Photo Credits: Khali Ackford
Window Kid has spent the last few years carving out his own space within UK music. He first released ‘TBH’, a 2018 collaboration with Champion, before developing a catalogue that moves freely between UK garage, bassline, grime and drum & bass. The Nottingham born MC and producer’s unmistakable Midlands delivery, humour, storytelling and heavy basslines have earned him a growing audience. While his unconventional approach to writing and releasing music has become a defining part of what makes him stand out. Over the years this versatility has led to collaborations with some of the UK’s most exciting bass artists, including Toddla T, Bad Boy Chiller Crew, Hedex, Bou and Nathan Dawe.
This progress continues to 2026, with his latest release back in June, another bass heavy cut, ‘Levitate’ sees Window Kid team up with Pubzy, Frost, K Dot & Local.
His career hasn’t followed the overnight success story. Instead, Window Kid describes a slow progression, with larger crowds, more listeners, and bigger opportunities arriving year after year. That journey has now taken him to places like the Unleashed stage at Boardmasters, where he found himself in front of a particularly young audience who were more than ready to embrace his sound.
After his Boardmasters performance, we caught up with Window Kid to talk about the festival, career progression, his distinct Midlands sound, overcoming doubt, insights into his approach to making music and exclusives of his new album planned for March 2027 as well as collaborations that are on the way.
You just played at Boardmasters, how was the crowd?
I’m not gonna lie, it was one of the best festivals I’ve played this summer, it was a full on swarm, it was a sea of people, do you know when it’s just like waves of people? Couple mosh pits, yeah it was mental.
The energy at Boardmasters gets higher and higher every year…
Yeah, I didn’t have any preconceptions, I didn’t know. I played here once years ago with Darkzy and I was absolutely smashed! I can’t remember being here at all. There’s just one video of me falling over on stage, getting hit by one of them smoke machines.
You asked the crowd to look after each other…
When you see a younger crowd you always see more mosh pits, standard, and I just noticed at the time that there were a few more and when people are getting pushed around I just wanted for them to remember to be a bit more careful, you know, with girls especially. But yeah, I was just happy to see that the younger crowd were digging me man, because they’re the next ones up. I was happy.
It’s nice to see a performer look after the crowd. It was very cool to see.
It’s not something I always go over, but in that moment I just thought, it’s worth saying, if they’re gonna listen to anyone, it’s gonna be the person on stage innit.
Let’s talk about your sound, you sound very ‘Midlands’ in your tracks, how important is it for you that you sound like where you are from in your music?
It’s not something that I outright try and do, I don’t go, right, how do I sound as Nottingham as I can on this song? That’s just what’s happening if I’m honest, like, it’s cool to hear that because then it sounds like I am being very midlands, but I don’t intend my music to be like that. I’m just being me, innit.
Was there any point in your career where someone told you that it wasn’t going to work?
Yeah, someone that I get along really well with now, someone in my family said it. When I was younger, I had a lyric in ‘Ryanair’, basically, sending for them, and I won’t say who it is. I used to just be like a little young piss head kid, I think that in that moment in time I was just being an annoying kid anyway. So I think when the music aligned with it, they were like, “you man just stop all of this shit, be normal”. But now, it’s working, I’m not a dickhead kid anymore. Now, that family member is the first person to say, “I’m sorry man”.
Do you think that it knocked your confidence or made you more determined?
It made me more determined if I’m honest. I know it sounds very cliche but I’ve never been like “I hope I make it” you know, there’s never been like a “give up” thing because I don’t do anything else, I don’t have anything else. I got kicked out of school, I didn’t have any grades, I worked in retail. The only thing I could do now is work in a clothing shop again. I realised, It’s not gonna happen. It’s always been my dream and I just knew that I’d be on stage somewhere bro, doing something.
So when you found music and when it became your career, what was that moment like, was there a clear turning point there somewhere?
I’ve had a really slow progression. I’ve had a really slow career, which is really good because there’s been no overnight blowup. Every year its just slowly got bigger crowds, more followers, more listeners, and more opportunities, so there’s never been a moment where I’ve been like “fuck”. Don’t get me wrong, in moments like that (points towards the unleashed stage he just performed in) I’m still like, fuck this is actually mad. But it’s just been like a progressive thing. Which I think is a lot easier to comprehend, so I’m kinda glad to have it that way.
What’s your view on the D&B scene at the moment?
I don’t really have one, I’m not involved in any “scene”. I make some drum & bass songs. Bou and Hedex are my boys, me and Hedex have got a tune coming out, and me and Bou have. But I don’t know enough about the scene to have an opinion, I don’t know what’s going on, we’re just playing drum & bass in the car and getting gassed, that’s it.
That’s great to hear that you have some new music coming out, you’re seen as The King of the Colabs, who’s your favourite artist that you’ve collaborated with?
It’s on my album coming out next year. I can’t say who it is contractually, but he’s one of the biggest selling artists on the planet of all time.
Do we have a date for when that’s coming out?
My album should be coming out in March 2027.
Well, we’ll take that as an exclusive…
Yeah, I haven’t even got a name for it yet, I need to crack on.
So you’ve said before that you don’t write down your bars, that they just come to you, I just wondered what that writing process is like?
So weird. I’m not even joking, songs write themselves in my head and I just listen to it happen, it’s mad. It’s like I’ve got ‘songsophinia’. I’ve got a song that I need to finish, and because I went to the studio to try and force a verse, I was in the studio for three hours and for two hours and 45 minutes I was like bro I can’t do this. But then I can go into another studio session, and literally, shit will just come to me, and I’ll just write and record it. It’s like someone’s just going tap tap tap, ping [Window Kid starts doing an impression of a typewriter]. So, it’s just random, I don’t know how to explain it.
So if you’ve got that block, in that certain room, how do you find a way around it? Do you ever go for a walk or do some exercise?
Yeah a walk it off generally, but I go (to the) studio way less than probably most MC’s. It’s why I only release like 4 songs a year. because if my brain doesn’t make one, then I’m not gonna make one.
You don’t wanna churn out anything do you?
No, I don’t wanna go to the studio and force it really. So with the ‘Rambling Bars’ song. That was just me laying in bed just, my brain came up with those bars and I sent it to Brucey, and he was creasing, saying “they’re jokes, they’re not obviously good enough for a song but they’re jokes”. That’s when I thought “nah, they’re ready for a song mate”.
On The Happy Hour Podcast you were talking about how you slowed down on your drinking. Does that affect your music and how you look at your older songs now?
Well, I still love playing the songs and I still love the songs.
Do they mean something different to you?
Not really, it’s still me innit, and it’s just the journey isn’t it, at the end of the day, no one’s life is super smooth and mine’s just been like, absolutely weird. But I dunno, It’s just part of the journey man, and I was worried that I was just going to feel like I was a completely different person and look at all things differently and feel like I have to close the door on that chapter and all this shit. But I don’t feel that way at all. I still feel exactly the same. We’re all on a level man.
Are there any up and coming artists that you would like to shine a light on?
The person that I’d like to mention, Isn’t someone I’m saying is smaller than me, or not as big as me, because in his scene he probably is, but there’s an artist that i don’t think many people, especially in this scene know that much and I’ve just down a song with him is Sonny Jim.
He’s a rapper from Birmingham, and he’s absolutely ridiculous, and me and him have a song called ‘Millie Bobby Brown’ which is out September 11. So this is not just plug that, (looks at Joe, his tour manager) we play him all the time don’t we?, and we show people, and they’re like “woah, I don’t actually know him.” he played in Nottingham the other day and it was rammo, I’m not saying he’s smaller than me, but people need to know about Sonny Jim.
