Combining the scathing and witty lyricisms of grime with the incendiary stylings of punk rock, Astroid Boys are a rap/hardcore troupe from Cardiff, Wales. Formed by frontman Traxx (Philipe Constantinou), the aim was to create a project that traversed the assorted genres he was a fan of during his teens. With the addition of Richard Bancroft (DJ Comfort) and Dell (Elliot Brussalis), the idea began to take shape with the trio appearing at a number of hip-hop shows around Cardiff. It was on the live scene that they met MC Benji (Benjamin Kendall), who agreed to join the group as co-frontman. After the addition of other musicians to carry out the heavier aspects of the band's sound, the project had become a full-fledged collective and the group got to work in the studio as well as performing around the city. The year 2011 saw the group tour nationwide, appearing at the Glastonbury festival while also landing a spot on the Bigga Fish tour alongside Lethal B and Ghettz. That year also saw the release of their first recording effort, the independently released Space Jam album. They kept busy into 2012, which saw them perform at the London Freeze Festival while also writing and recording their label debut, the Bacon Dream EP, which saw release in 2013 via the independent Yorkshire-based Pinky Swear label. Astroid Boys spent 2014 touring extensively around the U.K. and writing their second EP. They put out the release, entitled CF10 (named after a common postcode in Cardiff), in 2015, once again via Pinky Swear. The year 2016 kicked off to a good start for the band after having been included on the BBC Sound of Wales 2016 list, and they also signed with Music for Nations for future releases. Alongside writing the material for their major-label debut, they spent most of the year touring and built up a reputation for their energetic performances on the festival scene, appearing at the Reading and Leeds festivals in the U.K. and a number of high-profile festivals across Europe. Early 2017 saw Astroid Boys collaborate with U.K. grime artist Abra Cadabra on the track "Unlock," in order to celebrate the unison of sport and music for the 2017 Adidas brand Nemeziz. Their debut full-length for Music for Nations, entitled Broke, saw release in late 2017. They rounded off the year by embarking on a tour with Enter Shikari. ~ Rob Wacey