7. Liam Bailey (Jamaica)
Photo: Kevin Ornelas
Born in Nottingham, England to a Jamaican father and British mother, Liam Bailey became a LargeUp favorite last year after we caught his feature on Shy FX’s lovers rock throwback “Soon Come.” Since then, 31-year-old singer-songwriter has signed to Sony Music’s Flying Buddha imprint, headed up by Salaam Remi. With backing from the man behind classics by The Fugees, Nas, Amy Winehouse and a whole heap of others, Bailey just dropped his debut album Definitely Now to rave reviews. In contrast to the reggae tracks that first caught our attention (see also “When Will They Learn” below), Definitely Now is a soulful rock LP with traces of Hendrix, the White Stripes and classic Stax. Check out our “Now Things” interview with Liam here.