Yxng Bane

East London rapper Yxng Bane centers his sound on dancehall-tinged R&B while freely incorporating drill, trap, and electronic-pop textures, always keeping an eye on broad commercial appeal. That approach surfaced on the surprise 2020 mixtape Quarantime: The Lost Files and on the bright, Stefflon Don-assisted single “Birthday.”

He first surfaced in 2015 by posting tracks to SoundCloud, where rising streams soon led to music videos. Early on he kept his identity hidden behind a mask, but he finally showed his face in the clip for “Lone Wolf/Pronto,” issued just before his 2016 debut EP Full Moon. The following year he prepared Bane of My Existence (also known as B.O.E.), previewing it with the Kojo Funds collaboration “Fine Wine.”

In 2018 he logged several high-profile team-ups, among them a guest spot on the Banx & Ranx and Ella Eyre hit “Answerphone,” and he joined D-Block Europe for the full-length Any Minute Now; he closed the year with his own mixtape HBK. Subsequent singles included the 2019 track “How It Is” with Roddy Ricch and Chip and 2020’s “Cut Me Off” featuring D-Block Europe. Also in 2020 he dropped the eclectic Quarantime: The Lost Files, which carried contributions from Kojo Funds, M Huncho, Headie One, and additional guests. In 2021 he issued several solo cuts and joined Wes Nelson on the single “Nice to Meet Ya.”