AJ Tracey is a British rapper and grime MC. His dad’s a former rapper from Trinidad, and his mum is a Welsh former drum and bass DJ. Based in Ladbroke Grove, West London (although he was raised in the south just like FT and true say, his dad lived in Tottenham), AJ started making waves in the pirate radio scene in 2014, although his songs under the name Looney date back to 2011.

Speaking to GRM about his stage name, AJ explained:

Basically when I used to shot, I couldn’t give my real name. I used to wear loads of Armani, so I called myself AJ. The Tracey comes from this guy called Stacey in my ends. Everyone used to be/is scared of him so I thought, if a man has a girl’s name and he’s still scaring people, the maybe I should try doing it so I can be THAT guy.

Whether it’s sets on Rinse or Radar Radio alongside his crew, My Team Paid, street singles with rising talents like Dave and Reeko Squeeze, or collaborations with big names like Gorgon City, Tinchy Stryder and P Money, over recent years, AJ has proven himself to be one to watch.

Sure enough, in 2016, he won Best Breakthrough Act at the Rated Awards, and was nominated for the Best Newcomer and Best Grime Act categories at the MOBOs. Following the release of his Lil Tracey EP in December, he also made the BBC Sound of 2017 longlist, the Independent’s Ones to Watch 2017 and the VEVO dscvr Ones to Watch 2017 list. He toured the UK and US throughout 2017.

In October 2017, he released the Secure the Bag! EP, featuring guest vocals from Jme, Denzel Curry, 67 and Craig David. The eight-track project became his first to enter the UK Albums Chart, coming in at number thirteen.