S-X

British producer and singer/songwriter S-X initially worked behind the scenes before finding his voice in 2017, issuing a run of hook-laden pop, rap, and R&B singles. Releasing his debut mixtape, Reasons, in 2018, S-X followed it up with three more mixtapes before issuing his debut album, 2022's things change. His sophomore album, Anywhere But Here, arrived at the end of 2023. Born and raised in Wolverhampton, England, S-X (aka Sam Gumbley) found a love of music when in his early teens, initially learning to play drums before moving into production. In 2010 he released his debut track "Woooo," an instrumental that was picked up by the U.K. grime scene before becoming the bed of D Double E's "Bad 2 Tha Bone." S-X’s mix of trap beats, pop hooks, and R&B quickly became much sought-after and over the next few years, he worked with Chip, Skepta, Childish Gambino, and Lil Wayne. Alongside his production work he also started to issue his own material and in 2017 stepped out of the shadows to front his own songs. Following a handful of singles, the EP, House Clothes, arrived that same year. 2018 saw S-X issue two mixtapes -- Reasons and Temporary -- which saw him collaborating with Lily Allen and JME, while the following year saw him team up for the first time with social media personality and rapper, KSI. The track "Down Like That," which also featured Rick Ross and Lil Baby, propelled them into the U.K. Top Ten singles chart and would become the start of a productive relationship with KSI. 2019 also saw him issue his third mixtape, True Colours, which featured the tracks "Too Soon" and "Always Wrong." Over the course of the next two years, the ever-prolific S-X worked on his fourth mixtape, A Repeat Wouldn't Go a Miss, as well as providing songwriting and production duties on KSI's 2021 sophomore album, All Over the Place. In 2022 S-X readied the release of things change, his debut album proper, with the tracks "locked out" featuring KSI, and "all night" featuring Trippie Redd preceding its release. Toward the end of 2023, new material appeared in the run-up to the release of his sophomore album, Anywhere But Here. ~ Rich Wilson, Rovi