Kish! has been on the come up for a while now, and he keeps building momentum. He can often be found in his element in a Peckham basement with some of London’s finest underground MCs, the crowd rabid, sweat dripping from the ceiling. In person, Kish! often approaches the mic laid back and relaxed. On the recording, we hear the same poise, his distinctive double-time flow takes command on the tracks as much as it does the crowd. On ‘The Fantastic Preservation Society’, we hear him coming into his own as a curator of the talent around him as well as a rapper with his own singular sound. Comparisons to collaborative projects such as the ‘Cozy Tapes’ are not intended to diminish the individuality of Kish!’s style and delivery but to indicate the calibre of the work. He’s already raised some high profile heads, his breakthrough hit ‘Benzo!’ garnered a notable feature on Blonded radio and new tunes have got the attention of Complex. Every release seems to refine his ability to breach the gap between underground and mainstream.

As Kish! continues his ascent onto the world stage, we hear more evidence of him fleshing out the world he has created. As the title suggests, retro references are woven throughout the project, ‘Captain Nemo’s cartoon samples and the hazy soul chop on ‘Peter Pan’ acknowledges influences from comic book colourful New York. Joey Bada$$ opened his seminal 2012 mixtape with the same sample of Lonnie Liston Smith’s ‘Summer Nights’.

But there’s something villainous in Kish!’s delivery that is more Viktor Vaughn than MF Doom. This is matched by nihilism in lyrics and production that roots us firmly in London. Finch Fetti’s menacing production on ‘Shaman’ gives the backdrop for a UK Drill slapper with icy verses from Cmilliano and Cloutgod Duggie. But, ever eclectic, Kish! gives the hook a Houston twist “I got uck from Amy, I just beat out Stacey/ But I keep it trill/ So how can these galdem hate me?” evoking SpaceGhostPurrp as much as Russ.

There are elements of grime humour in some of the project’s “spin a man like a CD” punchlines and the wonky, turn up production from Manny Dubbs on ‘Magnum’ but it seems like more of a wry nod than an earnest reference, defying the classic ‘oh you’re from England and you rap, so you make grime?’ comments that many UK artists can receive as their audience grows.

The fusion of style and influence that takes from the American underground as much as the UK, shows that Kish! has his eyes set on the future, developing the kind of exciting genre-mashing music that pricked the ears of New York artists like Pop Smoke (RIP) and made the sound of the summer last year.

Kish! seems poised to take his place at the top. In lockdown, he’s definitely not lacking and we eagerly await to hear ‘The Fantastic Preservation Society’ in person - in Peckham basements and beyond.