Avelino

As Nicki Minaj noted on Monster, it’s not that important to finish an album. If you’re good enough to get paid anyway, that is: “50k for a verse, no album out!” she cackled. Gigs, features and mixtapes are essentially mini albums, so why bother? Still, as one of the best British rappers yet to drop a debut, north Londoner Avelino has been talking up an instant classic for years, teasing us with decent mixtapes such as Ego Kills and No Bullshit.Atmospheric tracks such as Smoke Interlude, Vicious Cycle and the title track…

Hit-Boy returns with his latest single “2 Certified.”The track pairs him with British rapper Avelino, who recently announced the forthcoming release of his debut album.“Too certified, say that, watching the numerals rise/Wrist and neck on jewelry heist,” Hit-Boy raps on the opening verse. “‘Cause I had some game, I knew when to apply it/TNT with it, we finna ignite.”Avelino enters for the third verse, spitting, “Yeah, I’m too certified/London boy in a German ride/AV, I’m in LA tonight/American dream, I’m sleeping tight/It…

As a Black man in the UK, I felt from very early on that things were disproportionately more difficult for me to achieve because of the colour of my skin.Before knowing stats like the ones that say Black workers with degrees earn less on average than white workers, or the ones that say that rates for prosecution and sentencing for Black people are three times higher than white people, I could feel it. Growing up, I’d switch on the TV and from what I saw, there were five types of Black men seen most often on the news: a…

Back in May, Avelino returned to us after wrapping up his Four Seasons freestyle series with a new double release, “Mercedes Coupe” (produced by R Lo and Bambz) and “Magick” (produced by 169), two contrasting releases united by the common thread of reflection, albeit expressed from wholly different perspectives.A couple of weeks after the release, the rapper dropped off the late-night visuals for “Mercedes Coupe” and now he’s back with the “Magick” video. Swapping the expensive bottles and fast cars for life’s true…