UK rapper ArrDee: ‘I’m working on something special – it’s going to blow everyone who’s ever heard of me’

After a string of successful radio hits, the process of being in the studio began to wear ArrDee down: “I’m definitely not complaining about it because it was a huge hit. But what happened, whether it was my own fault or whether it was things in the back of my mind, was that it started to feel a little bit like a chore or like a little bit robotic,” he dubbed.

Success was quick for the Brighton artist, who started throwing rap battles at secondary school from the age of 13. Acknowledging that his hits meant spending a lot more time in the studio, he says: “It’s not really what I’m into music for. My craft is very close to my heart and I have a lot of passion for it. So after the release of Hello Mate, I had to take a small step back and just take some time to think about it.”

After this period of reflection, he started writing and returned to making music that meant more to him: “I wanted to make a song or songs that lived [on]. I have songs on my playlist that are 10 years old that have a message that speaks to me or reminds me of a feeling that will stay with me forever. That’s what music means to me. So I wanted to do it.”

His return to the studio led to an unexpected collaboration with British singer-songwriter Cat Burns, who has had a sensational year after her track Go, originally released in 2020, went viral and peaked at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.

He’s a big fan of Go. “She just had this authentic, still very British sounding voice, still quite unique. I didn’t want that big ballad thing, it definitely has its own unique tone. “

The new track shows a different side of the rapper, who takes inspiration from Eminem’s early work. ArrDee, whose work is usually humorous and tongue-in-cheek, opens up for the first time.

“You’re starting to see a lot of Riley nuances in the track, rather than ArrDee, which I feel as an artist or fan, you deserve to hear and know a little more about it. There isn’t a huge difference, but obviously there is a difference between real life and what I’ve been through as a person versus ArrDee, the personality, the brand, etc.

Although the rapper has been part of the UK rap scene since 2021, he has yet to release his debut album. And he doesn’t reveal too much about it. “We’re definitely working on something special that we plan to release later in the year. It’s definitely a big project that will blow the mind not only of Britain, but of everyone who’s ever heard of me,” he says.

Although he has not released an album, he has nevertheless received numerous accolades including silver, gold and platinum plaques from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for his string of successful tracks.

While the awards are great, he sees what he’s accomplished with family and friends as more important. “To be able to make my mom comfortable buying her a house and buying her favorite car and making people around me more comfortable giving my best friend a job and being with my best friend and my cameraman who i am to travel around the world. have known him for 10 years and travel the world with him. They are all like that, they are all great achievements for me.”

ArrDee first rose to prominence with his verse in body remix, which was instrumental in propelling the track to No. 1 in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

He notes that the final version of his post was a combination of several verses fused into one: “The process was – we have to capture it in the first line. So I wrote about six or seven verses, I wrote quite a lot of verses and tried different things. We tried to think of things that you can still say I’m flowing and spit out, but you just want it to be a little bit easier – so everyone can sing along.”

He said: “I went into the studio with my manager, spat out the very first one, and he said, ‘Boom, put that down’, so he went ahead and he said, ‘Nah – the rest is s* *t’, so I continued with some other verses. The verse you are hearing today is a combination of three or four different verses.”

The response to it was huge, and ArrDee’s part in particular went viral on social media, even surprising the rapper himself. The verse gained so much popularity that last month Lizzo posted a video on social media of him rapping his verse.

That didn’t surprise him, knowing the singer resonates with British popular culture: “You know what? This is going to sound crazy. I was a little less surprised than everyone just because I follow Lizzo on social media and what she does and stuff. I know she’s actually very attuned to Britain and I know she has a team over here.”

ArrDee continued the viral verse that put him on the UK music map with the singles Flowers and Oliver Twist. A close-knit team around him managed to ease the pressure for his follow-up releases.

“I mean there was pressure. But I didn’t really feel it. I have a good, tight, small team around me that I trust individually, not just as business partners but as my people, and the love is there, so we’ve held onto that. All eyes were on us. Everyone invested their 10 cents,” he says.

“But we actually had Oliver Twist as part of a six-month plan before Body, so it was just like Body was our strongest foot forward and Oliver Twist existed before Body-verse existed, so it wasn’t , oh, let’s hurry to the studio and we gotta make another cracker like we just stayed in the studio to make hits and stuff. But Oliver Twist was there, it was done.”

The Brighton rapper is hoping to carry the momentum from his earlier tracks into his new collaboration Home For The Heart with Cat Burns. And few would bet that he continues to reach new heights.

Watch the video for the new single Here.