Tottenham rapper Abra Cadabra has one of the grittiest, most imposing voices in the entire UK rap scene. In addition to his quick flows and emphatic delivery, he’s shown a keen sense for melody, and he isn’t afraid to show off his singing voice. In any case, considering that my audience is mainly from the US, there is one major artist that you may hear when you throw Abra’s music on: Pop Smoke.
The comparisons have been made before, and they make sense. They have a similar cadence and cover a fair amount of the same subject matter. However, and this is not me taking any shots at the late Pop Smoke, who was tragically taken from us too soon, Abra Cadabra is just straight up a better singer, rapper, and overall writer than Pop Smoke ever got the chance to grow into.
All of this is made abundantly clear on Abra Cadabra’s excellent and eye opening second mixtape, Product of My Environment. The opening track “Trenches” gives us all a clear idea as to why he chose the album title that he did. The track deftly lays out all of the things that he and his friends have gone through in their lives on the streets. It has a somber, almost prayer like energy as Abra talks about the death, sadness and hard times that he has been molded in.
Lines like, “The streets love me and they don’t love me/ The streets have given to me and they stole from me,” and “Don’t depend on no one and just go get your heat/ Cause it’s cold outside and wolves don’t sleep,” get right to the emotional heart of the entire project and Abra has a human being. He’s had to do things and been in situations that many of us could never fathom, and yet he spends the album doing his damnedest to give you a slice of that pain that he clearly carries with him as a result.
“How We Living” with his close friend and OFB compatriot Kush covers much of the same ground, but is a bit more upbeat. You can also feel the chemistry between Abra and Kush, as after just a few listens, you get the sense that these two have spent a ton of time together. Both rappers trade short verses, going back to back, addressing the things they’ve had to do in order to simply survive their day to day lives. Every verse is tighter than the last, and Abra’s chorus here is extremely catchy and smooth, as he explains that even he may not completely understand why he’s done the things he’s done, other than that they were necessary actions in regards to his survival.
“Usual” continues in the same vein as the previous two tracks, but acts as a warning to anybody younger than him. He warns the younger generation that living a life where your “your friend could be an opp” and simply watch you die in the streets instead of help you is not a lifestyle to aspire to. He urges them to not get caught in the same cycle and society would expect them to just because it’s happened to other generations.
Then we get the most explosive section of the tape with the trio of “On Deck,” “Show Me,” and “Spin This Coupe.” These tracks are Abra at his heaviest and most intimidating. His flows are punchy, energetic and in your face. The instrumentals all fit the same mold, never letting up, nearly overwhelming you with thumping bass and synth lines. His ad-libs are almost strictly screamed on these tracks, and the second stretch of “Spin This Coupe,” is still some of the most exciting music I have ever heard Abra produce. His voice is strained as he is literally screaming his verse. He also uses all of these tracks to play with his flows and give a whole host of violent and funny references. Nobody in the scene is rapping like he is, even if they may be bringing a similar type of energy.
“Seen It All” is a clear standout where Abra purposefully takes a back seat, only handling the chorus. He then let’s Krept and Konan, two of the most respected artists in the UK, and guys Abra has admitted to looking up to, detail their own pain and struggles up to this point in their lives. Krept touches on a host of issues like the corrupt justice system, systemic racism, and how so many young men who had no other choice but to turn to the streets have suffered generation after generation. Konan follows with similar subject matter, even going as far as to say it’s hard for him to advise younger men not to do the same, since he’d feel like a hypocrite. He raps, “How can I tell these kids “put the knife down” when akh came in with the Rambo?” Instead, he clearly let’s the pain and trauma you feel through his bars act as the warning. He doesn’t need to say it directly, when his admissions of PTSD and trauma speak for themselves.
It is also worth noting that Abra is aware, and willing to welcome the comparisons to Pop Smoke, as he interpolate’s part of his chorus to “Dior” with, “Mike Amiri, Mike Amiri, Christian Dior, Dior/ I’ve seen it all, seen it all.” It does feel like a fitting tribute, because if there’s an artist that can continue along a path that many would have expected for Pop Smoke, it’s Abra Cadabra.
“Selective Bad Boys,” sees Abra link up with another well respect artist in Dappy. Both artists trade bars back and forth in another instance where it feels extremely organic and natural, just like “How We Living” with Kush. Following that up is “Flicky,” which admittedly feels like the least essential track here, and I’m not too surprised to have read that it was the last track added onto the album, right before it’s release. Even then, Abra displays a fair amount of flows, and really stretches his vocals at various point, which always come off as impressive and another peek into what he’s truly capable of.
“You” with Dirtbike LB and Young Adz of D-Block Europe is a huge standout for me. I’ve lost track how many times I’ve listened to it at this point. Abra has never shied away from singing and expressing his feelings in terms of relationships, love and loss before, but this feels like the most genuine and well thought out instance of him doing that. His entire first verse, which blends perfectly into the chorus is just so ridiculously catchy.
He details how his trauma from the streets may make him act out sometimes, but he’s doing his best to let this woman know that his love for her is real and will always shine through those tough times. Understanding his pain, he explains, is crucial to being with him, just as it is in order to fully get him as an artist. The final bars of his verse, and the first few of the chorus are a great insight into the way he see’s himself, and what real, genuine love can do to even the hardest, most intimidating people:
“I got love for you, I’ll let you know a secret/ Love ain’t something that I’m used to, but I need it/ I ain’t saying that I’m lonely when I’m sleeping/ Can’t lie, I wouldn’t mind it if you could be here/ I don’t even wanna fuck, I just wanna chill/ Run my fingers through your hair, I like the way it feels/ I might whisper in your ear.”
It’s just fantastic, and the thought process behind it feels so much more genuine than, “Well, we need a track for the ladies here.” This is more focused on a thoughtful, internal view of Abra Cadabra and how he functions in relation to finding and cherishing the idea of love and those close to him. The boys of D-Block may not go as deep, but there’s something to be said about the fact that their verses don’t derail the track, and give that same somber insight into their love lives as well.
I just seriously cannot get enough of this track. It’s also worth noting just how downright gorgeous Abra’s vocals sound at various points, as we see him layering his vocals and harmonizing with himself. It’s an overall great example of the skill and ear for music that he truly possesses.
“Begging Flexxing Stressing” see’s Abra meditate on the idea of keeping your family and friends close to you. He goes into detail about the cycle of dealing with opps, defending yourself, and going on another glide to get revenge. That clearly takes a massive toll on someone, and again, Abra is not reveling in the fact that he’s lived like this. There is an extremely eye opening set of bars that he shares, where he is absolute opening his heart up and sharing the pain that he’s gone through:
“They don’t understand how we feel/ Madness ain’t the reason why we kill/ I wish that my n**** could be here/ Keep this pain in so much, I think I breathe tears/ I remember that night my soul died/ Got the phone call on the block on the night/ I remember that night, I was so high/ Couldn’t even tell you bout the pain when I cried/ Lord knows that I felt so low, that I felt so low/ And it weren’t the first time in my life that I lost my homie.”
I know that’s a huge section of a verse to share like that, but it is one of the most poetic and insightful passages on the entire record. Comparing getting news of someone passing away to your entire soul dying, and holding trauma in to the point where it’s impossible not to constantly be overwhelmed by tears is just tragic. Saying that he “breathes tears” is one of the most beautiful and heart breaking things I’ve heard all year.
“Keep Going” picks the energy up one last time, and the title kind of says it all. Abra’s uses his sense for tune on the chorus, hitting a bit of a higher register with his voice, and flies into this aggressive delivery on his verses. Basically, he is reiterating the fact that he is as motivated as ever, and that he and the rest of OFB are only getting started.
“My People” may be my favorite track on the entire record, and it is the one that sounds the least typical if you’ve ever listened to Abra before. It’s another track that feels more like a prayer, or an emotional plead to God. The vocal processing he uses is stunning, as it sounds like he is crooning somewhere between life and the afterlife. It has this otherworldly quality to it. I’ve been trying to come up with a great way to describe it, and this is the best I’ve got: It’s like the equivalent of motion blur, but on his voice. It has an ethereal quality to it, with the perfect amount of reverb placed on his almost inhumanly deep voice.
In terms of bars, the first verse Abra essentially talks about his come up. At one point, he couldn’t get girls’ attention, his group was been made out as a threat to society, and he’s constantly had to look over his shoulder. But now he’s able to enjoy a better life, complete with money, jewelry and cars. And yet, another constant thread on the track, and the album as a whole, is the idea that those he’s lost are always close to him. You can really feel the pain in his voice as he calls out the names of those that have been killed:
“They took Tanisha, I really miss my dawg/ She’s so close but she’s so far/ I remember that shit like yesterday, it broke my heart/ It just fucks with me that Nisha had to go/ It just fucks with me that Kobe had to go/ I just fucks with me that MB had to go.”
The repetition there really gets to the point of just how often he’s had to experience loss, as he can recount time and time again that he’s received that same, horrible news. It even gets to the point where he is practically pleading for an answer as to why he’s still alive, and so many people he’s held close have been taken from him.
“Oh, Lord, I seen you take my people, I’m just wondering why you haven’t taken my life?/ Cause I got a pistol on my hip, I got a killer to the right of me, but I know, one day, I’ma die.”
He then expresses all of the things he’s planning on doing before that day, which he sees as inventible comes: “I hope I’ve made a milli by then/ I hope I’ve been to Mecca by then/ Then give my Mum so much money that she can’t spend anymore/ Cause I’ma die one day, but when?”
He croons on the bridge as well that he will continue to provide for his family and friends, never turning his back on them or assuming that they’ll stab him in the back. It’s almost as if he’s come to terms with the fact that something like that may occur, but it’s simply the way things go, and he’s much more focused on making sure those that he really loves are set for life. It’s a heart touching sentiment, and it’s another wonderful example of the development that Abra has clearly experience as an artist and a person. These are not easy topics to tackle, and yet he expresses them beautifully and poetically time and time again. I could listen to an entire album of music from him in this exact style.
“Everywhere I Go” uses a lot of the same themes as “My People” but Abra absolutely sings his fucking heart out on this one. It’s not nearly as subdued, and his voice is soaring at points. He knows that life is precious, and that the street life is a nasty one, but he’s made it through because he’s had to. That’s the only way he’ll be able to finally enjoy life with all of the ones he loves and has been fighting for his entire life. The layering and harmonizing he’s employed is at it’s most show-stopping here.
He talks about how many of his extremely young friends almost immediately became victims to the prison system. “They gave my little n***** more than their age, man I hope that they can take it,” he sings. It’s a show stopping close to the album that acts as the final plea to feel and attempt to understand his pain and why he is the person that he is.
Even if I may not be able to directly relate to many of the circumstances he’s gone through, you’ve got to be one heartless bastard if you can’t at least feel and empathize with the almost constant pain and trauma Abra expresses track after track. In the end, that is why this is such a successful, and hopefully, star-making project.
Abra has proved that he’s one of the best when it comes to drill. His voice, presence, and overall flow are nearly unmatched, and he really stands out from the pack in that regard. But tracks like “Trenches,” “Seen It All,” “You,” “My People,” and “Everywhere I Go,” prove that he is capable of so much more than your average drill rapper.
His ability to convey his emotions effectively and vividly is what really carries the album. He bends his voice, and uses just the right amount of processing on his voice to smooth things out and convey the correct emotion. It’s never slathered in auto-tune, and ends up feeling much more natural, allowing the power in his voice to steal the show.
Abra Cadabra really, really fucking did something here with Product of My Environment, and it immediately finds a place up near the top of my favorite UK albums of the year. There is not a single track worth skipping, with the quality ranging from extremely solid to downright stunning. Abra can do it all, and this project just proves how well rounded he’s become as an artist. Even now with a nearly perfect project under his belt, Abra has constantly proven that he’s always going to find new ways to adapt and evolve. The places that he can help take drill, and the respect he can help the scene gain is almost innumerable at this point, and I seriously cannot wait to see this man absolutely explode in popularity as more people realize how immensely talented he is. Abra’s special.