“I put every element of me as an artist into this.”
The increasing success of drill music in the UK has raised some questions for Unknown T, an early adopter of the sound imported from Chicago’s South Side. “At the start it was like Bitcoin,” he tells Apple Music. “But around the time it started to explode, from 2016 to ’18, everyone was jumping on it. And me? A person that loves music, but also thinks like a businessman, I’m thinking to myself, ‘How can I adapt my product?’” On Adolescence, features including M1llionz, Potter Payper and M Huncho ensure a rhyme-heavy affair, but carefully selected moments allow the Hackney MC to explore growth. “GLEE” serves a warm, oxymoronic jam; “Tugman Vacation” employs a sweet sample-flip of Tyrese’s 1998 R&B hit “Sweet Lady”; and “Sweet Lies” offers a soulful guitar ballad. “As a child, I grew with positivity and light, and built up a passion for music,” he says. “But then you go through real shit. And faced with many different emotions as I was growing up, I just wanted to rap it out. It’s still the same, but I’m going back to the origin.” Here, Unknown T guides you across his second mixtape track by track.
“22 double 0”
“This one is a reminder of my flows, style and technique. Something to get the blood pumping for the fans that have been with me from the beginning—and haven't heard this sound in a little while.”
“Driller sh!t”
“Recording this track with [UK producer] AXL Beats was probably the most interesting session I had. When I was in jail, I missed out on the main part of Pop Smoke’s career; from ‘Welcome to the Party’ to his death—that year was my jail time. Everyone compared me to him, with my voice and style, but the only person that really knew him over here was AXL. So that whole day was dedicated to Pop. We spoke about his legacy, but also how we can continue to revolutionise drill in the UK and the US. So you’ll notice my flow here reflects [Chicago rapper] G Herbo’s, but I’m representing in my way.”
“Trenches” (feat. Potter Payper)
“This is the UK streets, the trenches, you know? This is that sound we’ve been missing for a while, that authentic rap sound.”
“WW2”
“My fans on Twitter were screaming at the fact that I wasn’t nominated for some awards in 2020. It left me feeling like I had something to prove, but I kept quiet for the rest of the year—and when I came back with this [in January 2021], it left everyone gobsmacked. The flows, bars and just the overall conviction—I put every element of me as an artist into this.”
“EAST”
“This one is for my side of London. In this game, everyone represents where they’re from, and I wanted to bring attention back to the East, and keep the energy up.”
“VIN DIESEL” (feat. M1llionz)
“I wanna big up [UK producer] Ghosty for this. We were discussing how to introduce new sounds to drill, and he pitched Turkish vocals. And we listened to some together; they’re really good singers. The sample through the beat is from one of those Turkish songs. I like to paint pictures, so with the energy of the beat, it gave me the feeling of the [movie franchise] Fast & Furious.”
“Sweet Lies”
“I would always say how it’s too early in the journey to show this side of me as an artist. But my guys would ask, ‘When is too early, or too late?’ They helped me realise that the only time you have is what you make of it.”
“Tugman Vacation”
“This life is a journey, and the way it’s panned out with my music, it’s a story that I reflect back on it like, ‘Wow.’ Somehow it all ended up making sense.”
“Goodums”
“This track was inspired by 2pac’s [1996 song] ‘Me and My Girlfriend’. All the imagery and lyrics about his girl were a metaphor, and I’ve put my spin on that here.”
“Grandma Prayer”
“I thought it would be nice to have my grandma say the Holy Commandment, to better understand my growth spiritually, and also lead into the next song.”
“Bible Love”
“As a Christian, I’ve never really spoken about my faith, but now I’m growing as an artist and a man, I wanna try and touch on some real shit.”
“No Forgiveness” (feat. Nafe Smallz)
“This is the perfect drill-meets-rap wave; it gives a UK version to that Gunna and Lil Baby vibe. Nafe and I have our elements on lock, so when we get together it’s smooth like a relay.”
“Wonderland” (feat. M Huncho)
“My first track with M Huncho was ‘Addicts’ on [2020 mixtape] Rise Above Hate, a much darker track. So I have to give him the credit here, he suggested a more uplifting, triumphant vibe—or we’d just be doing ‘Addicts’ again. He was right.”
“Louis Bloom”
“Louis Bloom is the head of Island Records. I met him when I came home [from prison in February 2020] and he listened to my vision. This is a way for me to talk shit; I’m making noise on the man’s label, so why not?”
“GLEE” (feat. Digga D)
“On this track we wanted to make something for everyone—men, women, kids, parents—but still make it certy. With the structure and melodies, it’s just perfect. It was leaked onto TikTok a few weeks ago and the reaction was crazy. I know how much they’re waiting for this.”