Master Shortie: A.D.H.D.

Theo Kerlin, a 20-year old south Londoner, has an unusual background for a rapper. He dropped out of the Brit School and at one point starred in a theatrical production of The Lion King. Maybe he does have attention deficit hyperactive disorder, considering the way he flits through genres from rap to rock to grime to electro. At times, his scattergun approach and occasionally brattish rapping is a bit hard to take, but he does have some whopping tunes in the old skool Bringing it Back and gorgeous bittersweet love song Right Time. It's hard to decide whether he's cool, uncool or crazy. "People call me the joker," he claims, which may explain references from Patrick Swayze to Osama bin Laden and what sounds suspiciously like jazz fusion on the R&B Swagger Chick. But as Adam Ant notes - sampled on what is virtually a remake of Prince Charming - "ridicule is nothing to be scared of".