British rapper and hip-hop mogul Jehst, born William G. Shields in Kent in 1979 abandoned his university studies when the opportunity for a music career presented itself. He formed his own music label, YNR Productions, with fellow rapper Tommy Evans, and released his debut EP, Premonitions, in 1999. He built his profile over the next few years collaborating with acts like Task Force and becoming one of the guiding forces in the hip-hop collective Champions of Nature. His work with them led to his 2002 LP The Return of the Drifter, which would become one of the cornerstone’s of British rap with such influential tracks as “High Plains Anthem” and “People Under the Weather”. Falling Down, dropped in 2003, and the EP Nuke Proof Suit followed in 2005. All the while, YNR grew into one of the most respected hip-hop labels in the country. There was a six-year layoff from recording before 2011’s The Dragon of an Ordinary Family. His marketing savvy was made clear by a faked video for the album’s first single, “Starting Over”, which went viral. Though he would appear regularly on other artists’ recordings, another six years passed before his next solo project, 2017’s Billy Green Is Dead.
