NME’s latest star of The Cover, Kidwild, has created an exclusive playlist to accompany the story’s launch – check it out below.
The east London rapper is on this week’s (February 23) edition of The Cover, a manifestation of NME’s commitment to supporting emerging talent across the globe on a weekly basis. Every week, a rising artist will feature on The Cover – you can read Kidwild’s profile here, written by Kyann-Sian Williams and featuring photography by Ramsey Ramone.
Kidwild’s appearance on The Cover is accompanied by an exclusive playlist curated by the rising star. On ‘Gym Mode’, he shares tracks to get you in the zone by the likes of EsDeeKid, Future, Burna Boy, Don Toliver, and more. Listen to the full playlist on Spotify below and on Apple Music.
The 21-year-old rapper got an early start to his career when, aged 17, he was offered a record deal from Atlantic Records. “We’re rich!” he recalls telling his mum at the time, but soon the dream turned to a nightmare – the A&R who’d signed him left the label and he was eventually dropped. “You’re meant to be the next star, and then you just exist,” he tells NME. “You’ve got fans messaging you. You’ve got songs. And you can’t do nothing.”
Instead of letting this turn of events hold him back, though, he went all in on himself – and it paid off. When he shared a clip of 2025 single ‘Redemption’ online, it racked up over 1million views in 24 hours, and reached Nemzzz, who asked Kidwild if he could jump on the track. “That whole year was redemption,” Kidwild says of the time the song came out of. “I was literally on a redemption arc. It wasn’t a choice of ‘I will.’ Man has to.”
Read Kidwild’s full Cover story here and find out who else has been on The Cover here.
Every year, NME produces 50 Cover stories, showcasing the future of music via in-depth profiles and exclusive photoshoots. Check out our coffee table book NME The Cover 2024-2025, which features the likes of Kneecap, Lola Young, Amaarae, LE SSERAFIM, Oklou and many more.