Jermaine Scott, who records as Wretch 32, emerged from the Tiverton Estate projects in London’s Tottenham area alongside Devlin, Chipmunk, Kano, Stormzy, and Skepta. In the second half of the 2000s he aligned himself with the grime crews Combination Chain Gang and the Movement while issuing independent solo material through mixtapes. The 2007 set Teacher’s Training Day and the 2008 set Wretchrospective began to signal wider commercial prospects by weaving hip-hop and grime together with notable dexterity. Ministry of Sound secured his signature before the decade closed, and the resulting first major-label release, “Traktor,” appeared in January 2011 and entered the U.K. singles chart at number five. Mid-2011 brought the second studio album Black and White, fronted by the Stone Roses-sampling “Unorthodox” and the U.K. number-one single “Don't Go.”
In 2012 Wretch fronted an Adidas campaign connected to the London Olympics and toured with Example; the mixtape Wretchercise also surfaced late that year, carrying guest appearances from Kano, Krept, and Chip. While shaping his third album he issued the 2013 singles “Blackout” and “Doing OK” and confirmed work with producer Knox Brown. After twelve months away from public view he returned in November 2014 with “6 Words,” which peaked at number eight on the U.K. chart. The following year he joined WSTRN on the U.K. Top Five single “IN2” and continued refining the third album, Growing Over Life, which arrived in 2016. Critics singled out its unusually candid lyrics and most layered narratives to date. During the ensuing promotional cycle he disclosed that recording for the next project had already begun. That album, FR32, surfaced in late 2017 and featured contributions from Kojey Radical, Avelino, and Kojo Funds.
