Scorcher builds on his legacy with new project, ‘The Drama’

No mistakes can be made about Scorcher’s long-lasting and deep-running influence in the UK scene. For over 15 years now, the North London rapper has spanned eras of grime, drill and everything in between, constantly reinventing the sound of his music to maintain his potency in an ever shifting playing field. His latest offering, ‘The Drama’, is a project that highlights this Swiss Army knife approach from the former Movement man. Scorcher is able to test and apply himself across a selection of genres and subject matters successfully, showing that he can span multiple generations and proving that he is still relevant going in to 2022.

The project opens with a statement of intent from the rapper ‘Drama Intro’. Across a melodic chord progression on guitar and a thumping, warped drill baseline, Scorcher delivers a ferocious barrage of flows and bars, culminating in the final line, ‘I came back firing, I been in the mountains’. As one of the members of the legendary former UK collective, The Movement, I think it would be fair to say that Scorcher, while maintaining an overall influence over the UK scene, hasn’t enjoyed the same mainstream success as some of his former group mates. However, over the last 18 months no one can question this man’s work rate, delivering exceptional performances on his Daily Duppy and Mad About Bars respectively.

The first three tracks of this project show the listener a sign of what’s to come for the rest of the album. Scorch moves effortlessly between different styles, switching from the powerful opening track to his grime roots on ‘Jurgen’, a collaboration with D Double E. This song uses a rework of the instrumental from Dr Dre’s ‘Still D.R.E’ as the backdrop for this energetic track, with both artists supplying stellar performances on the mic and creating one of the highlights of the tape. This is followed by the jumpy ‘Ops’, with Tion Wayne, as the two rappers exchange flows brilliantly while Scorcher ties the track together with a catchy chorus. These three songs set the tone for the rest of the tape, as Scorcher manages to switch up his style across the whole album to accommodate featured artists and create a selection of songs that demonstrate his versatility.

The inclusion of artists such as Moelogo, Ay Em, and Akelle further allow for a diverse range of sounds to be explored on the project. With these artists supplying hooks and verses on their respective songs, it allows Scorcher to diversify his subject matter, moving away from stories of the roads to tracks concerned with the rapper’s love interests. ‘Recall’, the track with WSTRN’s Akelle, is a highlight of the project, while ‘Cookies’ with Ay Em uses the same sample as Millionz’s track, ‘Provisional License’, as the backdrop of the beat. Elsewhere, Armor helps Scorcher light up the football themed offering, ‘ACG’, while Tizzy provides some melody on ‘Zaytoven’. The choice of features across the album complement the main man, and allow him to express multiple subject matters whilst maintaining a fresh sound.

‘The Drama’ therefore delivers as a project that cements Scorcher’s status. The North London man has been savvy with his feature list, whilst also spanning a wide array of genres that demonstrate his long lasting influence on the UK Rap game. Scorch can often be seen as an underrated member of the group that he came up alongside with, but this album is an indication that the rapper is here to stay. With over 15 years in the game under his belt already, Scorcher is showing no signs of letting up, and it will be no surprise to see him play a key role in shaping the scene going forward.