spoken to NME about the political turmoil that shaped his Mercury-nominated new album ‘Who Am I’ – and his favourites to take home the prize this year.The Trinidad-born, Romford-raised rapper, producer, singer and songwriter was appearing on the red carpet of the launch of the Mercury Prize last week (Thursday July 25), where it was announced that he’d been shortlisted for acclaimed 2023 album ‘Who Am I’ – facing off competition from records by the likes of Charli XCX, CMAT, Corinne Bailey Rae, The Last Dinner Party, Ghetts, English Teacher, Beth Gibbons, Barry Can’t Swim and more.This marks the recent NME cover star‘s second Mercury nod, after landing himself a place on the shortlist in 2021 for his mix ‘‘DEMOTAPE/VEGA’.Responding to the rest of the shortlist this year, BERWYN told NME: “It’s tough competition for sure. Last time I was nominated for a mixtape, this time I’m nominated for an album.

NME’s latest star of The Cover, Berwyn, has shared a playlist exclusively to accompany the story’s launch – check it out below.The Trinidad-born, Romford-raised rapper is on this week’s (July 15) edition of The Cover, a renewal of NME’s commitment to supporting emerging talent across the globe on a weekly basis. Every week, a rising artist will feature on The Cover – you can read the profile of Berwyn here, written by Fred Garratt-Stanley and featuring photography by Tamiym.Accompanying the story is an exclusive playlist Berwyn has compiled, ‘How To Make A Berwyn’, featuring Bon Iver, Frank Ocean and Kendrick Lamar and more.

BERWYN has announced his hotly-anticipated debut album ‘WHO AM I’ and shared moving new single, ‘DEAR IMMIGRATION’.Following the release of the powerful single ‘I AM BLACK’, the new album offers what is described as a “vivid and vulnerable journey through BERWYN’s search for meaning and freedom”.News of the NME Award-winning singer-rapper’s debut is accompanied by the release of ‘DEAR IMMIGRATION’, a spoken word battle cry against a corrupt immigration system.On the song, BERWYN sings: “You make me look at the mirror in horror, you took my tomorrow / I want you to know since I was nine I felt like a crime / I used to imagine you coming for me every day of my life” – watch below.His lyrical honesty has become a signature of his sound, which he previously told NME was “a double-edged sword“, saying: “The sick part about it all is that for my day job I stand up on a wooden stage and people are like ‘Your life is hard? Tell me more. Give me more.'”But that hasn’t put the Trinidad-born artist off being emotionally frank, with his debut studio album promising “crafted and cohesive reflections on faith, on the tugs of addiction and the embrace of love, on what it means to be demonised for your immigration status or skin colour”.In 2021, the Mercury Prize nominee told NME his work was intentionally “solemn, musical and explorative,” going on to say these attributes were “tools relative to every human being inside of the matrix we live in.”The debut album follows BERWYN’s EP, ‘Bulletproof’, and two previous mixtapes, ‘Demotape/Vega’ and ‘Tape 2/Fomalhaut’, which NME wrote had “a beautiful twilight quality” in a four-star review.‘WHO AM I’ is out on July 12 via Columbia Records.

BERWYN has released a powerful new single called ‘I AM BLACK’ – you can listen to it below.The Trinidad-born singer-rapper returned last month with the triumphant comeback track ‘Neighbours’. He released two versions of the soulful song; he first dropped a piano-driven solo take, before DJ and Producer Fred again..

NME Award-winning BERWYN has released new single ‘Bulletproof’ ahead of his nine-day European tour.The Trinidadian-born, Romford-raised musician has launched his first musical release since his 2022 comeback single ‘Path To Satisfaction’ and the double release ‘3450 / Chasing Lights (demo)’.BERWYN continues the reflective streak in his music, shifting his focus in the process after a “genuinely enlightening trip” to his home of Trinidad reigniting deep-rooted emotions.•READ MORE: BERWYN: Romford underdog’s soul-baring rap is helping those in need“‘Bulletproof’ is less about me and more about the people around me,” he said. “It’s another part of my personality: I’m willing to do anything for the people around me.”He continued: “It also highlights the dangers of my job and exposes me as an individual with troubles.

Ibeyi have released their BERWYN-featuring rework of Black Flag‘s punk anthem ‘Rise Above’, taken from their upcoming album ‘Spell 31’.Ibeyi – the twin sisters Lisa-Kaindé Diaz and Naomi Diaz – released their latest single from ‘Spell 31’ on Tuesday (April 26). It’s a complete reimagining of ‘Rise Above’ that retains only the lyrics of the original Black Flag song and features a rap verse from the Trinidad-born, Romford-raised BERWYN.Listen to Ibeyi and BERWYN’s take on ‘Rise Above’ below.Speaking to NME last month about ‘Spell 31’, Ibeyi revealed that they had never heard the original version of ‘Rise Above’ prior to putting their own spin on the track, only going off the lyrics that producer Richard Russell had shown them.“The reason why we don’t want to listen to [the original]… I feel like we’re super-protective of the lyrics, and we didn’t want to be influenced by [Black Flag’s] melodies,” Lisa-Kaindé explained.“When it gets into your brain, then suddenly you can’t create something new because it has become the norm… the seed in your head.” Ibeyi are set to release their third studio album ‘Spell 31’ on May 6 via XL Recordings.

Fatboy Slim, Romy and Mura Masa are among the leading names who have been announced on the 2022 line-up for Glastonbury‘s Silver Hayes area.The Worthy Farm festival is set to return this year from June 22-26, with Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar to headline the Pyramid Stage.The latest 2022 line-up announcement from Glastonbury has been made today (April 22) for the festival’s Silver Hayes area, which offers “the best names in electronic, R&B, bass, rap, drum & bass and dub music”.As well as Fatboy Slim, Romy and Mura Masa, the likes of Berwyn, Leon Vynehall, Bad Boy Chiller Crew, Sofia Kourtesis, India Jordan, Kojey Radical, ArrDee, Gorgon City, Groove Armada (DJ set), Lava La Rue, Logic1000, Nia Archives, Potter Payper and Shy FX are all set to play at Silver Hayes this year.You can check out the full music line-up for Glastonbury’s Silver Hayes area above.In a statement, Glastonbury confirmed that, this year, Silver Hayes will see “SONIC & WOW make a welcome return, whilst new additions come in the form of THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB – an art deco cinema structure standing over 40 foot high – and FIRMLY ROOTED, a space celebrating all things sound-system culture”. This latest line-up announcement follows on from Glastonbury confirming the bill for their Field Of Avalon area last week.

BERWYN has won Best New Act From The UK Supported By Music Venue Trust at the BandLab NME Awards 2022 this evening (March 2).The Romford rapper beat fellow nominees Bad Boy Chiller Crew, Bree Runway, Wet Leg and Yard Act for the gong, which was presented to him by the Nova Twins on behalf of the award’s supporter and the BandLab NME Awards 2022’s charity partner Music Venue Trust.BERWYN took to the podium accompanied by his mother. “I didn’t prepare a speech, so I’m going to let my mum talk,” he joked. “She’s scared!”“I’ve never won an award before, so thank you for an award.

BERWYN has revealed that he’s currently “sitting on hundreds of new songs” and also has some “high-profile features” in the bag. Watch our video interview the rapper above.The Trinidad-born, Romford-raised rapper, producer, and songwriter was speaking to NME on the red carpet ahead of last week’s Mercury Prize – which he described as “one of the best days of my life”.“I don’t really know it feels,” he told NME.