Teenager born and bred in Milton Keynes becomes rapping phenomenon called Niko B

Tom Austin, 19, had never made music before when he decided to write a rap song last summer at his Newport Pagnell home.

He called it Mary Berry, after the former Great British Bake Off judge.

Tom then changed his own name to Niko B, borrowing the name from Eastern European gangster character Niko Bellic from the video game Grand Theft Auto IV.

Incredibly the playful track swamped the internet and notched up more than four million views. It was praised by the New York Times and billed by The Independent as “a delightful, deadpan ode to life in small-town Britain.

Twelve weeks ago Niko released a second single called 'Who’s That? What’s That?', inspired by removing the gherkins from a cheeseburger.

This has been in the Top 40 ever since and is still holding strong. It's had more than 15 million streams and 2.5 million views on Youtube and it’s been shouted out by lo-fi superstar Clairo and Tinie Tempah and Example, as well as Lily Allen and Mike Skinner.

With its tongue-in-cheek bars filled with humour and without filter, the single has been championed across the radio and press, from Vogue to New York Times, to BBC Radio 1 and Capital.

Tom now has 21 million collective streams on Spotify alone and is becoming well known for his humour and personality, along with his unique style of relatable-rap.

He has built a devoted following on Instagram and gets 30,000 likes and 100,000 views consistently on his posts. On Tik Tok he now has more than three million likes.

The former small-town schoolboy has also become a a recognizable face on London's fashion and music scenes along with his Dazed:100 model/activist partner Deba.

He caught the attention of NSG after going viral and performed with them on their OT Bop tour last year.

"He is fast becoming a very exciting part of the British music scene and beyond," said a spokesman.

In addition, Niko has his own clothing line called CROWD.

He said: "I started my own clothing line when I was 16... I wanted a Supreme t-shirt but it was too expensive so I just made my own and called it CROWD and then released it because friends asked me to.

"Before that I would draw on clothes and have that iron transfer paper when I was 13 or14 and customize all my old clothes."

When demand for his products increased, he expanded online and the income allowed him to focus on his creative pursuits.

In his biography Niko says: "I hail from Milton Keynes...I live in a town called Newport Pagnell. It’s the home of Aston Martin, is one of the most haunted towns in all of the UK and it’s got the oldest iron bridge still in use in the whole world.

"I saw someone canoeing under it once, that was sick."