Following their signing of Magnetic Man, Columbia Records have again turned to the London (semi-)underground, snapping up Katy B.

Katy B came to the attention of many as a house singer, guesting on UK Funky anthems from DJ NG (‘Tell Me’) and Geeneus (‘As I’). Rinse FM clearly recognised her pop potential, as they’ve spent this year carefully packaging and promoting her as a New Big Thing, leading to a place in the UK top ten for her Benga-produced solo single ‘Katy on a Mission’. A feature spot on Magnetic Man’s ‘I Need Air’ and ‘Perfect Stranger’ followed, leading to new Katy B single ‘Lights On’, produced by Geeneus, featuring Ms. Dynamite and already seemingly guaranteed to be a big deal.

Columbia announced the signing in a mail-out today, where they also set out Katy’s plans for the near future: a support slot for John Legend this month, and another one on Tinie Tempah’s tour in the New Year. And then? We’d guess at an album.

In more signing news, cult hip-hop icon Jay Electronica has signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation imprint. In Jay’s own words, from a recent live show, “my whole goal is to reintroduce magic to hip hop. We watched this wizard do his thing. Y’all supported him. And he’s an official Roc Nation signee.”