Croydon rapper Hardy Caprio (born Hardy Tayyib-Bah) gained early recognition for his work when he was nominated for the Get Rated award at its inaugural ceremony (its aim is to celebrate new talent). Caprio grew up in Croydon -- a hub for London's rap talents -- but he went to school in Bromley, a more well-off area of South London. His dual existence showed him that the drama he experienced in Croydon could be avoided. He began putting out his own music, including the EPs Hardy Season and The Hollywood EP.

His vital moment came with the 2017 single "Unsigned," which landed at number 45 on the U.K. charts and garnered tens of millions of streams online. Pushing into 2018 with a run of singles, the rapper found notable success with March's "Rapper" (charting at number 34) and July's "Best Life," which peaked at number 26 with its summery Afroswing influences. With his name firmly established in the U.K. scene, Tayyib-Bah moved from strength to strength in 2019. Kicking off the year with "Unsigned" (which charted at number 70), the rapper soon found his biggest hit to date with the DigDat-assisted "Guten Tag" quickly becoming a staple on U.K. playlists and landing at number 18 on the U.K. singles chart. A further collection of singles -- including the reflective piano ballad "9 Months" and a series of collaborations with artists from SL to T Mulla -- saw the rapper through mid-2020, ahead of the release of his debut mixtape. Titled With My Eyes Closed, the tape featured key tracks like "Guten Tag" and "Best Life," alongside collaborations with One Acen, Wretch 32, and Maleek Berry. ~ Bekki Bemrose & David Crone, Rovi