Suburban Spotlight: Brighton

Following from our Coventry edition, Suburban Spotlight is back in full swing and this time we took our ears – virtually – to the Southern coast, more specifically to the vibrant city of Brighton. Known for it’s creative flare, this city is packed with talent from all genres that have each been making their own mark on British music as a whole. We have selected 5 new and up-coming rappers that deserve a spot on your ‘One To Watch’ radar!

Tap in below to see who we picked.

ArrDee

Although ArrDee is just 18 years of age, the Brighton newcomer has already shown huge potential and turned the heads of many up and down the nation. Influenced by a selection of credible names including Eminem, Lil Wayne, Potter Payper and Dappy, from a youthful age ArrDee took inspiration from a selection of American artists and would sit down and memorise their bars word for word. Taking his love for music up a notch, he began writing bars as an expressive release when he was around 11-12 years old and in turn dropped a few tracks, before later returning with a new and refined sound of which he is now reputable for. In March of 2019, he took to the ‘BL@CKBOX’ platform where he delivered a freestyle that to this day has accumulated over 74,000 views. More recently he made an appearance on the Mixtape Madness channel as ‘One To Watch’ with his smash ‘Cheeky Bars’ freestyle (below) that in just over a months time has garnered over 1 million views on YouTube alone. Putting his flavourable personality on a shining pedestal, his pen game and infectious flows took centre stage from start to finish as he and his friends stood in front of a scenic backdrop in Brighton. With more heat on the way, ArrDee is undoubtedly a name to look out for in the coming future!

Dred

Influenced by an assortment of artists including Nines, Dave, Potter Payper, Youngs Teflon, J Hus, Knucks, Meekz, Tupac, Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar, and Nipsey Hussle, Dred first started navigating his sound when he was around 17 years old and has since been working to refine his style. Stepping onto the scene back in 2019 with his debut single entitled “Truth Be Told”, the 22-year-old has since released a string of tracks that have proven his artistry time and time again. Although last year took many artists by surprise, the pandemic wasn’t enough to stop Dred from releasing material! Posing as his most prominent track, he graced his growing fan-base with a vulnerable and hard-hitting joint entitled “Gone”. Baring all, his captivating pen game took centre stage throughout; swiftly following through with both “Rapping Ain’t Easy” and “Shine”, the Brighton native recently kick started the new year with his latest drop named “Cold World” (below). Paired alongside a set of gritty visuals, this introspective capsule explores his past, present and future with his unapologetic approach – it’s only a matter of time until Dred gains the recognition he deserves!

D1

If you are familiar with the Rap scene in Brighton then you’ll know all about D1! Taking influence from the UK’s growing Trap-Wave genre spear headed by no than M Huncho, the budding talent also takes influence from the US hit-maker Kodak Black in order to create his own distinct sound. Although D1 only began taking music seriously just over a year ago, he has since built a reputable name for himself and in turn accumulated over 390,000 views on YouTube alone. It wasn’t until 4 years ago that the 18 year-old started rapping with his friends and made the decision to post a slew of short videos on his channel which swiftly caught the eyes of his local community. Following the release of “1000GS” last spring, his signature gruff tone and skilled pen sent many supporters going wild in the comments, “Unrated, hardest out ATM love this track such a banger”. Since then, D1 has done nothing but drop straight greaze from his most prominent offering named “Come Up”, to “Vodafone” and his more recent drop entitled “Slow Mo” (below). Labelled as ‘One To Watch’ by Mixtape Madness, this melodic yet hard-hitting single boasts not only his artistry but his potential to become a house-hold name in the coming years. With what’s looking like yet another successful year ahead for the newcomer, this isn’t the last time you’ll hear of D1!

LCR

Known for his slick auto-tuned vocals and melodic approach is 19-year-old LCR who primarily takes influence from Chicago’s wave of artists such as Polo G and Lil Durk. Exploring his love for music around the age of 15, LCR took the time out to work on his craft but it wasn’t until 2 years later after dropping out that he decided to take things to the next level. Having learned how to engineer his own tracks, the Brighton native dropped his debut offering named “Ambition” back in 2019 and it has since collected over 250,000 streams on Spotify. Last year the newcomer graced us with 3 brand new tracks; the emotive cut entitled “Heart”, the atmospheric joint “War” to his most popular track to date named “Fake Love”. Accompanied alongside a crisp set of visuals that dropped at the latter end of last year, the piano-led instrumental enabled the rising artist to gloss the production with a slew of un-blemished vocals and slick bars from beginning to end. Taking 2021 in both hands, he recently unveiled his latest single “My Darg” (below) that highlights not only his hunger to succeed but his undeniable musical ability – this is only the beginning for LCR!

Deecey

With only a handful of tracks behind him, Deecey has already made quite the impression! Taking influence from the likes of J.I. and Biggie, the Brighton native first began exploring his sound at the youthful age of 15 before before later releasing his debut single named “Criminal” at the latter end of last year. Layered over a piano-led instrumental, this track was the perfect taste of whats yet to come from the newcomer. Swiftly following through with a collaboration alongside Mally 22 on “Would You Ride”, he recently came through with the visuals for “They Fibbin'” (below) on Mixtape Madness as ‘One To Watch’. Stood alongside his friends in a hue-lit setting; he pierces through the eerie and Drill-infused production with an assertive tone and potent flow whilst weaving raw street poetics throughout – only certifying why he’s a name to look out for this coming year!

Check out the Leicester, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, Bristol, Nottingham, Cardiff, Sheffield, Liverpool and Coventry editions here.