DJ Vagrant Real Estate wins Scottish Album of Year 2026

Aberdeen DJ and hip-hop producer Vagrant Real Estate has won the 2026 Scottish Album of the Year award.

A moniker for Nick Cronin, Vagrant Real Estate triumphed with "Neither Collar Nor Crown".

He scooped the £20,000 first prize after emerging from a shortlist which included Barry Can't Swim and Hen Hoose Collective.

"This is a bit mad, I fully did not expect this at all," he said.

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Recent winners of the award have included Kai Reesu last year, Redolent in 2024, and Young Fathers the year before - which was their third win.

The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award was held in Dundee's Caird Hall on Thursday night.

"Neither Collar Nor Crown" brought together 25 Scottish artists from different genres.

Vagrant Real Estate has been independently releasing music since 2018.

He samples traditional Scottish folk and Gaelic, merged with Scottish rap and hip-hop.

Vagrant Real Estate thanked the judging panel on stage, and said: "The shortlist was unbelievable this year - there's so much talent in this country.

"The album is full of collaborators from all across the country.

"I just want to say to anybody who's trying to make a career in music who doesn't live on the central belt where you might feel the industry's attention is - I'm from Aberdeen. Let's go."

Robert Kilpatrick, creative director of the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), said: "Bringing together 25 Scottish artists, it's an unapologetically Scottish record that pushes the boundaries of Scottish hip-hop while drawing deeply from our shared cultural and musical heritage."

Nikhita was named The Sound of Young Scotland, winning a funding package worth up to £10,000.

And Boards of Canada - originally from Cullen in Moray - won the Modern Scottish Classic Award for their 1998 debut album "Music Has The Right to Children".

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