Belly Squad

South-East London trio Belly Squad broke out in 2016 with the single "Banana," their fresh sound combining the emergent Afrobeat genre with dancehall and rap in a narcotic "wavy" style. The trio was formed in 2014 by Ty and Ross Jombla, cousins of West African heritage, and their school friend Remmi Maxwell -- aka Yung Max -- whose father had played in the roots reggae band Revolutionary Dub Warriors. Their name comes from the slang term "hit the belly," meaning to make it big. Cutting their teeth on covers of Stormzy and Travis Scott, they broke through in 2016 with their first original single "Banana," whose origins lay in a viral video loop recorded by Ty. They fleshed out the melody into a full-fledged song, recorded it in a home-built studio with local producer G.A., and shot a low-budget video. Catchy, hook-laden, and bursting with sexual innuendo, the song took off online, getting millions of views, and a mellow, dubby remix replete with guest spots accrued millions more. Both tracks appeared on 2017's Banana EP. The trio played all across the U.K. and in 2017 snagged a slot at the prestigious Meltdown Festival in London, curated by M.I.A. In the meantime, they kept up a steady drip of fresh tracks -- including the single "Missing" -- many of which premiered on popular web channels. ~ John D. Buchanan