You see him. You cannot miss him. Lil Silva is near six feet tall and moves with the certainty of a man who isn’t afraid of his potential. The 32-year-old British Jamaican producer, singer, songwriter and DJ was raised in a musical home in the south of England where propulsive reggae, funk and jazz rhythms played alongside hip-hop and garage. He spent most of his childhood sitting behind his home PC creating beats, or harmonizing with the church choir before becoming a regular at the old Cabana Club in Bedford. Tyrone Jermaine “TJ” Carter (his real name) has since worked with many collaborators—Banks, Adele and Mark Ronson among them—and recently released his debut album, Yesterday Is Heavy, which unveils a decade’s worth of musical influences and friendships.

Yolanthe Faweh...