Hackney’s Mikill Pane prepares for release of new album Blame Miss Barclay

Justin Smith Uzomba, aka Mikill Pane

He’s toured with Rizzle Kicks, collaborated with a star-strewn roster of musicians ranging from Ed Sheeran and Paloma Faith to Example and Jakwob on his first EP and is about to launch his first album on the Mercury Records label.

Yet he still lives in Hackney just a few streets from the house where he was raised.

So who is Mikill Pane?

He’s Stoke Newington-born hip-hop artist Justin Smith Uzomba to his friends, and if you haven’t heard of him yet, you’re about to.

Sporting his trademark black frames in a pub on his home turf he explains what we can expect from his new record, Blame Miss Barclay, which is out next month.

“The album is a different way of thinking,” he says. “It’s what everything else has been leading up to. I think if I were to die after I released the album, technically it would be like I have achieved a life goal.”

The titular Miss Barclay was his English teacher back at school. He says that although she only taught him for a brief time, she played a vital role in encouraging his creativity.

The beats on the album are catchy and Pane’s lyrics are smart, articulating wry observations about the world around him with deft wordplay and sharp wit.

He has already worked with an impressive list of artists on his You Guest It EP, highlighting not only how comfortable he is working creatively across different genres, but that he has the balls to pull it off in an incredibly competitive British music scene.

“I’ve made some friends along the way,” he says.

Blame Miss Barclay marks a return to the old school way of making an album; it’s written to be listened to in its entirety with a beginning, middle and end.

“There are characters on the album,” he says. “They’re imaginary but you’ll recognise people you know, maybe even people you identify with yourself.”

“I can’t guarantee chart positions or sales figures, but people who hear it are going to receive it well,” he adds. “It’s my masterpiece, man.”

Blame Miss Barclay is scheduled for release in early September on Mercury