Five years into his journey and still every inch the pop prodigy, writer, producer and performer Kamal. is blooming into a creative powerhouse. With new single, 'hurt people', focusing on the music is clearly paying off. Check out the latest cover story for our New Music Friday playlist edit, PLAY.

Words: Martyn Young.

Ever since he emerged as a precocious 16-year-old with a stunning voice, exquisite songs and an innate ability to forge a truly resonant connection with his raw and intimate songs, Kamal. has been a prodigy. The multi-talented producer, writer, singer, and performer from Harlesden in North West London has packed a lot into the last five years, including landmark collaborations with Dave and Central Cee, an Ivor Novello nomination, and two gorgeous EPs, including the evocative and dreamy R&B soundscapes of last year's 'so here you are, drowning'.

As he gears up for a year full of new music and bold ambition with a striking new single, 'hurt people', Kamal. ponders from his garden shed converted home studio just where the time has gone since his breakout arrival.

"It feels sometimes as if I've only been doing it for a year or two years. I started when I was 16, and now I'm 21, so that's five years, which is crazy," he reflects. "Honestly, I'm not sure if this will ever change, but I still feel like I'm in the same position, always treating myself as a satellite for whatever art I'm consuming. I want to soak it up like a sponge and recycle it. I don't want to overthink my position numerically or what my objective trajectory has been from the outside. I'm more thinking step by step, me as a creative individual, and how I can satisfy that need and drive I have to be making new and exciting things and things that satisfy me. Because that's the way I look at it, I don't get too bogged down about the other stuff connected to it. I really try to keep it music-centric still.

There's an inescapable sense that Kamal. is an artist wise beyond his years, enlightened and perfectly attuned to his creative instincts and with a voracious appetite to challenge himself. "As I'm growing, I'm becoming more confident in myself and my ability as an artist to put my emotional expression into form," he explains. "I'm enjoying it as I evolve. I'm taking it however it comes and not trying to restrict that process to any one lane."