In a genre which currently finds itself dominated by mindless braggadocio about wealth and women, Akala is a genuine breath of fresh air. London born, he makes erudite, socially conscious hip-hop which has earned him both a BAFTA and a MOBO in recent years.
About as far away from your archetypal rapper as its possible to be, he’s also a campaigning journalist, lecturer and founder of The Hip-hop Shakespeare Company.
His aim with the latter is to show kids and teenagers the cultural and linguistic parallels between the writings of the Bard and contemporary hip hop artists. Catch him doing his verbally dexterous thing at Cambridge Junction’s J1 on 31 October, tickets are £15.50.