Bugzy Malone is a UK MC and grime rapper from Manchester, born Aaron Davies in 1990. He is associated with grime and hip hop, and is described as one of the key figures behind a grime revival that moves the UK urban scene away from more commercially oriented music. He is also presented as the first grime artist from Manchester to achieve commercial success in the UK.

Early releases and online freestyles

Bugzy Malone releases his debut mixtape, SwaggaMan, in 2010. He follows it with Why So Serious in 2011, a mixtape inspired by Batman: The Dark Knight Rises. Early in his career, he builds attention by freestyling for the Northern grime YouTube channel KODH TV on the Spray Out Freestyle series, and later appears on other urban YouTube channels including Grime Daily.

Breakthrough and recording career

In May 2015, Malone teams up with Tinie Tempah and Stormzy on the track It’s Peak. He then releases his first EP, Walk With Me, in July 2015, with singles including Watch Your Mouth, Pain, Get Gassed and M.E.N. His 2015 output brings significant online attention, with his freestyles and music videos drawing over 10 million views on YouTube. He is also described as the first artist in history to reach one million views with the fastest-ever Fire in the Booth freestyle.

Album and chart success

His album King of the North is released in 2017 and reaches No. 4 in the UK Albums Chart. He also performs headline shows across the UK, including at the Manchester Ritz and the Wireless Festival in London, and appears at the 2015 Reading and Leeds Festivals alongside acts including Rae Sremmurd, A$ap Ferg, Azealia Banks, Young Thug and Kendrick Lamar.