New Music Friday: 8 albums to hear this week

It was back in 2018 that east London rapper Unknown T broke through with “Homerton B”, earning him the sort of hype and attention that other artists spend their lives dreaming of. But after signing a deal with Universal, appearing on a handful of tracks that showed his musical diversity beyond the drill genre, and making on-stage appearances at Stormzy’s Merky Festival and with Drake at London’s O2 arena, his career was put on hold – suddenly and shockingly, he was charged with murder. After seven months in jail, Unknown T was cleared of the charges (two others were convicted of manslaughter and violent disorder respectively) and returned to music. Two years from his breakthrough, Unknown T has released his debut project, Rise Above Hate, which features guests M Huncho, Young Adz, V9, KO, and AJ Tracey.

Elsewhere this week, Actress is back with his a free full-length, a precursor to his next ‘proper’ album later this year; Jarvis Cocker makes a return to solo music with his Jarv Is... project; and Dazed 100 graduate LoveLeo shares his first long release. Take a listen below.