Introducing... Ria Ritchie

These days, there’s so many apparent YouTube sensations flying around, it’s hard to know which ones are actually worth investing time in - but in the case of Miss Ria ’10 million views’ Ritchie, we reckon there’s really some substance behind all the internet buzz.

Taken under the wing of Plan B, she’s since toured with the who’s who of the British urban scene and there’s definitely something special about her, a real ‘wow!’ charm to her plainly apparent talents. At the heart of it all, there’s an impressively good, solid pop voice – the kind that could turn itself to any genre or taste with equal ease. And in debut single Only One, Ritchie goes for the big diva anthem vibe – riding a wall-of-sound wave of thundering percussion and scratchy guitar licks. It’s a towering girl-power record in the gutsiest of ways – this is no dainty doll, she’s all grit and raw passion, the kind that makes you feel every emotion ten-fold.

Plan B co-write Peculiar sounds like early Sugababes – think of Run For Cover or Stronger, that melancholy tinged street-ballad sort of thing crossed with the love-lorn hurt of countless tears and smeared mascara. Meanwhile, free download Blow Back verges on the trippy Katy B pop-dance blend; all delicate vocals and atmospheric beats. If there’s one word to sum up Ritchie, it’s sheer versatility, and to be perfectly honest, the UK could do with another properly good female artist like this to freshen up the market.

She’s rather easy on the eye too, and it’s very easy to imagine her swiftly sky-rocketing into a kind of UK Kelly Clarkson type if she plays her cards right – with the kind of online hysteria she’s already garnered, surely it’s only a matter of time?

Plan B – Ill Manors

The pressure for Plan B to live up to the monumental success of The Defamation of Strickland Banks must have been monumental. Playing O2 Arena shows to a newfound audiences allured in by his blend of hip credibility and smooth retro swing-beat overcoat, he could easily have banged out more of the same and smiled as the cash rolled in.

But he hasn’t. Ill Manors is an intense, frenetic record that spits out a city-like sprawl of lyrics – a labyrinthine tangle of wordplay that points the finger firmly at ‘bloody rich kids’. It’s combatitive stuff that could easily alienate the audience he made on Strickland Banks, but in its sprint-pace smattering of beats and string jabs, it re-crafts Plan B – the man – into an artist never willing to compromise, and for that, we admire him greatly.

Ill Manors is released on the 7^th May.

Francis Pope - Turnout

Hoxton lad Francis Pope is packing quite a punch on his new single Turnout, the track is bursting with tight raps, big bass and lots of attitude.

The song features as the title track to the movie of the same name, out on DVD now. The film also features Plan B himself, Ben Drew, following up on previous film appearances in the likes of Adulthood and Harry Brown.

Francis Pope spent his formative years dueling in school-yard rap battles, and there's much of that rough and ready bite present in his music. His EP Don't Sweat The Small Stuff is released in November and takes an active stance against the Hoxton hipsters that now populate Pope's home turf.

The Turnout DVD can be purchased on Amazon here.