Novelist and Rockwell hit out at the cost of living crisis with fiery DnB anthem 'Peak'

"The general public in this country know they are being mugged..."

Novelist has jumped on a track with groundbreaking drum ‘n’ bass producer Rockwell, hitting at the government for the country’s current state of affairs with a politically-charged club anthem.

“With a couple of my more recent productions I’ve been trying to strip things back, taking a more considered approach to adding elements and ensuring that everything that makes the cut its integral to the track,” says Rockwell. “I struggle to articulate how much of an honour for me it is to collaborate with Novelist on ‘Peak’, and from the recording session we did, the bars mirrored the instrumental and came together in an effortless fashion”.

Laying down his inimitable, quick-fire bars atop the ominous production, Novelist raps: “The price of everything is going up, I’ve had to add another zero to my fee I’ve had enough… the government don’t care about a thing, they don’t want to see or hear a brother win,” while a distant sample chimes in: “The general public in this country know they are being mugged”.

Last month, we sat down with the Lewisham artist to discuss his borough, the grime scene and why accolades will never outweigh his love for making music. Towards the end of the feature, Novelist spoke about his involvement within political matters. “I’m not passionate about politics. I’m not passionate about being involved in political matters,” he said. “I’m passionate about people. And the catalyst to change sometimes is touching on topics that the gentleman considers a political thing.

“Any time I’ve been in a position of power, whether it’s from the influence of me speaking or from some kind of governmental standpoint, like when I was Deputy Young Mayor, it was only for the sake of doing good for my fellow man. You know, being an artist is like having a megaphone, when you speak you’re heard. So I’m actually way more powerful than the politicians in that sense, because I can influence the minds in a way that they can’t do.”

Read the full interview here.

Stream ‘Peak’ below or listen with your preferred player here.