Rising London rapper Awate wrote "The Ghetto" straight after being arrested on his London estate

"He's one of my biggest inspirations," the London-based Eritrean MC tells us. "That he was killed at 21, and spoke so maturely and achieved so much so young really affected me. That he's speaking about poor people's struggle in that clip fitted well with the song's themes."

The lyrics were written straight after Awate's first arrest on the estate he grew up in, back in 2013. "That's probably why I sound so bluesy," he jokes."I actually wrote it sat right here in Maiden Lane at a time when the gentrification of Camden and Kings Cross was really accelerating. I just felt alienated."

The accompanying visual symbolises the growing police presence on North London estates. "It was actually shot it in a police station that some friends of mine had squatted!" Awate adds.

While he grew up in Camden, Awate's Eritrean roots politicised him at an early age. His father was a member of the Eritrean Liberation Front at the age of 16 and his mother used to wake him up every morning by singing, “Get up, stand up / Stand up for your rights!” He moved to the UK from Jeddah in 1993, running head-on into a London where stop-and-search was about to hit unprecedented levels among young men of colour.

The crisp production and lyrical themes of "The Ghetto" transplant the heart and soul of late 20th-century conscious hip hop to London, with reflections on mental health, everyday racism and creating art on a council estate impacted by gentrification. In the second decade of this century, the UK capital couldn't provide a more fitting backdrop. "The beat was just super dope and fit the sound we were cultivating," Awate adds, "[with] warm intricate bass, non-conventional drums and haunting hits."

"The Ghetto" is the second single to be taken from Awate's debut Happiness, due for a release on 16 February. The record was written and recored during the two years Awate was on bail for four cases he eventually won in court. He'll follow the release with an album launch at The Roundhouse (on 22 February) where he's been a Resident Artist, and a show at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton on 18 May.