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Hak Baker

Building his self-styled "G-Folk" (guv’nor folk) style on grounded storytelling and acoustic sonics, singer/songwriter Hak Baker delivered poignant narratives of life in East London, debuting in full with his 2019 album Babylon. Baker was born in Luton in 1991, the fifth of nine children, to a Grenadian father and Jamaican mother. At age one his family moved to London's Isle of Dogs where he still lives -- an area that formed the eventual setting for his assured and vivid brand of musical storytelling. Though taking varied influences from ska, reggae, and punk, the young Baker began his musical journey in grime, joining local collective B.O.M.B. Squad at age 14. He dropped out of school in 2006 at 15. During his late teens he discovered a new direction after teaching himself to play guitar. He also wrote songs. His resonant, engaging low tenor voice, combined with his newfound proficiency on guitar, won him a spot in the Levi's Music Project. His debut single, "7AM," was issued just before his 2017 debut EP Misfits. Garnering airplay and critical acclaim, Baker was identified as one to watch on the U.K. music circuit. His original music reflected not only nostalgia amid the changing landscape of his home, but vital stories of everyday life. The six-track project created a modern mythology around the East End, painting candid stories of the city against a backdrop of emotive, earthy guitars. After issuing the stripped-back Misfits (Unplugged) EP in 2018, Baker moved through the latter half of the decade with a run of singles before issuing his debut album, Babylon, in October 2019. A cohesive first LP, Babylon expanded his sound palette substantially while his lyrics continually reminisced over the wildness of youth, and railed against his city's authoritarianism and jingoistic immigration policies. The early 2020s saw Baker collaborate with U.K. rap royalty the Streets on "Falling Down" before issuing his second EP, Misled, in October 2021. Four advance singles announced a forthcoming sophomore long-player; its best-selling single was the poignant "Windrush Baby." Worlds End FM arrived in June 2023. With a narrative framed around a fictional community radio station, Baker's songs took on the topics of gentrification and economics -- more personal tomes with an electric sound and a new lyric aesthetic that observed with a more balanced, critical eye without sacrificing his trademark directness. In 2024, Baker joined jazz pianist/composer Joe Armon-Jones as vocalist on his Wrong Side of Town EP, a reggae set with dubwise B-sides. Armon-Jones' star-studded backing band included saxophonists Nubya Garcia and James Mollison, bassist Luke Wynter, and drummer Morgan Simpson.
© David Crone /TiVo
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Discography

32 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller

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