Sliime colour portrait © Columbia Records UK 2023
Yorkshire based artist and producer on the rise Sliime is here to challenge the industry and put Bengalis on the map.
Today he drops the video for ‘Lehenga’, showcasing him spitting bars at various locations around his hometown of Sheffield.
Sliime has been teasing ‘Lehenga’ on Tik Tok (53 million + views) + Instagram Reels (2k creations in 2 weeks). The new single which honours the Lehenga (a traditional ankle-length skirt from the Indian subcontinent) follows previous release ‘Boishaki Mela’ which saw him named BBC Introducing ‘Artist of the Week’ on the Asian Network.
Talking about his new single Sliime says, “I made a song to represent South Asians in Rap, to make our voice louder so it can be heard by millions worldwide. We are massively underrepresented & I’m here to change that so Asian kids can see people that look like them achieving success and acceptance amongst wider communities. I’m so happy I’ve created something that’s engaged South Asian women especially to feel empowered about themselves & the way they dress – it’s beautiful & I’m glad they’re getting the props they deserve.”
One to watch, Sliime has already received co-signs from the likes of Stormzy, Headie One, DJ Target & Tiffany Calver. On a relentless mission to break barriers, climb the industry ladder and bring different South Asian influences to the UK wave sound. His “Wiley Flow” freestyle on Instagram made an impression on Stormzy, who recognised his “Violent Flow” post in his feed and, from there, Sliime continued to impress other big industry heads.
Sliime gained a huge following for participating in Headie One’s ‘Pound Signs’ competition and receiving accolades from both the artist and Tiffany Calver for his sound and performance. In April he received support from DJ Target on his BBC 1xtra show where he played Sliime’s release “Trendsetter”, and gave him a shoutout saying how much he liked the song. His previous single “The Hustle – Freestyle” stirred up more positive reactions as it incorporated English and Bengali, delivering them with an alert flow on a gritty, fast paced beat.
Stay tuned for more from Sliime in 2023.
