It’s been eight years since Maverick Sabre first arrived on the UK scene as a fresh-faced Irish (but London born) rapper with a brassy singing voice. Championed by Plan B, his music drew a line between the Irish, American and UK rap scenes he grew up on and the timeless blues and traditional Irish music of his family’s heritage. His debut album, Lonely Are The Brave, was a roaring success. Arriving at #2 on the UK album charts and going on to sell over 250,000 copies, it was the pure and unapologetic sound of young man seething with thoughts. His follow up, Innerstanding, was a mature and exploratory collection of songs that tried to capture a dark period in his life in which it felt like everything around him was in a state of flux. His latest album When I Wake Up was self-released in March 2019 after a brief hiatus with features from Jorja Smith and Chronixx. This was followed by a sold out UK and Ireland Tour and a string of summer shows around the world.

Maverick Sabre is a visual artist. All the music he makes must have a visual reference, even if it’s just a 30 second clip of an ocean’s surface shimmering under sunlight. He draws sentiment and atmosphere from things he sees and the world around him. Around 90% of the music from When I Wake Up was written in his North London flat, as the clouds passed and the faint British sunshine gleamed through two French windows.