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The premier engineering talent for much of the U.K. drill scene, West London-based Fumez the Engineer provides behind-the-boards expertise to many of the scene's rising rappers. After founding the dominant freestyle show Plugged In in early 2020, Fumez came into his own as the show's host, offering drill legends and fiery up-and-comers a high-caliber showcase for their talents.

Though known to most as the host of the much-anticipated Plugged In, Fumez's roots in the U.K. rap scene trace back to 2012, when he helped in the early stages of the distribution platform PressPlay. Through the mid-2010s, he worked in engineering and production capacities for a variety of U.K. talents, most notably producing for M Huncho's viral appearance on freestyle show Mad About Bars. During this time, he compiled two mixtapes of his own: 2016's The Mix-Tape tackled hardcore U.K. trap with appearances including Ard Adz, M Darrg, and Big Tobz, while its 2018 sequel (The Mix-Tape 2) offered ventures into faster-paced trap and drill, alongside the likes of Headie One, 410, and M Huncho. Fumez's technical proficiency and early adoption of U.K. drill ensured he was the engineer for many of the genre's classics, among them CB's "Take That Risk" and V9 and KO's "Andy and Dwight."

Drill has always been a genre shaped by its freestyle platforms -- and in 2020, Fumez founded his own. Returning to his PressPlay roots, the engineer created his own drill freestyle series, Plugged In, aiming at a self-described return to "quality control" for the genre. Debuting with an appearance from drill icons Zone 2, Plugged In was quick to gain traction. The series' first season was a prolific run of freestyles across 2020: among the season's guests were drill heavyweights 410, CGM, and CB, and up-and-comers including Fizzler and TPL. Season one's biggest appearance, however, was from Irish drill collective A92, whose high-energy back-to-back landed their "Plugged In" at number 39 on the U.K. charts.

In November, Fumez kicked off season two with East London's 98s; the season featured a wider range of styles, including melodic trap (Baby Mane) and hardcore rap (Mitch) alongside a stacked roster of drill stars including Russ Millions, PS Hitsquad, NitoNB, Active Gxng, and OFB. The season finale pulled together three of the show’s most popular performers -- TPL, 410, and CGM -- for an all-star finish. It wasn't long before Plugged In's third season landed online: early guests included wavy trapper Mastermind, granddad drillers Pete & Bas, and OFB legend RV. Among the season's highlights were appearances from viral successes Arrdee and A1 x J1, U.K. veterans like 67 and Sneakbo, and drill talents Horrid1, Sav'O, 3x3, and Dezzie. For the season three finale, Fumez put together his biggest roster to date, compiling a blistering set of verses from Suspect, PR Sad, DoRoad, R6, A92, Pete & Bas, Kwengface, and PS Hitsquad. ~ David Crone

Building his fan base organically in the 2010s, London rapper Big Tobz found his first major break with the 2014 single "Winning," uploaded to key U.K. rap hub Link Up TV. Inhabiting genres from trap to Afro Bashment, the rapper was quick to adapt to the rapidly changing sonics of the U.K. scene.

Born and raised in Stockwell, South London, rapper Big Tobz (real name Oluwatobiloba Aiyeola) got his start in music during the early 2010s, starting his career with a string of singles as well as the 2013 EP Behind the Music. Influenced significantly by the booming trap of rappers like Jeezy and Rick Ross, Aiyeola's early work favored the swaggering instrumentals of his U.S. contemporaries, over which he delivered braggadocious narratives of street life. After dropping collaborative EP Jobey on the Hook (2014) alongside Jobey and Blittz, the rapper found his first major hit in 2014 single "Winning," uploaded to U.K. music platform Link Up TV.

Capitalizing on the single's success, Aiyeola released the #Winning mixtape the following year, featuring a greater emphasis on grime and garage in the project's production. Momentum continued as the rapper found his two biggest hits to date in 2016's "Controlla" and "Corn," supplemented in July that year with the collaborative trap tape Case Closed (with Blittz). A further chain of singles, including "Love That Feeling" and "No Stress," carried the rapper into 2018, when he dropped his third tape Still Winning. His most substantial set, Issa Vibe, was soon to follow; arriving in early 2020, the rapper's fourth tape pulled features from Dizzee Rascal to Geko for its grab bag of contemporary U.K. styles, including further ventures into Afro Bashment and melodic trap. ~ David Crone