Drake is back on his UK drill vibe thanks to Headie One, the rising Tottenham star who has become one of the faces of the movement over the past several years, and their “Only You Freestyle” video which just dropped. Over a muscular, trademark M1onthebeat production, the two rappers reel off a pair of long, threat-filled verses as they wander through a garage filled with Range Rovers and members of their respective crews.
Drake first introduced the burgeoning sound of UK drill to his oeuvre in late 2019, when his song “War” was mistaken by American audiences for the similar grime style of Skepta and Stormzy. He then incorporated the sounds more heavily into his May mixtape Dark Lane Demo Tapes, on which he also shared the spotlight with members of the scene’s New York offshoot on the track “Demons.”
Drake’s incorporation of the style has — like much of his output recently — met mixed reactions. While some, like Stormzy, feel that Drake’s indulgence is a good thing for British music scenes, others, like grime vet Wiley, have called Drake a culture vulture. Meanwhile, there’s little doubt that searches for Headie One’s about to skyrocket as a new audience of potential fans is exposed to the collaborator from Stormzy’s “Audacity.”
Watch Headie One’s “Only You Freestyle” video with Drake above.
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