Jyrelle Justin O'Connor[2] (born 6 May 1999), known professionally as Loski (formerly Lil' Nizzy), is a British rapper and singer from Kennington, London. He is part of the Kennington-based UK drill group Harlem Spartans.
Loski | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Jyrelle Justin O'Connor[1][2] |
| Also known as | |
| Born | 6 May 1999[7] Kennington, London, England[8] |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Labels | Since '93[1] (distributed by Sony Music) |
| Member of | Harlem Spartans |
| Website | loskiofficial |
Loski began his career in 2012 under the name Lil’ Nizzy and in 2016 under his current moniker he released his breakout single “Hazards”; this was followed by “DJ Khaled”, which both became underground hits.
On 13 April 2018 he released his debut mixtape, Call Me Loose, and on 1 March 2019 he released his second mixtape, Mad Move. In 2020, Loski released his long awaited debut studio album, Music, Trial & Trauma: A Drill Story. On 15 October 2021 he released a 10 song EP titled, Censored EP and on 30 June 2023 he released his fifth project titled, See You At The Gates, after being sentenced to 7 years in prison after being convicted of possessing a loaded revolver.
Early life
Jyrelle Justin O'Connor was born in Kennington, London on 6 May 1999. His father was Ty Nizzy, a member of the PDC rap group and "an originator of road rap", according to The Guardian.[5] His mother, Dionne Greenland, studied English literature and history while attending university, which Loski said inspired storytelling within his songs.[9] O'Connor said in an interview with VICE that both of his parents supported him in pursuing a musical career.[8]
O'Connor moved from Kennington to Borehamwood to live with his grandmother at the age of 12 following a group of boys putting a gun to his head.[1] He attended Hertswood Academy. In 2013, he was reported as missing from his house.[10]
Career
During O'Connor's early musical career, he went under the name Lil' Nizzy, in reference to his father, Ty Nizzy, member of legendary road rap collective PDC .[5] He released a song alongside Danks in 2012.[11]
Under the name Loski, he released his breakout single, "Hazards", in 2016.[9] Other early songs included "Money and Beef", "DJ Khaled" and "Teddy Bruckshot".[12]
In March 2018, Loski was signed to Sony Music Entertainment.[13] The following month, he released his debut mixtape Call Me Loose,[12] which peaked at number 44 on the UK Albums Chart and was named as one of the inspirations for Scorpion by Drake.[14][15] In an article with MTV, Loski stated that the mixtape was about "the neighbourhood, friends, everything growing up".[16] The following year, he released the mixtape Mad Move, which peaked at number 41. An article in Versus noted that the mixtape "sees the south Londoner plant himself firmly at the fore of the genre."[17]
In 2020, Loski released his debut album, Music, Trial & Trauma: A Drill Story, which peaked at number 39 on the UK Albums Chart and was noted as being "several albums at once".[18] Robert Kazandjian, writing for Clash, stated that the album was divided into three acts, with the album as a whole mainly centered around legal issues.[19]
In September 2021, Loski announced his debut EP, Censored.[20] The EP was released on 15 October;[21] an article in Trench noted that "although the extensive cast of producers keep the Censored's sound close to Loski's drill roots, the rapper's evolution is laid bare as he attacks each track with an effortless display of lyrical greaze."[22]
Criminal convictions
In 2015, while O'Connor was 15 years old he was convicted of possession of a sawn-off shotgun.[23] In 2016, O'Connor was sentenced to prison after being found in possession of a knife. He was released in 2017.
On 9 April 2019, he was stopped by police while travelling to Willesden; they found him in possession of a revolver.[23] O'Connor was charged with possession of a firearm, intent to endanger life, and possession of ammunition as a result; his first trial resulted in a retrial as a result of his prosecutor falling ill, while the second resulted in a hung jury.[24][13] He was found guilty of possessing a prohibited firearm on 5 January 2023 and was sentenced to 7 years in prison.[25][7]
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK [26] | ||
| Music, Trial & Trauma: A Drill Story |
| 39 |
Mixtapes
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK [26] | ||
| Call Me Loose |
| 44 |
| Mad Move |
| 41 |
| See You At The Gates |
| — |
EPs
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK [26] | ||
| Censored |
| — |
Singles
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [26] | ||||
| "Teddy Bruckshot" | 2017 | — | Call Me Loose | |
| "Money & Beef" | — | |||
| "Mummy's Kitchen" (featuring Mayski) | — | Non-album single | ||
| "Cool Kid" | 2018 | — | Call Me Loose | |
| "Forrest Gump" | 88 | |||
| "Mad About Bars" (with Kenny Allstar) | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Calm Down" | — | |||
| "Boasy" | 2019 | — | Mad Move | |
| "No Cap" (with DigDat) | 51 | |||
| "Hazards 2.0" | — | |||
| "Ghost" | 2020 | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Allegedly" | 65 | |||
| "Slay" | — | |||
| "Training Day" (with MoStack) | 75 | |||
| "On Me" (with MizOrMac) | 57 | Music, Trial & Trauma: A Drill Story | ||
| "Daily Duppy" | — | Non-album single | ||
| "Anglo Saxon" (featuring Blanco) | — | Music, Trial & Trauma: A Drill Story | ||
| "Avengers" (featuring Popcaan) | — | |||
| "Flavour" (featuring Stormzy) | 43 | |||
| "P.U.G" | 2021 | 87 | Censored | |
| "Rolling Dice" | 81 | |||
| "Tag Team" | 2022 | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Obssessed" | — | |||
| "G Lock" | — |
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [26] | ||||
| "Dues" (Headie One featuring Loski) | 2018 | — | The One | |
| "Rusty" (Lavida Loca featuring Loski) | — | Just B' Coz | ||
| "R.I.P" (Ms Banks featuring Loski) | — | The Coldest Winter Ever | ||
| "Ugly Faces" (Smoke Boys and Swift featuring Loski) | — | Swiftionary | ||
| "2 and a Shoe" (Smoke Boys and Swift featuring Loski, Dimzy, Deepee and RV) | — | |||
| "Gang Mode" (CS featuring Loski) | 2019 | — | Everyone Hates Chris | |
| "Trust" (The Plug featuring Nafe Smallz, YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Loski) | — | Plug Talk | ||
| "Go N Get It" (Lil Berete featuring Loski) | — | 1 Way Out | ||
| "Stop Lying" (Woosh featuring Loski) | — | Gang Unit | ||
| "Flexin" (Mowgs featuring Loski) | — | Roll the Dice | ||
| "Tee" (Jay1 featuring Loski) | 2020 | 65 | Non-album single | |
| "Chop My Money" (iLL BLU featuring Krept and Konan and Loski) | 2021 | 64 |
| The BLUPRINT |
| "Bad Guy" (Morrisson featuring Loski) | — | Guilty | ||
| "Sorry Not Sorry" (Bandokay and Double Lz featuring Loski) | — | Drill Commandments | ||
| "Cerberus" (Blanco featuring K-Trap and Loski) | — | City of God |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | GRM Daily Rated Awards | Himself | Breakthrough of the Year | Nominated | [28] |
| GRM Daily Rated Awards | Call Me Loose | Mixtape of the Year | |||
| 2020 | MOBO Awards | Himself | Best Newcomer | [29] | |
| 2021 | MOBO Awards | Best Drill Act | [30] | ||
| GRM Daily Rated Awards | Music, Trial & Trauma: A Drill Story | Album of the Year | [31] | ||
| 2022 | Urban Music Awards | Album of the Year | [32] |