Context - Drowning

Sometimes, the longest shots are the ones that pay the most dividends. Out of 2500 other unsigned artists that entered MTV's Brand New for 2012, it was Norwich rapper Context that walked away triumphant, and one listen to his forthcoming single Drowning makes it clear why.

Self-written, Context's material makes a powerful case for itself and has already been turning heads at Radio 1, SBTV and 1 Xtra.

At his best, Context is like a British Weeknd, all moody ambient backdrops and skeletal beats. It's like a vision of the future, a lurid Tron-style world of neon colours and permanently raining skies. Drowning feels like the thrum and pulse of the city itself, coursing its way through the phone networks and the very ether itself - every potential listener out there a port on this wi-fi scale adventure into the most involving of soundscapes.

British rap is big stuff right now. But Context is like no other British rap - and of all the other artists on MTV's Brand New for 2012 list, it is his more than any other's that actually 'sounds' most like the future.