The ever-viral hip-hop video platform On the Radar has hosted freestyles from some of the biggest artists in the world. Drake, Central Cee and Ice Spice have each graced the channel with their presence, yet throughout its seven-year history, few acts have gone in quite like Klein. This time last year, the south London artist spiralled through a procession of evocative flexes, rasped through Auto-Tune over a mind-expanding loop of pitch-shifted wailing, then slung a black guitar over her shoulder to shred through a lacerating noise solo with a joyous smile.
“People were trying to beat me up!” she says, giggling as she reflects on her appearance. “I was just being myself! Some people liked it, some people didn’t, some people hated it so much they would send me emails. For someone to feel that so viscerally as to send me an email? Low key? Iconic.”
