BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend: Ipswich’s Piers James ‘so grateful’

A hip-hop artist has said he is “so grateful” to be picked to play at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Dundee.

Piers James was put forward for the slot by the BBC Music Introducing in Suffolk show.

The Ipswich-born rapper, who now lives in Leyton, east London, will be on the Introducing stage on Sunday, 28 May.

“I am so grateful for the opportunity from BBC Introducing, but also to Radio 1 for showing their support,” said James.

“I’m proud of my growth – my career is going from strength to strength.”

The musician, described as Britain’s hottest up-and-coming rap star by GQ magazine, has had his latest track KKO notching up airplay on BBC Radio 1.

It comes after his last song, Showbiz, was picked by the station as its track of the week, ahead of it being featured on the football computer game Fifa 23 soundtrack.

James was also selected by the local BBC Introducing show to open for one of Ed Sheeran’s sell-out gigs at Ipswich’s Chantry Park in 2019.

Stars playing at the Dundee weekender festival include Lewis Capaldi, Rudimental and The 1975.

James, who draws on a nostalgic hip-hop style, said he hoped there might be some “artists who I could connect with” at the event.

He said he might hire a campervan with his crew for the trip to Scotland and would document the journey on video as a way to “create memories and opportunities” and chart his growth as an artist.

The musician, who has a nine-year-old son Theo, said he had been “working 24/7” combining his day job with fatherhood and creating new music.

He has also helped to recently launch a creative collective, called Born Artistic To Achieve (BATA), to forge links between industry figures and emerging artists.

James said BATA had just hosted a successful talk on mental health and was organising a range of events.

“I had so many people say afterwards ‘thank you – I didn’t know I needed that’,” he said.

“This is way bigger than me, say, shutting down a stage… or just wanting to put on just music events.

“We’ve got a lovely group of individuals and we want to give access and opportunity to people who haven’t had that.”

BBC Music Introducing in Suffolk can be heard on BBC Radio Suffolk every Saturday from 20:00 on FM or via BBC Sounds.

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