James Blake

Blake's music has received recognition through prestigious awards and nominations such as the Mercury Music Prize (from two nominations), two Grammy Awards (from nine nominations), a Latin Grammy Award, and three Brit Award nominations.

Whilst studying BMus Popular Music at Goldsmiths, Blake began organising club nights with his friends, hosting up-and-coming dubstep DJs Skream and Benga. He soon began making music in his bedroom, with his baritone voice and minimalist drum patterns making him a defining figure in post-dubstep.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Blake said: "Being at university meant that I was in a house surrounded by people who eventually, through their personalities, became part of the music I was making. I had a three-year window to start something. By the time I’d graduated I was already getting industry recognition, which was a relief as it meant that the three years I had spent on all that stuff had come to fruition and I hadn’t been wasting my time."

Shortly after graduating, Blakefound himself nominated on the BBC Sound of 2011 poll.

His music continued to receive high praise with the public and critics, with his second album, Overgrown, winning him the Mercury Prize in 2013. Judges described it as "inventive, poetic and poignant", adding "James Blake makes music like no-one else". Mark Fisher, cultural theorist and former Visual Cultures Lecturer at Goldsmiths, described Blake’s music as "like hearing a ghost gradually assume material form".

Whilst continuing to work on his own music, Blake’s unique production style drew the attention of high-profile singers, rappers, and producers in the US. Following his third album, The Colour In Anything, Blakecollaborated with Jay-Z, Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar, and continues to make award-winning work with rappers today. His work on King’s Dead from the Black Panther soundtrack won him the Grammy for Best Rap Performance in 2019, and he received a Grammy for songwriting on Scientists & Engineers by Killer Mike and Andre 3000.

After his sixth album, Playing Robots into Heaven, Blakeleft Polydor Records to go independent. As of 2026, he has released seven albums, most recently Trying Times, released through Good Boy Records.

Photo by Philip Romano