This week’s serving of Fish N Spliffs will be a bit more hefty than the last two weeks. A few albums came out this last Friday, and I am hoping to cover those in length over the next week or two. So because of that, there may not be a roundup next week. Hopefully these songs can tide you all over until then!
Dutchavelli, OneFour, Kekra, Noizy and DEVINE- Bando Diaries (Remix)
The man with the voice from hell, Dutchavelli, dropped the banger “Bando Diaries” a few weeks ago. Now he follows that up with a remix that enlists an interesting group of artists; mainly due to the fact that they are all from very different parts of the world. OneFour, who is one of my favorite drill groups and one who I will certainly write more about at some point, hails from Australia. Kekra is French. Noizy is from Albania and has actually done a few tracks with Dutch previously. And lastly, DEVINE is from India. All of the featured artists give you something different. We also get to see every artist in their respective countries, as the video takes us all over the world. The UK Drill scene’s influence really is growing by the day.
J Emz of OneFour delivers a solid verse, with Kekra following that up. Kekra gives us a bit of English before diving into his native French, finishing the verse off with some interesting autotune, which is a surprise given the hard instrumental and energy the rest of the artists bring. It’s a welcome curveball. Then we head back to Australia with Spenny of OneFour trading bars with J Emz, showing the chemistry the two share. Noizy wears his influences on his sleeves as he begins his verse in a Jamaican style patois, before slipping back into Albanian. Lastly, DEVINE provides what is the most impressive performance of all. Not only was it a shock to see an Indian artist appear on the song in general, but he brings a ton of energy and he has the most varied and technical flow on the whole song.
Da Beatfreakz, DigDat, Dutchavelli and B Young- 808
Dutchavelli is everywhere these days, and I for one, am not complaining a single damn bit. Da Beatfreakz provide a great beat, full of energy and cycling synths. DigDat’s fl0w is as impeccable and relentless as ever, and B Young, who I was not familiar with previously, gives a nice auto-tuned performance on the chorus. Even though DigDat is one of my favorites out there, Dutchavelli just takes the track over. The flow he uses at the beginning of his verse is just stupid. The rhyme scheme is so, so nice too.
“Got kitchen knives and blickys, sticky, don’t get shot like Ricky/ Right here, it gets slippery, back that flick, Beezy way too dippy/ Look, I ain’t got time, slop that quickly, Lord knows she pretty/ You know Dutch too drippy, beige and Whitney, flick my wrist, three-sixty.”
This is Dutchavelli at his most impressive flow-wise. He’s absolutely taken over the scene this year, at home in the UK, and abroad, as he showed on “Bando Diaries (remix).”
Smoke Boys and Dizzee Rascal- Justin Bieber
Here we have drill pioneers Smoke Boys (formerly Section Boyz) linking up with one of the most respected Grime emcees in all of Britain, Dizzee Rascal. For the record, Smoke Boys are largely considered some of the very first to hop onto the drill sound in the UK, and it’s hard to argue, considering their very first project, Don’t Panic, sounded exactly like the English version of a Chief Keef mixtape. They really have some classics under their belt, like “Trappin Ain’t Dead,” and “Lock Arff.” With that in mind, it is very interesting to have legends from drill and grime on the same track. While crossovers have happened in the past, it is always fun to see how they turn out, since the two styles can very a ton.
I imagine that this acts as a single from their final group album, which they just announced a few days ago. It’s a pretty straightforward drill song, with solid flows, a catchy chorus, and thumping beat with slick chords. Just like Dutch on “808,” Dizzee Rascal appears and just absolutely dominates the track. He’s known for his fast style of rapping (he’s a grim emcee, duh), and he doesn’t disappoint here. Even the guys in Smoke Boys seem to be impresses themselves in the video, looking on in a sort of awe as he just spins shit. I mention this a lot, but you can feel the chemistry and revere that they all seem to hold for each other.
It is definitely worth mentioning the visuals, as they are phenomenal. Dizzee shows up much like 50 Cent did in “In Da Club,” hanging upside down from the ceiling with his body wrapped in chains. The UK continues to innovate and really move the music video game forward constantly.
Morrisson and Jordan- Brothers
Big Boss Morisson. He’s another artist who is far from prolific, but when he puts music out, he only knows how to make all caps, ANTHEMS. With “Brothers,” he gives us another bonafide anthem. He isn’t overly hype with his delivery and is extremely matter-of-fact with his rhymes. He just spits facts that happen to be over amazing drill beats. I am not sure of the timeline, but I know that on of his brothers recently passed away (that’s who we see right at the start of the video), so regardless, the sentiment of riding or dying for your brothers rings even more true because of that.
His verse is full of street wisdom, and he is constantly questioning the legitimacy of anyone who thinks they can step to him. Someone asks what he’s bringing to the table, and he replies “I brought the table, the chairs and the food/ What the fuck you brought?” He focuses on loyalty, and that is what truly makes someone family; not just blood. Jordan, who wins the award for the most unique rap name ever, brings a ton of energy in his verse, which is a nice complement to Morrisson’s more restrained delivery. Together, you get a sense that these are the last two white-boys you would ever want to see in a dark alley. Or a fully lit alley for that matter. Don’t tell them I made fun of Jordan’s name. Matter of fact, it’s a fine name.
DigDat- Assassin Creed
I feel wrong for even writing about this one before listening to it in my car, but I can already tell it’s a thumper. DigDat comes through with a ton of slick references, like the titular Assassin Creed, as well as referring to Need for Speed Underground and The Matrix. The TV shows, movies, and video games that a lot of these drill artists refer to are always a welcome inclusion. Just like with his verse on “808,” it may not seem like anything crazy, but that’s the double edged sword of being so consistent and not stepping outside of the flow and style he is the most comfortable with. His flow is relentless, the punchlines are always there, and he really never disappoints. Check out his full length album Ei8ht Mile if you like what he brings to the table.
Gully- Ying Dat
“Ying Dat” serves as an explosive introduction to Gully. This track is all about ENERGY. I can’t recall an artist sounding this gleeful on a drill song. It’s the type of track that makes you feel weird for listening to it with a smile, because it’s all about the typical drill fare: shootings, stabbings and drillings. But the energy is so infectious and it has such an undeniable bounce. Gully’s delivery is animated, with loud, boisterous ad-libs all over the place. The visuals show that he has a sizable personality and sense of humor as well. You see three Gullys, all in different colored track suits, performing at the same time. There are colorful visuals inspired by comic books all over the video too. I don’t know if you’ll hear a more fun drill song all year, and that’s despite the dark subject matter, summed up by him declaring that an opp was “shot like John Kennedy.” Sorry, but I love it.
Suspect and Giggs- Bruce Wayne
Let’s take a little detour from the drill tunes I normally cover. Here, we have Suspect and UK legend Giggs coming through with “Bruce Wayne.” You may recognize Giggs from that Drake song, “KMT,” when he rapped, “Batman, DA NA NA DA NA NA.” Despite the memeability of that verse, and all the stupid jokes people made, Giggs is certified. I’ll give Drake credit, despite always stealing ideas and riding waves these days, he picks extremely respected and worthy artists to steal from. Just click on the link to “KMT” above and see the English crowd LOSE THEIR MINDS, when Giggs performs his verse. Calling him a legend almost doesn’t do him justice.
It’s fitting that he finds himself over another Batman inspired song, with he instrumental even featuring these over the top strings that sound right out of an old Batman TV show or movie.
Flow-wise, Suspect and Giggs implement similar styles. It’s relatively simple, and the wordplay isn’t over the top. The lyrics generally come in short bursts, accompanied by instances where Suspect seems to try to fit one too many words into a bar, and kind of trips up a bit. It isn’t Blueface off-beat territory, but it can seem a little jarring at first. However, I think it falls more into this “boss level, I don’t give a fuck” mentality that Giggs has perfected, and performs more smoothly in my opinion. Giggs isn’t afraid to have some seemingly cringey lines, but he has a unique sense of humor, and he always lets that shine through along side his more intimidating bars. I love Giggs, and he has some great albums under his belt in Landlord, Wamp 2 Dem and Big Bad. This is a nice little single that acts as a pretty good barometer for Giggs and his style of rapping.
Slowthai, James Blake and Mount Kimbie- feel away
For the last track this week, we move even farther away from the drill scene with Slowthai and James Blake. Slowthai is a rapper who isn’t afraid to blend and jump between different genres. Here, he delivers some cute, lovesick bars over a nice piano beat. He showed his ability to craft quaint tracks like this on his amazing 2018 album, There’s Nothing Great About Britain, even though I may prefer him over his more bombastic, left-field, high energy rap songs. James Blake’s singing in the second half is just as beautiful as you would expect if you’ve ever heard him sing before.
Despite the adorable track, the video feels like a fever dream, or a bad acid trip; but in the best possible way, if that makes sense? Fitting along the kind of, “I’ll do anything for you,” theme in the lyrics, we see Slowthai go as far as to be the one who carries his girlfriend’s child to term. She leaves him for the sexy doctor, and after witnessing their marriage in the hospital room as he gives birth, the guests eat him like he’s cake, eventually doing the same to the baby. It all sounds and feels like a David Lynch movie, and is certainly a commentary on toxic relationships and codependency. It’s jarring and pretty unsettling, but works perfectly with the much easier to digest song.