Nadia Rose

Nadia Rose surged into the British hip-hop landscape in the middle of the 2010s, pairing incisive rhymes with an everyday brand of wit. Her first EP, Highly Flammable—an energetic, lighthearted blend of grime, dancehall, and garage—earned praise upon its early-2017 arrival and positioned her among the most promising voices in U.K. rap.

Raised in Croydon, South London, Rose drew initial inspiration from her father’s wide-ranging record shelves, which spanned dancehall, reggae, and the Spice Girls. She grew up near her cousin Michael Omari, who would later achieve widespread fame under the name Stormzy. While enrolled in a Music Business degree and working at a betting shop to support her musical ambitions, she reached a decisive moment and quit the job to focus on music entirely. In 2015, backed by a tight circle of friends and collaborators, she committed fully to the craft. That year’s first single, “Station,” drew online notice once it emerged that its video had been shot on Southern Rail tracks without authorization. By year’s end she had issued “D.F.W.T.” through SBTV.com; the track became her breakthrough viral hit, racking up millions of streams and highlighting her skill and wordplay. Relentless Records, a Sony imprint, quickly signed her afterward.

Throughout 2016 Rose reinforced her stage presence via key U.K. festival appearances that included Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds, and a headline set at London’s Born and Bred Festival, where she filled in for Azealia Banks. The period closed with “Skwod,” her catchiest release to date, which earned a MOBO Award for Best Video. Early 2017 brought further momentum when the BBC placed her fifth on its Sound of 2017 list. Capitalizing on the attention, she dropped Highly Flammable two weeks after the announcement. She followed with “Breathe Slow,” a collaboration with Junglepussy, and “Big Woman,” while also contributing songwriting for Rihanna. Label constraints, however, restricted further output, leaving “Airplane Mode” as her sole 2019 single. That same year she engaged with political initiatives through Operation Black Vote and Grime4Corbyn. After parting ways with the label, she resurfaced in 2020 with “Secure the Bag” alongside Thrdl!fe, plus the solo cuts “Sugar Zaddy” and “Too Bad.”