UrbanVoice UK Stars of 2011

WOW!! What a year 2011 has been for UK artists.  It has been full of highs and lows and many urban musical achievements. In an unforgettable year we have seen 2 royal weddings, the craziness of the London riots that spread countywide, and many urban artists begin to dominate the mainstream charts.

The UK charts saw number 1 smash hits from Wretch 32, Professor Green and Emeli Sande shot to mainstream success and we had an overdue comeback from Ms Dynamite.  Tinie Tempah saw Brit awards and stateside success peaking at number 12 on the US Billboard charts.  Mainstream success grew for Tulisa from N-Dubz who represented the urban music scene as the winning judge and mentor on popular prime time TV singing competition X-Factor.    On the flipside we also had great loss as the very talented Amy Winehouse's journey sadly ended as she passed away in July.

Who would have thought all of this would have happened if you had asked me 5 years ago?

Mz Bratt

Furthermore, we have seen artists like Nero, Chipmunk, Wretch 32 and Example go from strength to strength with top 10 hits and even number 1's in the UK top 40. Who could forget about all the insane collaborations we have seen in 2011? Skepta from Roll Deep and Boy Better Know made a song with P. Diddy, Taio Cruz and David Guetta made 'Bad Girl', Tinchy Stryder teamed up with Dionne Bromfield for the official Olympics 2012 song, Chipmunk and Chris Brown hooked up to create 'Champion' and Professor Green and  Emeli Sande produced the powerful 'Read All About It' and made history as the first rapper to perform  on prime time television programme X-Factor.

UrbanVoice UK has selected three artists in particular that stand out the most as the shining stars of 2011.  I have been excited to witness artists such as Mz Bratt, Ed Sheeran and Labrinth gain strong foothold within the music industry. These three already have the talent and I believe that a strong work ethic will see these three artists go very far indeed.

Labrinth has stood out as a hit-making music producer and songwriter having worked with Tinie Tempah, Professor Green and Ms Dynamite to produce chart toppers.  He is currently writing for a number of British artists and it seems that there is no stopping him especially with a number 2 hit single with his song 'Earthquake' and his signing to Simon Cowell's record label Syco.

Mz Bratt's mix tape 'Elements' stood out as one of the best mix tapes this year. Having become the face of street wear clothes label Box Fresh and featuring in Channel 4's street dance summer Mz Bratt has firmly made a mark in the urban music scene and representing for the females out there.

Having started recording in 2005 and after a well received SBTV debut in 2010, Ed Sheeran signed to Asylum / Atlantic Records in March 2011 and finally broke through commercially in June 2011, when his debut single "The A Team" debuted at number 3 on the UK chart.

So who will be the shining stars to break through into the mainstream in 2012? I have a couple of artists in mind. I predict Sneakbo (finally) will see his hardwork pay off. Cleo Sol will be one to watch out for with her recent signing to Island Records and I think we will see a lot more talent coming out of the North of England, I will definitely be keeping my eye on Coldside, Tyler Daley and Misha B all hailing from Manchester.

With all this action in 2011 I can not wait to see what 2012 has in store.  The Olympics are round the corner and this is our chance to make London and the UK's talent shine.

I would like to wish all my readers a happy and prosperous New Year. I wish good health and joy for you and your loved ones.