MNEK (No 1,106)

Hometown: Bellingham, London.

The lineup: Uzoechi Osisioma Emenike (vocals, music).

The background: There's no way we're going to be anything other than completely kind and complimentary towards Uzoechi Osisioma Emenike, alias MNEK, because he's only 16 and that's way below the age at which critical opprobrium becomes acceptable. Luckily, he's a talented singer, writer, producer and remixer and we don't have to be negative, even if there are things he's done for which we'd get out the old red pen – he's still at school – and come on like concerned teachers. On the whole, though, he'd get a favourable report from us on parents' evening, and his mother and father would leave our classroom smiling and proud.

And we'd have said all of that before we found out that his dad was a detective at Scotland Yard, which for some reason makes us a bit nervous. That his mum bakes cakes for a living bothers us not one jot. Really, though, this is one seriously impressive young man. Look at the stuff he's already got lined up to put on his UCAS form: he's produced for Frankmusik, CocknBullKid, Duran Duran, Florrie, Diana Vickers and Tinie Tempah, NME called him one of the "20 hottest producers in music right now", while the Guardian went one better and ranked him on their "10 of the next generation of music producers" list. And he co-wrote the current single by the Saturdays, which is a total Auto-Tune fest, but it's got a curiously pleasing non-tune (see also Swagger Jagger) that is quite brave in its avoidance of conventional song-structure strictures. And the chorus, such as it is, is great: "We're so close to the edge of desire," it goes (know the feeling). Plus, it's got a breakdown or a drop or whatever it is you call that part on rave tunes where they bring out the synth chords and the beat stops, refusing to return till you're gagging.

Clearly, this kid, with the outsize (yeah, we can talk) colourful glasses, gold chains and hi-top fade, who started writing/producing when he was nine, is not just another sucker with a Cameo cut. Earlier this year he created an instrumental, Lunar Riddim, that got used during Nike's Air Max Lunar campaign. He even made Olly Murs bearable with his remix of Heart Skips a Beat, managing to remove all the bumptious end-of-the-pier energy. And now, although currently studying for his GCSEs, he's about to release his debut single. It's coming out on Moshi Moshi, which is interesting because it pitches him as a credible alt artist when he could easily be the next big mainstream urban pop boy – maybe he's done a major-label deal for the album.

Meantime, that first single, If Truth Be Told, is fairly generic but super-catchy urban pop, but as calling cards go, it's certainly bold, and we're delighted to be able to discern in it traces of old-style electro-funk. Apparently, MNEK loves the productions of Jam & Lewis, and you can tell, as well as 80s Britfunk – he's got a track called Detention Love that reminds us of Loose Ends' mighty Hangin' on a String and he namechecks the godlike Freeez in a YouTube video about himself. There, he also performs an cappella rendition of his song Summer Romance that's pure X Factor cornball melisma overload, at which point we ask to see him after school and invite his parents in for a chat.

The buzz: "Meet R&B genius MNEK" dazeddigital.com.

The truth: Call us prescient, but we can see a Uni place being deferred.

Most likely to: Be into Moshi Monsters.

Least likely to: Be confused with Eminem.

What to buy: If Truth Be Told is released by Moshi Moshi on 7 November.

File next to: T-Pain, Taio Cruz, Sean Kingston, Labrinth.

Links: facebook.com/MNEKOfficial.

Friday's new band: Teen Daze.