Meet M Huncho, The Masked UK Rapper With a Slick Majestic Sound

With his brand of auto-tune and promethazine soaked hooks, M Huncho sits apart from a lot of the UK music scene. Perhaps his closest contemporary is someone like Young Adz, of the duo D Block Europe – both of them rolling through with bars about their life on the roads, told with pitch perfection. Except where Adz’ music is still visually centered around London, Huncho has given things a… shall we say mystical geographic slant, with “Birds” taking place in a secluded, mythical castle.

When I chat to Huncho it’s for the release of his new mixtape Utopia – its name linking in with those mystical vibes – which is released today alongside a new video for the track “Ocho Cinco”. He’s on the sofa of his PR’s office in east London, surrounded by various sweet treats – M&Ms, etc. As you might have seen if you caught his breakthrough Mad About Bars episode in 2017, or some of his more recent work, Huncho’s identity is unknown and hidden behind a mask.

However when we meet, he’s bare faced. I can see who he is. He’s also warm, extremely talkative, has a lot to say about where he’s going and where he’s been. He can be funny too, as demonstrated in the “Ocho Cinco” video (watch below), which features Big Zuu and Kenny Allstar and is centered around an American football game. But how about some more facts? As part of our new series Here’s The Deal With… Here’s the deal with… M Huncho.

“I’m not in this for fame or for any type of celebrity status. I just make music and maintain with my close friends and family. That’s all that matters to me. All this other stuff is here today and gone tomorrow.”

“I make music for the love of music and frankly I feel like I got a good taste in music and hardly anyone from our scene stood out so I decided to be the one. If I can send a message across, I’m gonna send a message across. I’m thinking deeper than music, I’m thinking about shaping the culture we’re in – to be where we control what we put out there.”

“In terms of music, I fell in love with making myself better and better and better, and seeing myself grow. Not only as an artist but as a person as well. As the years go past, I get older. As I get older, the more stuff I see on a day to day basis. Good thing is I’ve always had very good people around me. Only a minority of them have left the circle, there’s always going to be those people. But the majority of people around me, I class them as family. They’re the ones that have kept me going.”

“I’m happy to see other people hit number one, even if I don’t like their music. If I don’t like a song and it hits number one, salute to you. Well fucking done. That’s another win for our scene. Whether you’re making drill, rap, trap, wave, anything you’re making – if someone from the urban genre hits number one, it’s always going to be a good look. With me music works in a different way, I don’t care about the logistics behind it, but this year people need to aim for that so our scene can control what happens. I’m tired of hearing all the same tracks. There needs to be more creatives.”

“I’m trying to have my own label and manage young up and coming artists and producers. Get into luxury fashion. And on top of that just build a foundation around me that’s solid where I have people that are willing to put in the same effort I put in. I want to be able to inspire the younger generation and let them know that everyone’s time comes at some point… just gotta wait your turn.”

“I’d be selling drugs. Looks like I made a good choice right?”

You can find Ryan on Twitter .