Kae Tempest

Forging an impressive and wide-ranging career as a poet, rapper, playwright, and novelist, Britain's Kae Tempest has shown dazzling command as an intuitive wordsmith, approaching each of these disciplines with depth and compassion. A spoken word performer and rapper since his teenage days, the London native's originality and insight for human emotions have earned widespread recognition and two Mercury Prize nominations for his innovative rap/spoken word albums Everybody Down and Let Them Eat Chaos. Leaning increasingly away from the more direct rap style of his earlier work, his 2019 album The Book of Traps and Lessons featured a minimalist blend of gentle organic rhythms and acoustic arrangements. Three years later, 2022's The Line Is a Curve saw Tempest inching back toward more overt hip-hop, a trend which continued on the tightly written 2025 album Self Titled.