The winners of the Mercury Prize in 2014, Edinburgh hip hop three-piece Young Fathers – Alloysious Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole and Graham ‘G’ Hastings – pump out a mutant blend of pop, dub, afrobeats and kitchen sink rap. Massaquoi hails from Liberia, and Bankole was born to migrant Nigerian parents. The name, Young Fathers, nods to the dosser dads on the Edinburgh housing scheme where Hastings grew up, but also makes sense of the trio’s originality.
Their different backgrounds have contributed to something swirling and rootless – a style unique enough that Young Fathers can truly claim to be its daddies. Their moody tracks recall early Massive Attack, especially when Young Fathers dwell on the dark charm of everyday realities – prescription drugs, girls in clubs and, yes, porridge – as part of languid, mesmerising flows.