An Ipswich hip-hop artist has been tipped for breakthrough success in the music scene after narrowly missing out on winning Firestone’s Battle of the Bands competition.

EL-Emcee, real name Lloyd Millwood, beat 300 other unsigned acts to get to the final three of the nationwide talent search, becoming the first solo act to ever make the final since the event was founded in 2015.

EL-Emcee said: “It feels special to think of how far I have come. I was told that I was the first individual act to make the final too, so there’s a lot of confidence to be gained from that.

“The best thing about being on this journey has been the amount of people that have been exposed to my hip-hop and the fact that anything is possible.

“It could prompt other artists to get involved in the future, which would be brilliant.”