Forward-thinking Croydon rapper ("singer sometimes") Bonkaz, has been busy carving out a place in the UK grime scene for the past few years, garnering attention from the likes of Annie Mac, Charlie Sloth, Mistajam and more.

In 2015, shunning the usual online outlets for budding musicians, Bonkaz kept his hit 'We Run The Block' off the internet for as long as possible, instead offering it in a number of live performances and exclusive radio and club plays instead, sending himself viral in the process. We caught up with our Brand New For 2016 to talk about the track and his hopes for 2016...

Taken on face value, hisbreakthrough track'We Run The Block' is quite hard-hitting. It"was quite controversial in a sense," he says.

"For me the whole song was an analogy which sounded like I was speaking about this but actually I was speaking about something else. A lot of people took it on face value, the fact that the song was still accepted and still ended up on the TV and the radio gave me a certain level of confidence you know what I mean, to be like, there are no guidelines really."

"I just think, things like that, like where you're from...it don't determine who you are but it's definitely going to be a part of you and like I said my music is 100% me so anything that's a part of me which, like my hometown, is obviously a huge part of who I am and it definitely comes out in my music."

In 2016, the rapper says: "I wanna make an amazing album, something that just lasts forever, something that people talk about in ten years time, just inspire people to, one, be themselves, two, be confident and three, just go for it in whatever it is you wanna do.

"I've got an opportunity to say something that people are gonna listen to and I need to make sure I say the right thing, the most honest things, and inspire people."

To vote for Bonkaz, tweet "#MTVBrandNew Bonkaz", post a pic on Instagram with #MTVBrandNew Bonkaz" in the description or comment the same on this Facebook post here.

By Michael Pell

'MTV Brand New For 2016 is presented by Emporio Armani Diamonds.'