A true statement of his capabilities, ‘World’s End FM’ is styled as a kind of alternative universe pirate radio broadcast.

Telling the story of his Jamaican mother moving to the UK at the young age of 17, and how the children of Windrush have carved out their identity in a country that didn’t feel like their parents’ own, Hak is able to communicate complex subject matter through an uplifting, hook after hook earworm.Closing with ‘The End Of The World’, this is an album that dares to push aside the bullshit, and give you the truth. Featuring a voice note from his mother about the “loss of values” within British Black youth whilst addressing Hak, the song is a powerful ode to lost souls and the real motherland; Jamaica. The glimmering guitars on the psychedelic “Full On” juxtapose the lyrical poignancy of “I’ve paid the cost for being poor” on despondent indie ballad “Collateral Cause”. These elements have given Hak the ability to articulate a stream of consciousness with visceral energy, grief, humour and rebellion, with remarkable tracks including “7AM”, “Thirsty Thursdays” and the 5 Million streaming “Venezuelan Riddim”, which have all become live favourites.

The pirate radio format, which stems from the influence Baker took from stations like Deja Vu and Rinse during his school days, facilitates important conversations about mental health, politics and social media addiction. I wanna slow down a bit, enjoy the sun and go to my country that has been left in tatters from foreign politics,” he says. Regardless of that strong sense of purpose, it’s clear that the bleak state of the world — en route to disaster thanks to corporate greed, environmental exploitation and the corruption of power — weighs heavy. Telephones 4 Eyes’ is an angsty three-minute punk romp decrying surveillance culture and our addiction to our phone screens, while ‘Bricks In The Wall’ is a cathartic, uplifting fightback against the state’s decimation of working-class institutions and opportunities.I know what’s going on, I see what’s going on and I document it, and I talk about it in the most visceral, honest, human way.

East End troubadour Hak Baker announces his highly-anticipated debut album, W orlds End FM, an extraordinary creative leap tailor-made for an era of social inequity, internet addiction and post-pandemic disillusionment, to be released on 9 June 2023 on Hak Attack Records, AWAL. You Could Start a Cult” is a romantic lullaby crafted from soft acoustic guitar strumming, Horan’s warm timbre, and a Dylan-indebted harmonica solo. It’s no surprise that Baker is passionate and animated when discussing the damage done by successive Tory governments to working class people across the UK.I’ll go to the pub with all my good friends, we’ll all be together, there’d be 500 of us all together! Executive produced by Hak and Karma Kid and compiled from two years of prolific sessions with in-demand producers including Speedy Wunderground’s Dan Carey, Shrink and Misfits producer Ali Bla Bla, the record crackles as the genre dial is twiddled from rip-snorting post-punk to lilting roots reggae. Its hook cries “all we’ve got is a night now / To better our cause”, reflecting Baker’s knack for creating powerful, moving and decidedly non-corny protest music. Produced by Dan Carey (Fontaines DC, Foals, Wet Leg, Bat For Lashes, Bloc Party) with a stirring and disturbing video directed by Hugh Mulhern using AI technology, “Telephones 4 Eyes” caught the attention of Steve Lamacq at BBC 6 Music, who rated the song 10/10 on his roundtable, with Jon McClure of Reverend And The Makers describing Hak as “Baxter Dury really pissed off”.

The East End “g-folk” (grime-folk) star braves political existentialism on his bold, scenic third album, World’s End FM. Songwriting at its most illicit, the punchy vocal on ‘Telephones 4 Eyez’ is offset by the anthemics of ‘Brotherhood’ for example, or the beautiful introspection of ‘Almost Lost London’. Early singles such as “On the Loose” showed an affinity for Fleetwood Mac bass grooves and California dreaming. With audiences pleading to see him live, Hak today also announces his biggest UK and Europe tour, with a headline show at KOKO on 29 September and a run of dates in Germany, not before supporting friends Pete Doherty at The Royal Albert Hall on 5 May and Jamie T at Finsbury Park on 29 June. DOOLALLY’ is an immediate highlight, followed by the bold statement of community that is ‘Windrush Baby’.As I get older, I know that that’s innately what I’m really trying to fall back on: alcoholism is something I’ve used to not go crazy. Now on the BBC 6 Music B List, “Telephones 4 Eyes” has become Hak’s fastest streaming single to date and a political protest for his “MisFit” fans. The Show is the apotheosis of Horan’s classic rock sound, which he has been carefully honing ever since his solo debut, 2017’s Flicker. Sharing new single ‘Windrush Baby’ alongside the news, Hak says, “Windrush affected people in a multitude of ways. The debut album from London’s finest, Hak Baker –‘Worlds End FM’ represents the war in Hak’s mind, the culture war on the streets of London and the individual battles of his community – from his mother to his brother to his best friends.