A Vibe Called B - PLAYGRND Series (DJ Set Video) + 10 Questions

Picture Credit: Jade Reynolds

London based international DJ A Vibe Called B continues her rise with her debut PLAYGRND Series set which took place at the 1500 capacity Outernet Live.

Moving through Hip Hop, R&B, Grime, Dancehall, Future Beats and Global Club sounds, the high energy performance showcases the style that has increasingly become her signature. Power mixing, sharp transitions and unexpected blends see familiar tracks flipped into new spaces, with A Vibe Called B building around energy and instinct rather than allowing genre to dictate the journey.

From its cinematic, boxer style entrance, the set is designed to be performed rather than simply played. Rapid switches, one-drops and bold pivots keep things unpredictable while highlighting the musicality behind her approach.

“I really wanted PLAYGRND to feel like a performance and to show what I’m actually about as a DJ,” she explains. “I love taking something people know and putting it somewhere they don’t expect, switching the energy quickly and trusting that the crowd will come with me.”

The appearance caps a standout 2026 that has taken A Vibe Called B across London, Berlin, Hamburg, The Hague and New York. Her growing live CV includes recurring appearances at Cross The Tracks, where she has performed each year since 2023, alongside Boomtown and support slots for Kojey Radical and Taylah Elaine.

Two appearances for Club 1BD at The Jazz Cafe further underlined that momentum, while repeat bookings with Hamburg’s Les Amis led to her curating her own Enter the Vibe room. In London, Boxpark Shoreditch handed her its Main Terrace for the first edition of A Vibe Called B & Friends: All Night Long, marking another step into curation alongside her DJ work.

“This year has been massive for me in terms of travelling, bigger stages, repeat bookings and stepping further into curation, so PLAYGRND feels like a real marker of where I’m at right now,” she adds.

That momentum is already carrying forward. Before her debut London PLAYGRND set had even been released, she was invited back to perform at the platform’s debut Manchester show.

A classically trained flautist who also plays keys by ear and holds a first class degree in Music Technology and Film Production, A Vibe Called B brings a deeply musical foundation to her sets. Alongside her international performances, she continues to build Enter the Vibe Radio while holding residencies with Soho House and G-SHOCK Radio.

With bigger stages, international dates and an expanding role as a curator gathering pace, the PLAYGRND Series offers a sharp snapshot of an artist heading into 2027 with serious momentum.

A Vibe Called B sat down with Wordplay Magazine to answer our infamous 10 Questions:

1. So tell me, how did it all begin? What sparked your love for music?

Honestly, music is just in my family. It’s never felt like something I consciously decided to get into because it was always there.

My mum and dad are massive music heads, my aunties sing, play piano and trumpet, my uncles play drums and bass, I’ve got cousins who produce, and my cousin Deadly is a well-known Grime MC. So family gatherings were always musical – even down to banging pots and pans to make beats! We were actually featured as a family on the BBC years ago around that too.

Me and my parents also used to put instrumentals on and take turns rapping over them, which is hilarious when I think about it now. I was constantly making the playlists for family parties, chopping things together, deciding what should come next — so technically I was mixing and making edits from YOUNG. I just didn’t know that was what I was doing yet!

When I was about 11, I even made my own pretend radio station called Vibe FM on cassette. I’d introduce the songs, do little links between them, the whole thing. Years later I've somehow ended up with A Vibe Called B and Enter the Vibe Radio, which is quite funny when you think about it. Clearly, I’ve just been recycling the same idea my entire life.

Then there was the more formal side. I’m a classically trained flautist and played in a symphony orchestra, I played keys by ear, particularly growing up around Gospel, and I used to sing alto in choir — which probably explains why I am physically incapable of hearing a song without finding the harmony. I’m always harmonising with something!

I eventually studied Music Technology at College alongside Film Production at university, but DJing came later. When it did, it honestly felt less like starting something completely new and more like all those different parts of my life finally meeting in one place.

Picture Credit: Morgan Prime

2. Who are some artists that influence you and that you want to work with in the future?

Busta Rhymes, without question. That’s Uncle Trevor to me! We’re both of Jamaican heritage and I swear if I went far enough back through the family tree we’d probably find out we’re actually related. I can’t lie — the synergy is mad. There’s something about how he carries himself, his style, his humour and his energy that reminds me so much of some of my own uncles.

He’s my all-time favourite rapper, but he’s also genuinely one of the people I model myself on as a performer. Busta has never just stood there and delivered the music — everything is physical. The facial expressions, the movement, the aggression, the command of the stage. I think some of that definitely comes through in the way I DJ too. My style can be quite aggressive and performance-led at times because I want you to feel what I’m doing, not just hear the songs.

I actually met him last year and we got to properly chop it up. It wasn’t one of those quick “hello, massive fan” moments either — we really spoke, and some of what he said changed my perspective on longevity, performance and owning exactly who you are. I came away from that conversation looking at certain things differently.

And there’s definitely something cultural in that energy for me too. The Jamaican in me is always going to come out when I perform. I feel like I carry my family with me — particularly the energy of my Granny, who passed away. That fire, humour, movement and larger-than-life spirit is just part of me.

So yeah, one day I have to DJ for Uncle Trevor. That would be a proper full-circle moment.

Soulection has also been hugely influential in terms of the kind of musical world I naturally gravitate towards — that freedom to move through sounds without everything having to sit neatly in one box. And outside of specific artists, Coachella is absolutely somewhere I want to play.

DJ-wise, I’m really drawn to New York. There’s a rawness and energy to the way a lot of New York DJs play that I love, and I think that’s partly why I loved playing in NYC so much myself.

Sea Rae is fire — technically really sharp — and I love what Kendollaz, Snips and Khalil do too.

Then in London, Donch, Mister S and Cable are DJs I’ve massively admired and respected for a long time. And obviously if we’re talking OGs, Jazzy Jeff is a no-brainer.

Then Instagram sends me down a rabbit hole every other day. There are so many ridiculous DJs out there that I’d be here forever trying to name everybody.

Picture Credit: Morgan Prime

3. What projects do you have coming up and can you give us any info on them?

There’s quite a lot going on at the moment.

I’m heading back to PLAYGRND for their debut Manchester show, which I'm really excited about — especially because they invited me back before my first PLAYGRND set had even been released.

I’m also finally giving my YouTube channel the proper launch I've wanted to give it for ages. I studied Film Production as well as Music Technology, and I've always loved both worlds, so I want the channel to bring everything together properly — DJ sets, music, film, travel, behind-the-scenes stuff and vlog content. Basically more of the world around A Vibe Called B, rather than just seeing me behind a pair of decks.

And I’m working on something involving a curated DJ set and live orchestra. I genuinely can't say too much about that one yet, but I'm very excited about it because it brings me right back to my orchestral background while pushing the DJ side somewhere completely different.

So yeah... there's stuff cooking.

4. How would you describe your sound?

Unapologetic.

That’s genuinely the first word that comes to mind.

I'm genre-fluid, but for me it’s never just been about playing loads of different genres for the sake of it. I’m obsessed with finding the connection between things that maybe shouldn’t obviously go together.

So you might hear Hip-Hop, R&B, Grime, Dancehall, Future Beats, Global Club, some ridiculous edit I found at 1am — whatever makes sense in that moment.

I love power mixing, bold transitions and surprising people. I want there to be moments where you're thinking, “Where on earth is she going with this?” and then five seconds later it makes complete sense.

That's probably the sweet spot for me: unexpected, but connected.

Picture Credit: Demi Adeyola

5. What's your proudest moment to date so far as an artist?

My first Les Amis show in Hamburg in 2025.

That one will always be special because it was my first proper international crowd on that scale — around 1,000 people — and I really had no idea what to expect.

You're in another country, most of these people have never seen you play before and you've just got to get up there and trust yourself.

I remember looking out at this massive crowd at one point thinking, “Rah... this is actually happening.”

The response was insane, but I think the bigger thing was what it unlocked in me afterwards. It gave me a different level of confidence because I realised my style could travel. It wasn't just something that worked in rooms where people already knew me.

I've been invited back to Hamburg several times since, which makes that first night even more special. It was the beginning of a proper relationship with the city.

6. Do you have any advice for our readers who may be trying to play the mad game of music?

Don’t underestimate the quiet periods.

Everybody talks about momentum as though you have to be constantly booked and busy, but some of the most important periods are when nobody is really watching you. That’s the lab.

That’s when you practise, experiment, work out what you actually like, make mistakes and get better.

And play the small rooms like they're the biggest stages you'll ever touch. I've genuinely learnt things from rooms with 20 people in them that I've carried onto stages with thousands.

I'd also say don't rush so much that you lose the fun of it. We're all thinking about strategy, content, numbers, positioning, bookings — and all of that matters — but music is also expression, freedom, connection and enjoyment. I have to remind myself of that too.

And ultimately: stay ready so you don't have to get ready.

You can't control when the opportunity comes. You can control whether you're prepared when it does.

Picture Credit: Morgan Prime

7. Are there any artists on your radar right now that we should check out?

My radar is honestly a mess because I'm constantly finding people.

On the DJ side, definitely check out Sea Rae, S!RENE and Khalil. They're all different, but what I like is that you can actually hear personality in the way they play.

That's what normally grabs me. I'm much more interested in somebody who has a point of view than someone just playing whatever ten songs everybody else is playing that week.

And then SoundCloud and Instagram are dangerous for me because I’m constantly finding producers making mad edits or artists sitting somewhere between genres.

If it makes me stop what I'm doing and go, “Sorry... what is THIS?”, I'm interested.

Picture Credit: Demi Adeyola

8. What albums are on heavy rotation on your Spotify playlist currently?

Busta Rhymes – Dillagence 2.

What a BODY of work.

Obviously he's my favourite rapper, so I'm never going to pretend I'm impartial with that haha, but the project is ridiculous.

The thing I've always loved about Busta is that he's a performer in every sense. Voice, flow, energy, personality — you know immediately when he’s on something.

And unfortunately I'm incapable of listening to music like a normal person anymore, so half the time I'm listening while simultaneously thinking, “Yeahhhh... I know exactly where I could put this in a set.”

9. What do you like to do when you're not making music?

I'm just getting back into weightlifting, which I really enjoy. There's something very satisfying about putting your headphones on, lifting heavy things and not having to speak to anybody for a bit!

I spend a lot of time with my family too. They mean everything to me, so having proper time with them is really grounding.

I love travelling, which conveniently works quite well with DJing, although there's a big difference between actually visiting somewhere and seeing the airport, hotel, venue and airport again!

And I journal a lot. My brain has approximately 700 tabs open at any given moment, so sometimes I need to physically put everything somewhere else.

Picture Credit: Morgan Prime

10. Name three things you can't live without when in the studio?

Oh God.

My four-litre water bottle. McCoy's Thai Sweet Chilli crisps. My headphones.

The McCoy's have been with me since university. At this point they've probably contributed to several major creative decisions – McCoys, shout me for a partnership!

The four litres of water is because I'm weirdly serious about hydration – but it’s gotta have Lemon in there.

And headphones because I feel like I should give you at least one answer that makes me sound remotely professional ha!