Headie One, known to his family as Irving Adjei, is a rapper that hails from Tottenham, North London. Up to this point, he has stood out as one of, if not the, premier names in the UK drill scene. He achieved this status through a series of pure and gritty drill mixtapes Drillers x Trappers and Drillers x Trappers II with fellow OFB member RV. In addition to those tapes, he began to break through to the mainstream with his first solo commercial mixtape Music x Road, and a rather divisive joint EP, GANG, with experimental producer Fred Again, where we saw Headie singing more than ever over very non-drill instrumentals.
Throughout those projects, Headie provided rubbery flows, a unique, somewhat slurred or mumbled inflection/diction, an uncompromising picture of the road life, as well as the confidence to address much more personal issues. As the title Music x Road, would suggest, the dichotomy between his street life and his burgeoning music career is always at the forefront of his mind, especially as he began to find his songs charting in the UK, his name holding more and more weight with every track he appeared on.
All of this brings us to his official commercial debut, Edna. The album is named after his late mother, Edna, who passed away when he was only three years old. He has stated in interviews this caused his sister to take the role of the mother, protector, and provider for the family. It is here that we can see how Headie got to where he is today, as he figured he had two options out of such a tough and trying situation: either live and die on the road, or break through with his music.
With Edna, he more than solidifies his future as a star in the music game, but still shows his struggle to leave the roads behind. There are radio ready pop tunes here, as well as more grim reporting from the streets. While his previous albums may be considered superior to his fans, with the exception of GANG, which was loved by critics, but despised by some of his original fans, Edna finds a nearly perfect middle ground. It serves as a great insight into his personality, his struggles to get to this point, and allows him to continue to show off his versatility. Sorry to the hardcore Headie One drill fans, but Headie is showing, with great effect, that he has bigger plans than region drill stardom. The guest features here and overall production style prove as much. Not to mention that he found himself on the most prominent billboard in New York’s Times Square. (2:48 of the video you will see the billboard)
Speaking of features, it really is a start studded, wide reaching group of artists. You have some rather expected features, especially given his status in the drill scene with a Willer’s World favorite in M Huncho, D-Block Europe’s Young Adz, Manchester rapper Aitch, AJ Tracey and UK hook kings, Young T and Bugsey. Additionally, established UK superstar Stormzy is here, as well as fellow Tottenham rapper and grime LEGEND, Skepta. The two most surprising and weighty artists here however, are Atlana rapper Future, as well as the 6 God himself, Drake. Despite the long list of features here however, they are all utilized in a way that they compliment Headie One, never dominating a song too much. If a guest gets the first verse, or appears on the track before Headie, he makes sure to give us an especially long verse, or two separate verses. Headie, and his journey, is still the focal point on all of these tracks.
Let’s get into some of the specific tracks here, since it is rather long at 20 tracks, but it is full of highlights that cover a wide array of styles. The overall appeal and message of Edna is summed up pretty succinctly on the chorus of the track “Mainstream.” Headie One raps, “Mainstream rapper, autographs on the wing/ Mainstream rapper, but my arse full of cling.” In that rather absurd and descriptive couple of lines, Headie One describes how he’s at the point where he is signing autographs for adoring fans, yet still isn’t above hiding drugs in his, well, ya know. Coupled with the beat is somewhere between the discordant nature of a typical drill beat and the catchy rhythm of an Afrobeats instrumental, it’s an effective thesis statement and representation of where he finds himself right now; Somewhere between super star and trapper.
He also addresses the issues with the UK prison system in his opening lines of the track, declaring “Labour or Conservatives, I ain’t got a preference/ The only thing they consider is two thirds of a sentence.” This refers to the new law that requires an offender to serve two thirds, instead of half, of their sentence before they are eligible for release. As someone who has been to prison four operate times, and has seen countless friends behind bars as well, Headie understands that regardless of their party, many people prefer to see people like him in prison.
Album opener “Teach Me,” also serves as a sign of Headie’s want and need to evolve. After overcoming struggles and getting into so much trouble that he believes his father “wished he would have aborted [him],” he understands that moving past the violence and hate is the best route. That is easier said than done, but forgiveness is what he is looking for more than anything.
Let’s (somewhat) quickly address what must be his biggest song to date, and the one that put him in front of a whole lot of new people. That would be the “Only One Freestyle” featuring Drake. Oh Aubrey. Aubrey, Aubrey, fucking Aubrey. In typical Drake fashion, he acts as a chameleon here, morphing into a drill rapper to match Headie’s style. Again, as always, he performs admirably. His flow is on point overall, and he almost fools you into believing what he’s saying. However, he ends up being completely unbelievable, and not in a good way. Just as he steals a fake patois accent on his Afrobeats tracks, hearing him start his verse of by saying “woi” over and over just makes me roll my eyes so hard I get nervous that my retinas will detach. Ol upper middle class, Degrasi acting, “Marvin Room’s” ass Aubrey Graham is not a driller. Hearing him threaten to “rise [his] rifle,” and having the balls to declare that he hasn’t seen any of his non-existent opps on the road is absolutely laughable. I’m sure the only time Drake has been shot at was in the fiction situation in Degrasi that put his character in a wheelchair.
It’s a crime that his extended verse comes first, because that means needed to skip to about 2:30 in the track before we can experience Headie One display what an actual drill rapper sounds like. I used to be a flat out Drake hater, but he has some absolute bangers under his belt, and his influence is nearly unmatched in the modern rap scene. That being said, he is also the guy who got eviscerated by Pusha T and just laid low, too afraid to respond. Hearing him pretend to be things he isn’t is so old and tiresome at this point. Drake isn’t a driller, and I, an opinionated white suburban man, would appreciate if he stopped that shit. In the end though, I am so happy for Headie One to get such a feature, because as I said earlier, it put him in front of a lot of people who would have never checked out a solo track of his prior to “Only One Freestyle.” Aubrey rant over.
“Hear No Evil,” is an exhilarating listen, as we actually hear Future over a drill beat, which may be the most unexpected moment on the whole album. I was expecting Headie to move into a more Americanized trap direction, but instead it was Future that switched it up, and really lived up to the challenge, showing of a great deal of chemistry with Headie. It is the most energetic Future has been on a feature in a while. An absolute highlight here.
Another huge track here is “Try Me,” with Skepta. Kevin Durant, of all people, summed this track up perfectly. The beat itself sounds like if you asked a music producer from Mars to give you one of those catchy flute beats, but keep it fundamentally drill. It’s otherworldly. Skepta brings a ton of energy, and Headie One’s verse that closes out the tracks is insane. His flow is as relentless as it is on the entire album, and he hits this wild rhyme scheme where he starts by rhyming “hotelly,” with “celly,” and keeps that going for damn near 20 bars. He really displays his knack for creative wordplay, and it makes a lot of sense why he has gotten so much recognition.
“The Light,” and “Five Figures,” are more straightforward, if somewhat commercialized drill, but are good examples of Headie One finding ways to experiment within these parameters. Over the 20 tracks, his flows may feel a bit repetitive to some. But these two tracks show that he is always subtly playing with his inflections and flows, keeping things interesting. It is also worth mentioning that the synths on “The Light” really remind me of this song by French rapper Jo$man, “V&V.”
Two features that help mix things up as well are M Huncho and Young Adz on “Bumpy Ride,” and “21 Gun Salute,” respectively. M Huncho is as smooth as ever, and Headie gives one of his most emphatic verses on the album, but M Huncho’s chorus allows that uptick in energy to stand out even more. Even M Huncho sounds much more urgent that he would be on one of his album tracks. Young Adz’ interesting voice and use of auto-tune will always keep you on your toes, but as he did on this year’s Insomnia album with Chip and Stormzy, he can still flow with the best of them when he feels like it.
“Parlez-Vous Anglais,” with Aitch stands out as it gives you a bit of a cypher feeling, with the two artists trading verses and bars, complete with an extremely catchy chorus from Aitch, where he flexes his love for designer watches. It is very reminiscent of Aitch’s track with DigDat, “Ei8ht Mile.” The “Yo, shorty said ‘H’/ Me and Aitch both looking like ‘H or Aitch?” Is some hilarious wordplay and just like with most of his features here, show off an undeniable chemistry between H and Aitch.
“Breathing” is the best example here of Headie One addressing a lot of his personal tribulations head on. It is also the best example of him employing a more straight up rap flow, instead of his normal drill cadence. In the beginning lines, he mentions Boogie, Sanje, and SJ, all OFB members who are currently serving life sentences for separate crimes. He also shows that he believes a lot of these sentences are due to OFB’s status in the music scene, so their members are easy targets to make examples of. He continues to address prison inequality with the lines, “Them sentences for rapists and them dealers should be different/ I guess that depends on what the color of your skin is.” Just as we see here in the US, the UK has the tendency to sentence someone who has dealt drugs much more harshly than someone who as been convicted as rape. Often times, the perpetrators skin color plays a massive role, with the minority being sentenced to more years, despite committing the same crime as a white person. Anyone remember Brock Turner?
“F U Pay Me,” is a minimalistic banger, provided by the one and only Kenny Beats, and features up and coming rapper Ivorian Doll, who is one of the most exciting women in the scene right now. “Princess Cuts” with Young T and Bugsey is the bid for another radio single, and while it sounds clean and is undeniably catchy, Headie One still starts the track out with the lines, “My young boy still got the stick like Moses with the Israelites/ Tellin’ them opp boys ‘it’s on sight.” I say another radio single, because he already has one massive hit in “Ain’t It Different,” with AJ Tracey and Stormzy. It’s another track that in reality, the names on it, and status it helped him reach slightly outshine the track itself, despite it being very solid overall.
“You/Me” is a rather beautiful track where we see Headie dive into his more sensitive side, once again showing he is unafraid to look within himself and address his flaws. This time, it is within the context of a relationship, and he admits that he isn’t perfect whatsoever, but is more than willing to work on himself to hold the relationship together. With that track, “Everything Nice,” “Therapy,” and “Cold,” we get a somewhat downbeat, but very contemplative end to the record. He explains being “social but anti-social,” being disappointed that he never was scouted as a footballer, social programs crumbling around the troubled youth in his community, and emphatically admits that, “I used to love the trap like it would love me back/ Couldn’t wait for the days to say ‘I’m done with that,'” on album closer “Cold.”
He’s lost friends to violence and the prison system. Almost too many to name, but he makes sure to still mention as many of them by name as possible. For most of his life, all he has known is pain, violence, and loss. Yet throughout it all, he knows his mother Edna is looking over him, and he dedicates all of this success to her. “It’s only right Edna going global,” he says on “Therapy.” Even if she isn’t here to see it, Headie made sure that it is her name that is plastered all over billboards throughout the world, and her name will go lockstep with his as he continues to blow up.
Overall, this is a big, big album for Headie One. Honestly, it has it all: certified radio hits, drill tracks for the purists, experimental moments where Headie can show off his singing voice, party bangers, and a huge dose of his personality and experiences, which have always been the main draw to him in the first place. Yeah, the sequencing would have been a bit better if a few of those more easy going tracks where spread out, and maybe one or two songs felt slightly redundant. But at the end of the day, it’s hard to see any other outcome than stardom for Headie One after this.
He is already well established in the UK, and just as the songs with Drake, Future, production from Kenny Beats, and massive New York Times Square billboard show, it is only a matter of time until he is a household name across the globe. Even the various American references, whether it be Nelly or Dej Loaf, throughout the album show his affection for western artists, and that love is being shown in return.
I will concede that his thickly accented, slightly slurred flow does not immediately make him the most accessible artist at first. That is clear when compared to AJ Tracey, Skepta and Stormzy. However, his music is more than worth it if you allow your ears to adapt to his style because it’s unique, and helps him stand out from the pack. He’s currently on pace to have his first number one album in the UK, and I couldn’t be happier for him. He told us on “Try Me,” “Headie’s got a big head already,” and I’m sure it will only get bigger with all this success; and deservedly so. I know that his mother must be proud.
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