Image via PR
A little while back, we shouted about the nominations for the AIM Music awards – which include nods for Sampha, Little Simz, Dave, and Giggs – because frankly, they do what awards nominations should. They actually reflect UK talent and what people who aren't just casual music listeners are getting into. So today we're very happy to announce that they've stuck to that formula when selecting the winner for the prestigious AIM Innovator award, because it's been won by Boy Better Know (*airhorn sound* *airhorn sound* *100 emoji*)!The AIM Innovator award has previously been won by Stormzy, Ninja Tune, and Hyperdub Records, so BBK are in excellent company. The prize exists to congratulate independent acts who, in the true spirit of independent music, have done things their own way. And if that's the criteria, you probably can't be more of a DIY success story than a collective started by two young brothers in north London that has risen to the top of the UK charts and shaken the entire country awake, all without major label support.Since their inception in 2005, Boy Better Know have grown exponentially not only as a musical project (although let's not forget that one of their members literally won a Mercury Prize) but as a cultural force, too. They're responsible for clothing lines, iconic live shows, and even new phrases entering common parlance. If that's not #impact, I'm not sure what is. And just before the AIM Awards take place on 5 September, BBK will be hosting an enormous takeover of London's O2 Arena on Sunday 26 August, featuring music, food, cinema, and basically everything else you can think of, cementing themselves as some of the most important cultural tastemakers currently working.VICE's Head of Music Alex Hoffman was a member of the judging panel, and had this to say about what BBK have achieved:
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We couldn't have put it better ourselves, and we are very pleased to say a massive congratulations to Skepta, JME, Wiley, Jammer, Shorty, Frisco, Solo, Maximum, Preditah and the rest of the BB family. Long may they reign.Follow Noisey on Twitter.Get tickets for BBK Takeover here, to see this all play out in person on Sunday 26 August at London's O2."What BBK have built entirely on their own will probably never be replicated in UK music. Like so many young people trying to somehow make a viable career out of music, when the members of BBK came together, the completely independent route was the only one on the table. Then the offers came flooding in but none of them saw a reason to change the set-up. They simply saw what they'd achieved on their own terms up to that point and had the confidence to keep building their empire independently. Their influence on the next generation of UK artists goes so much further than their musical output and goes so much further than grime."