Jyrelle Justin O'Connor (born 6 May 1999), known professionally as Loski (formerly Lil' Nizzy), is a British rapper and singer from

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between th ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He is part of the Kennington-based

UK drill UK drill is a subgenre of drill music and road rap that originated in the South London district of Brixton from 2012 onwards. While being sonically distinct from Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous ...

group

Harlem Spartans Harlem Spartans, often abbreviated to HS, also known as Harlem O or simply Harlem, is a British hip hop collective based in Kennington, London. Members of Harlem Spartans have acquired over 100 million streams through their music. The name, "Ha ...

. 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 for possessing a loaded revolver. He was then released on 1 October 2024.

Early life

Jyrelle Justin O'Connor was born in

, London on 6 May 1999. His father was Ty Nizzy, a member of the PDC rap group and "an originator of

road rap UK rap, also known as British hip hop or UK hip hop or British rap, is a music genre and culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. The development of UK rap was shaped by a distinct set of regional inf ...

", according to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. His mother, Dionne Greenland, studied English literature and history while attending university, which Loski said inspired storytelling within his songs. O'Connor said in an interview with ''

VICE A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

'' that both of his parents supported him in pursuing a musical career. O'Connor moved from Kennington to

Borehamwood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 36,322, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly know ...

to live with his grandmother at the age of 12 following a group of boys putting a gun to his head. He attended Hertswood Academy. In 2013, he was reported as missing from his house.

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 . He released a song alongside Danks in 2012. Under the name Loski, He released his breakout single, "Hazards", in 2016. Other early songs included "Money and Beef", "DJ Khaled" and "Teddy Bruckshot". In March 2018, Loski was signed to

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

. The following month, he released his debut

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

''Call Me Loose'', which peaked at number 44 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

and was named as one of the inspirations for ''

Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

'' by

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

. In an article with MTV, Loski stated that the mixtape was about "the neighbourhood, friends, everything growing up". 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." 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". 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. In September 2021, Loski announced his debut EP, ''Censored''. The EP was released on 15 October; 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."

Criminal convictions

In 2015, while O'Connor was 15 years old he was convicted of possession of a sawn-off shotgun. 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 Willesden () is an area of north-west London, situated 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933; it has formed ...

; they found him in possession of a revolver. 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. He was found guilty of possessing a prohibited firearm on 5 January 2023 and was sentenced to 7 years in prison. O'Connor was then later released on 30 September 2024.

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

EPs

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loski 21st-century British rappers Black British male rappers English male rappers British hip-hop musicians Rappers from the London Borough of Lambeth UK drill musicians British drill musicians Gangsta rappers People from Kennington Living people 1999 births