Mr Hudson

It takes someone with foresight and imagination to pull-off the cross-pollination of hip hop and r&b beats with classic song writing, but in doing so Mr Hudson has hit upon a winning formula.

Equally influenced by the lyrics of Chet Baker and Cole Porter, the production skills of Jay Z and The Roots, and the energy of UK grime and hip hop, Mr Hudson is unique proposition. A self-confessed outsider, this mixing of styles comes easy to an artist who has gone from playing drums in a band at the age of 14 to becoming the undefeated Jump Off Producer Champion in 2005.

Bored of guitar music and seeking a new sound, inspiration came in the form of Itch FM and the burgeoning UK hip hop scene sweeping across London. With no aspirations to become a rapper, Mr Hudson combined his song-writing talents with newfound production skills and discovered that it worked. And more importantly, other people liked it. Championed by the likes of Sway and 1Xtra DJ Semtex, who by their own admission, were surprised to find themselves firm fans of the trilby-doffing newcomer, Mr Hudson's hybrid sound is attracting interest from all corners of the music industry. A&Rs are getting hot under the collar, interesting collaborations are in the pipeline, and hip hop mecca Deal Real are set to release a series of limited singles and mixtapes over the next few months. Suffice to say that big things are widely predicted.

With that in mind, it would be advisable to check out his live set as soon as possible. Together with his band The Library, who bring bass, steel pans, electric drums, percussion and a genius piano player into the equation, Mr Hudson is going to be one of the 'must-see' artists of the summer.