JP Selects: UK Culture Heroes 2024

2024 has been a strange year for all, but through it all, we have had some great entertainment and also some important, sometimes painful conversations within culture in a bid to move things forward. Today, we celebrate the people who have made our world go round over the last twelve months.

Honourable mentions: DaMetalMessiah, Flashy Sillah, Rambo Is Talking, Mercedes Benson, Lippy Lickshot, Remel London, Craig Mitch, Caleb Femi, Aniefiok Ekpoudom, Margs, Rapman.

20. Naz Hamdi

Occupation: Music & Culture Writer/Curator

Naz Hamdi is music/culture journalism’s new It-girl: to know her is to know Black London and all that is great about it. The Newham-and-proud writer has penned for many reputable platforms, including this one, TRENCH, NME, Clash, Ticketmaster and more. She also works with the No Signal/High Roller team in curating Black-centred music events and Black music radio (very important work, I’d say). Naz Hamdi: a name you can trust.

19. FDFromTheFuture

Occupation: Content Creator (Style & Music)

Fabio Dessena, aka FD, aka FDFromTheFuture is the future of content creation: in streetwear, in music, in UK youth lifestyle, and the rest. Getting his first big break creating content for Complex UK (his hunger to win was inspiring), FD has since gone on to work with the likes of Nike, Puma, eBay, Google, Central Cee’s Syna World and more. It’s “FD from the you know!” And if you didn’t know, now you know.

18. Travs Presents

Occupation: Underground Music Platform

Grime is once again the talk of the town in Black British music, and this is partly due to the consistent work of Travs and his team. When people online were collectively saying “grime is dead” just a few months back (it happens at least two times a year), Travs Presents continued to push through the noise by putting on regular radio sets/events with old and new faces in a bid to show that, in fact, the scene was alive and well—you just had to dig a bit deeper underground. Please: let us never forget the key workers in this thing.

17. Queen Icecream

Occupation: Podcaster

Queen Icecream left the controversial RTM Podcast earlier this year to sit in her own director’s chair, and some say it was the best decision of her career. She was a great addition to RTM, often bringing a calm to its chaos, but on her new podcast, Convo With Cream, we see her fully own her zone, getting as vulnerable or as real as she so pleases. The people she’s had on the show (the Lippy Lickshot and Mimi The Music Blogger episodes are must-sees) have opened up like they’ve never done before, which is testament to her interpersonal skills. Long live Cream, and that infectious laugh of hers.

16. Young Spray

Occupation: Podcaster

Young Spray, CEO of the RTM Podcast, is a menace to society, and his people—the “bad people dem”—love him for it. While I’ve had my own issues with the rapper-turned-podcast star in the past, one thing I am not is a hater: you can’t deny the fact that he’s great entertainment. And in a world where being P.C. is king, Spray’s complete disregard for that is what many of his fans and (secret) supporters live for. There’s also a method to his madness: Spray has turned this erratic podcast into a lucrative stream of income, and he’s done it all without the help of the industry—one he felt like he was being blackballed from. This underdog is indeed having his day.

15. Dellessa James

Occupation: Head of Black Music, Amazon UK

You might not be familiar with the name, but Dellessa James is a music industry vet with many years in mainstream radio behind her, now working in streaming as the Head of Black Music at Amazon Music UK. She has worked on major campaigns with legendary names such as Ghetts and Lethal Bizzle, and with +44—Amazon’s dedicated platform for UK Black music—her finger is always on the pulse when it comes to the stars of tomorrow. It’s people like Dellessa why our music and culture is taken seriously in boardrooms, and for that, we should all give thanks.

14. Sheniece Charway

Occupation: Head of Black Music & Culture, YouTube (EMEA)

Sheniece Charway’s rise to music industry stardom has been a real joy to watch. Working closely with fellow industry icons Lyor Cohen and Tuma Basa, Sheneice is the central voice for all things Black British music across YouTube and Google, making sure artists are being represented in the right way, and to the best of each platform’s abilities, and that music professionals are recognised for their often thankless work at the annual Legacy party (catch me there, every year, holding a corner). Giving SC her flowers will never grow old. All hail!

13. Big Manny

Occupation: Scientist/Content Creator

Where was Big Manny when we were growing up? For some of us, apart from burning things with the bunsen burner and setting the alarms off for #bants, science was probably our least favourite class in school. We didn’t do any of the experiments Manny showcases on his 2m-strong TikTok, that’s for sure, but it’s great to see a new gen finding a real interest in chemistry; he’s even got some of us older heads hooked. Putting his Biomedical Science degree to great use during the lockdown, the East London native (born Emanuel Wallace) took to TikTok with his slang-heavy science chat, and never looked back. His debut book, Science Is Lit: Crazy Chemistry & Epic Experiments, is out now.

12. Dion ‘Sincere’ Lizzy

Occupation: Entrepreneur

Some people like to let their work do all the talking for them. Sincere is one of those people. Quietly joining Atlantic Records UK as Head of Black Music A&R at the tail end of last year, the rapper-turned-entrepreneur has worked with and managed some of the UK’s finest talents, such as Knucks, Fredo, Slawn and the underground rap chart-invaders Lancey Foux, Fimiguerrero and Len. He also part-owns Kick Game, the popular sneaker/streetwear store, and has his own music stable, Stay Flee Get Lizzy. You won’t catch Sincere shouting about his achievements, nor will you find him at wannabe-celeb gatherings. What you can bet your top dollar on, though, is him being somewhere in the world cultivating culture in his section.

11. Mimi The Music Blogger

Occupation: Music Critic/Content Creator

Mimi The Music Blogger—a regular Complex UK contributor—has taken music criticism from the traditional pages of journalism and reworked it for social media (mainly X, fka Twitter), where she’s done deep dives on everyone from the BAPtiser herself, Chy Cartier, and “Peggy” newbie Ceechyna, to megastars like Kendrick Lamar and Tyler, The Creator. Her tweets on UK, American and African music always go viral, and she’s seen some backlash off the back of them too. But I can only speak from a UK perspective: in our scene, which needs every bit of help it can get to reach the next level, Mimi’s voice is more needed now than ever before.

10. Clint 419

Occupation: Founder/Designer, Corteiz

Corteiz Rules The World. Need I say more?

9. Elijah

Occupation: DJ/Writer/Co-Founder, Butterz

Having first connected with Elijah during The Grime Blog Era (circa 2007), during which I was able to give him one of his first DJ bookings, I can assure you: his passion for grime and UK bass music is as fervent today as it was back then. For the last few years, Elijah has worked in the academia space by way of his Yellow Squares project: a post-blog format in the style of post-it notes that sees him share gems, such as how to better UK nightlife, and motivational vignettes: “close the app, make the ting!” Elijah’s writing (his recent piece in The Guardian calling for Black radio stations to play more Black British music is a must-read) can on February 7, 2025, be found in the form of a book: Close The App, Make The Ting: Transformative Prompts For The Modern Artist. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore.

8. Slawn

Occupation: Artist

If this was the disco-fuelled seventies, Nigerian-born Londoner Slawn would have been a regular fixture at Studio 54, and likely best friends with kindred artists Andy Warhol and Keith Hering. We might not see it now, but when it’s all said and done, his abstract art pieces—which, today, sell in the tens of thousands—are going to be respected on a similar level to that of the aforementioned late greats. Don’t @ me.

7. Gabriel Moses

Occupation: Photographer/Creative Director

Before they switched to full-time video-streaming a few years back, Tim & Barry were my favourite photographers on the planet. Maybe I’m biased because I went on tour with them (and Palace, in 2008, documenting the grime and bassline scenes up North) and saw what went into their shoots, but even still—at their level—there hadn’t been much competition. Enter: Gabriel Moses, a photographer whose arrival in the UK creative scene has been desperately needed. His brooding lens and the tangible stillness his images evoke has earned my respect and clearly that of others in high places: he’s worked with everyone from Pharrell at Louis Vuitton to Corteiz, Nike and i-D. The sky’s the limit for where this South London don takes it to next.

6. Candice Carty-Williams

Occupation: Author/Showrunner

Best-selling author and showrunner Candice Carty-Williams is behind some of your favourite TV shows in recent times. Were you hooked on the tense sibling rivalry between Bosco and Vita on Netflix’s Champion last year? Or, perhaps the get-your-life-right drama of Queenie was more up your street? The latter was a 2024 adaption for Channel 4/Hulu of her best-selling novel of the same name, while the former was created out of Candice’s love of grime, UK rap, and all things South London. With both hit shows continuing to do the rounds globally, you can expect Ms Carty-Williams’ next move to be just as groundbreaking.

5. Colin Batsa

Occupation: CEO, EGA Distro

UK rap needs fixing, and Colin Batsa—CEO of EGA Distro, whose roster includes Potter Payper, Digga D, Asco and more—has the right team and the tools to help put things back in order. From managing the likes of Ghetts and Devlin during the Channel U era to now owning a powerhouse of his own, Batsa is a trusted name in the industry who, as shocking as it might sound for a label president, puts his artists’ needs and wants first. And now, he is reaping the rewards of that: in a landscape where stables twice the size of his are struggling to keep the lights on, his continues to flourish.

4. Bello

Occupation: Artist Manager/Entrepreneur

Behind every great musician is an exceptional manager whose days and nights are dedicated to piecing together the sometimes shiesty puzzle of showbusiness. Bello (aka Ybeez) has been a driving force behind chart-topping rapper Central Cee’s cultural cachet since his 2020 breakout single, “Day In The Life”; you’d only have to take a look down your high street to see how much of an influence Cench is on today’s youth. Hit after hit, deal after deal, Bello inspires creatives and aspiring music execs who—like him—have come from the school of hard knocks and want a better life for themselves. Ybeez is the new blueprint.

3. Jojo Sonubi

Occupation: Co-Founder, No Signal & RECESS

Alongside his low-key brother, David, Jojo Sonubi has been serving the Black community with quality music radio since 2020 and memorable music events since the mid-2010s. No Signal Radio was birthed during the height of Covid-19 and kept our spirits high while the world was crumbling around us. Meanwhile, RECESS has grown year on year, with its events regularly seeing over 5,000 people through its doors. To put it simply: without Jojo and his crew, young Black people—who are, without a doubt, the leading purveyors of culture in the UK—would be incredibly underserved in entertainment. Plus, they’ve done it all without the interference of corporate entities. That, alone, is a win in my book.

2. DJ Mak 10

Occupation: DJ/Content Creator

What a year DJ Mak 10 has had. His energetic livestreams on the streets of London (sometimes even Yorkshire) have revitalised grime in 2024 in ways that will still be felt in the years to come. The N.A.S.T.Y Crew legend has brought a pirate radio energy back to the scene, which was much-needed, and with his newfound fame on social media, he is now introducing the seminal sound to an entirely new generation. The only way is up from here.

1. DJ AG

Occupation: DJ/Content Creator

Fame is fickle, and viral fame even more, yet DJ AG has managed to build something meaningful out of the whirlwind of attention his on-the-street DJ sets have brought him. He’s travelled a long road to get to where he is today, though. As a teen, the Tottenham native was an aspiring grime MC, but after some sobering words of advice from a friend who told him MCing might not be the right path for him, he shifted gears. The 9-5 called, he raised a family and all but set aside, until his kids encouraged him to upload his DJ sets to TikTok during lockdown.

Quickly seeing the potential for more than viral success, DJ AG (born Ashley Gordon) has used his success to launch a campaign raising money for emerging artists. Making opportunities for the next gen was always the real part of it. Appearances from Skepta and Daddy Freddy are always fun, but the really important moments come from the otherwise overlooked talents jostling for position. Thank you, DJ AG, for bringing community spirit back into our lives.