In Session: Novelist & Grandmixxer

Novelist (pictured) isn't short of confidence."I'm a Topshop man, I'm a dan, aka the bossman," he spits on '1 Sec', the devastating collaboration he and Mumdance penned for XL Recordings last year. With such an influential label in his discography, it's no surprise the grime artist sings, or, in his case, MCs, his own praises so much.

We're doing exactly that, too, this month as he fronts the cover of the March issue (out tomorrow) of the magazine. Is he worthy? Course he is.

At just 19 years old, the South Londoner has already worked with some of the biggest names around. The end of last year saw him team up with Chase and Status on 'Bigger Man Sound' as part of their 'London Bars' series and he's a featured artist on Baauer's debut album on Scottish label LuckyMe. Quite remarkably, the track he's on, 'Day Ones', got its first airing on The Late Show in the States. About 3.5 million were thought to be tuning in at the end of last year, so that's an awful lot of people that would've heard Nov's bars.

Props have also come from Jamie xx (you can hear Nov laughing at the end of 'I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times)' and there's a whole lot of love coming from Skepta. Just check their respective Instagram accounts for evidence.

Even though the last 12 months have seen him hook up with some of dance music's finest, it was 2014's 'Take Time', another collab with Mumdance, that really made us take notice. How could you not when a then-17-year-old had no qualms in claiming "Novelist, I'm a Lewisham don"?

He definitely caught the attention of promoters and festival bookers. After that, he found himself playing at fabric, Barcelona's Sónar Festival, Glastonbury, W.A.R at Ibiza Rocks and Croatian bass fest Outlook.

While most know about him due to his skills on the microphone, he's tidy on the buttons too, having started messing around with production software when he was still in primary school. He was only 16 when the 'Sniper' EP came out via Oil Gang Records, the label ran by Boxed co-founder Oil Gang, but, boy, does it bang. The title track's full of deadly gunshots, as the name would suggest, and 'Christmas Riddim' is a devilish piece of seasonal instrumental grime.

We've been getting more and more of his own productions of late, one being 'David Cameron Riddim', a mischievous pop at the UK prime minister, and another being 'Street Politician', in which he ruthlessly takes aim at the establishment, proving he's not afraid to fire lyrical shots at those in power.

You think he's damaging on the mic in the studio? You should see him in the rave if you haven't already. He's been known to claim he's one of the best younger MCs around and we've seen him in action many a time to account for this. Bursting with energy and able to effortlessly switch it up according to the instrumental being played, he's a joy to watch and always, always ensures it goes off.

For a taste of what he's got in his locker, this In Session has Nov spitting over tunes being played by his DJ Grandmixxer, aka Carl Brown, who regularly takes control of the Rinse FM airwaves. Epitomising what grime's all about through its raw energy, it's a change to the usual mixes we deliver to you, but that's certainly no bad thing. Most of the 16 tracks, produced by Novelist and Grandmixxer, haven't been heard before and the MC's in full-on war mode. The perfect starter before the main course, Mixmag Live, on March 3 at 100 Club in London.

We can't offer a download for this one, but you can grab the magazine tomorrow (February 18) for an exclusive download card and listen below.

1. Novelist 'Long John Riddim'
2. Novelist 'Banger' (Angel mix)
3. Grandmixxer 'South London Space Agency'
4. Novelist 'Turn Off'
5. Novelist 'Danny Boy'
6. Novelist 'Yakuta' (Angel mix)
7. Grandmixxer 'Screaming'
8. Novelist 'Badman Place'
9. Novelist 'Song'
10. Jammer/Wiley/Biggaman 'Let It Go' (Novelist remix)
11. Novelist 'Ban Tali'
12. Novelist 'Alize'
13. Novelist 'Unknown Dub'
14. Novelist & Grandmixxer 'Gregory Riddim'
15. Zander Hardy 'RudeSting' (Novelist remix)
16. Novelist & Grandmixxer '10 Years 11 Days'

Dave Turner is Mixmag's Digital News Editor, follow him on Twitter here