Hak Baker

Hak Baker, originator of "G-folk" (guv'nor folk) anchored in authentic storytelling and striking melodies, shapes moving accounts of individual lives as an East London singer/songwriter. Grime first drew his musical attention, yet he mastered guitar on his own during late adolescence and earned inclusion in the Levi's Music Project. The 2017 debut EP Misfits secured his foothold on the U.K. music circuit, its six tracks forging a contemporary mythology of the East End through unvarnished city portraits framed by expressive, rooted guitars. Second release Babylon followed in 2019 as a unified full-length whose songs recalled reckless younger years while confronting his city's authoritarianism. Misled, another EP, surfaced in 2021 before the radio-formatted second LP Worlds End FM arrived in 2023. Baker served as lead vocalist on pianist/composer Joe Armon-Jones' Wrong Side of Town EP in 2024.

Born in Luton in 1991 as the fifth of nine children to a Grenadian father and Jamaican mother, Baker moved with his family at age one to London's Isle of Dogs, where he still resides—the setting that shaped his assured and vivid musical narratives. Varied influences from ska, reggae, and punk informed his start, though he pursued grime by joining local collective B.O.M.B. Squad at age 14 and left school in 2006 at 15.

Self-taught guitar and original songwriting redirected his path in late teens. His resonant, engaging low tenor voice together with guitar skill earned him a place in the Levi's Music Project.

Single "7AM" preceded the 2017 debut EP Misfits. Airplay and reviews positioned Baker as an emerging U.K. talent whose music captured both nostalgia amid East End change and essential tales of ordinary existence. The six-track set built a modern mythology around the East End, rendering candid city stories against emotive, earthy guitars.

After the acoustic Misfits (Unplugged) EP in 2018, Baker issued singles through the decade's close before releasing first album Babylon in October 2019. This cohesive debut expanded his sonic range while lyrics continued to revisit youthful wildness and challenge his city's authoritarianism alongside jingoistic immigration policies.

Early-2020s work included a collaboration with U.K. rap royalty the Streets on "Falling Down," followed by second EP Misled in October 2021. Four advance singles preceded the sophomore album whose best-selling track was the poignant "Windrush Baby." Worlds End FM arrived in June 2023. Framed around a fictional community radio station, its songs examined gentrification and economics through intimate pieces that adopted an electric sound and new lyric approach, retaining trademark directness while applying a more balanced, critical perspective. In 2024 Baker joined jazz pianist/composer Joe Armon-Jones as vocalist on Wrong Side of Town EP, a reggae collection featuring dubwise B-sides. Armon-Jones' star-studded backing band included saxophonists Nubya Garcia and James Mollison, bassist Luke Wynter, and drummer Morgan Simpson.