The next date to mark is Friday 20 November. That is when BexBlu and Paul Stephan’s album Always Moving is due, via Always Moving and Empire, as Apple Music and Rough Trade’s pre-order listing both state. Vinyl and CD editions are already up for pre-order, with Rough Trade listing dispatch from 20 to 21 November.

Rough Trade’s write-up frames the record around two roles: South London producer BexBlu, and Thamesmead-raised rapper Paul Stephan. It describes a production mix of UK grime, heavy 808s, experimental hip-hop, jerk and chopped soul samples, with West African sample flips it ties to Paul’s lineage. That is the shop’s description of a record that is not out yet, so it should be read as the listing, not as a review.

A new track is already in circulation. CreativeGen UK included ‘INTRO’ among the new UK releases dated 13 November, on the same Friday list as Chip’s ‘Deyah’. Always Moving itself is still a week away.

They are already on the new national rap list. On the Official UK Rap Chart for 6 to 12 November, ‘Sound Of The South’ is at No.6, with a peak of No.6 and one week on the chart, as Official Charts’ song page also shows. The label line there is Always Moving Empire.

One published week on that chart, a new track out, and a full album dated for Friday: that is a proper run-up, not a quiet pre-order. The Official UK Rap Chart page for the following week had not been updated at the time of writing, so the No.6 is the last position Official Charts has published. The album is the one now coming down the tracks.

Why this matters: An album dated for this Friday, with a new track already out and a Top 10 place on the Official UK Rap Chart, is the story to get in front of now.