Hip-hop artist MLC is advising other music lovers to pursue their ambition. (Picture by Zoe Ash, 0611856)

HIP-HOP artist MLC is hitting it big in the UK.  Guernsey-born and Les Beaucamps-educated Matt Le Clercq, 17 (pictured), has already headlined a music festival and his first video has been viewed nearly 70,000 times on youtube.

‘It feels really good to be getting such recognition for my music,’ he said. ‘The other day I was in Southend and people were stopping me in the street asking if I was MLC, which felt very strange and very good.’

On 19 July, he headlined his first festival, Summer Explosion in Hertfordshire. ‘It was the biggest stage I have ever been on and I had to keep moving around just to try to fill the space, but then I just really got into it, it was great,’ he said.

He has also played gigs in London, Bolton and Nottingham as well as locally at Rogues nightclub. ‘I think there is more demand for my genre of music in the UK but the crowd in Guernsey were very supportive and got into it,’ he said.

MLC began listening to hip-hop when he started secondary school but started rapping himself only 18 months ago.