NTS regular Gaika has been hosting The Spectacular Empire Show w/ Gaika & Mensa since 23 February 2016. Gaika has been a regular guest, first appearing on 19 November 2015 and most recently on 23 August 2019. Gaika has been played on NTS over 100 times, featured on 87 episodes and was first played on 19 November 2015.

Gaika Tavares, better known simply as GAIKA, is an artist and writer from South London. His debut album, Basic Volume, was released in July 2018 by Warp Records, who describe the sound as "gothic dancehall and industrial electronics".

Gaika's parents came from Grenada and Jamaica, and he grew up in Brixton, South London. He was previously a part of Manchester rap crew Murkage.

Following the mixtapes Machine and Security, Gaika released the EP Spaghetto in 2016. The Guardian described his music as blending "Caribbean dancehall tradition and London grime but also nod to R&B, trip-hop, grunge and Prince." Dazed have described him as "electronic music's answer to Basquiat", while US magazine Interview described the sound as "experimental R&B". GAIKA himself has described his sound using the word 'Ghettofuturism'.

GAIKA's debut album Basic Volume was released in July 2018. The Guardian praised the album as "a terrifically impressive and populist debut". The album also received positive reviews from the Financial Times, Independent, Noisey and Music OMH.

In August 2018, Gaika exhibited SYSTEM, a collaboration with Boiler Room and Somerset House Studios, "a sculpture which fills the middle portion of the Lancaster Room at Somerset House." He told the Evening Standard that "Carnival and sound system culture is about space, and holding space. It’s about literally drawing a line in the sand and saying: ‘This is who we are and we’re here to stay. You can’t turn us off’.”