“I didn’t expect the love would be this much, early on. I thought I’d do a lot more grinding – I still need to,” says Pozer over a Zoom call with NME, wearing a slate-grey Nike Tech fleece tracksuit. “The whole thing’s surreal. I don’t even go to the clubs, I don’t party. I’m socially selective, not antisocial.” So, how did this introverted 21-year-old from Croydon – who would rather spend his evenings learning about Black history than attend club nights in Shoreditch – infiltrate TikTok, the charts, and afterparties across the capital?
Well, Pozer happens to at the forefront of a UK Jersey drill wave that’s spreading online. This transatlantic sub-genre can be rooted from UK drill, which in turn was derived from the likes of Chief Keef, Lil Reese and Young Chop of the Chicago drill scene. By the late 2010s, a beguiling dance-rap phenomenon – first inspired by 1990s New Jersey club culture – took the world by storm; Lil Uzi Vert’s Platinum-selling hit ‘Just Wanna Rock’ helped push it further into the mainstream in 2022.
Pozer’s dance sound is on the more chilled end of the spectrum, the yin to the yang of America’s current high-octane club rap craze. His debut single ‘Kitchen Stove’ smoulders with a blue heat as it melds four-to-the-floor drum patterns, glowing synths and bed squeaks. Follow-up ‘Malicious Intentions’ turns the drama up a notch, as Pozer looks back at his past, battling with his conscience before going tunnel vision on his ambitions over a floor-shaking bassline. Recently, he became the first UK rapper in history to have their two debut singles chart in Top 40.
All metrics aside, his music offers a staggering, vivid depiction of an adolescence spent in Croydon, a city within a city where Pozer grew up playing pounds in school hallways, while also dealing with father who was in and out of prison. Earlier this year, his focus and hard work paid off when Pozer signed his management contract while on shift at a decorator’s shop.
“It was like a new chapter of my life, signing that contract,” he candidly tells us. “I didn’t even know how to use TikTok [to tease music] before ‘Kitchen Stove’, but you see things in a different way, you become a supplier instead of a consumer.” His slightly guarded demeanour warms up as we talk about his musical journey, from how he quietened the “drill is dying” naysayers to positioning himself as a unique contender for UK’s next rap star with a few bold moves.
You’ve released a total of four songs so far. Are you intentionally leaning on quality over quantity with your musical output?
“I don’t like putting out rubbish, that’s just me still – less is more you know? I don’t wanna talk too much about projects right now because it’s not concrete but it’s in the talks. [With this project], I want to show the people I can rap, so every single song needs to be heavy hitters, no skips.”
There’s an upper echelon of UK rappers – like Digga D and Central Cee – who did a Next Up? freestyle before gaining more international success. Did going on Mixtape Madness feel like ‘that moment’ for you?
“Mixtape Madness has been around for a long time so I have been watching their videos since I was a teen. That’s culture. So yeah, it was a befitting moment when I was finally on the Next Up?. It’s a lot colder [near the water] than I thought it would be though.”
JS x YD introduced you for your Next Up? freestyle. What does your friendship with them mean to you?
“Working on the track with YS and JD was a full-circle moment. They’re both [from Croydon] and I was checking out them from the start since they dropped ‘Drunk and Confused Freestyle’, that was the driving effect, seeing them get to one million views and go to these label meetings.
“I’m seeing [JS x YD’s] success happen in front of me, not on the internet or in some qway ends. I’ve been writing bars together since I was young but never took the music ting seriously until last year. The music industry seems to be set on who knows who but seeing them go through it with no handouts and achieve something from nothing was inspiring.
“With the remix, it was what needed to happen, when a song blows, gotta do a lil remix treatment.”
“I’m a rapper’s rapper”
What made you want to fuse UK drill with Jersey club?
“I was paying attention when the New York drill scene was coming up. There’s a batch near Harlem called The Sweepers – and they do this Jersey-style drill, full-on – so I’m bumping their tunes, taking in how energetic the songs are. But I’m also taking in how atmospheric Jersey club can be, deeping how jumpy the drum patterns are.
“I’m feeling the Jersey-style beats but thought, ‘Hah I can’t do the full on American style – the screaming – because that’s not me.’ If I do my ting in the typical UK drill sense, it’s not going to be widely acceptable and it’ll be oversaturated. I thought I could merge the Jersey club wave with my UK heritage and see what happens.
“With my beats, I met [producer] RA [‘Malicious Intentions’] through my manager. I dug through a lot of these beats and his beats stuck out to me the most. Young Madz [‘Kitchen Stove’] is a magician too, I tell him what I want, we run through drums, pick which ones we like the most and he makes the magic happen.”
Are there any other types of experimental beats you’ve rapped on?
“I’m a rapper’s rapper. I did it boom-bap style but it goes over people’s heads. I got a song where I remixed Luther Vandross’ ‘Never Too Much’ too.”
Who’s on your Mount Rushmore of UK rap?
“Skepta, JME, D Double E, Ghetts.
“My favourite is JME but I rate the whole of BBK. [JME] really set the lane, he would rap about nerdy shit but you could tell he grew up in ends. When I was young, me and my uncle would watch Channel U and that’s where it came from – the sets on the rooftops, Crazy Titch’s flows, bare man squashed in a basement spitting – that’s the essence. It set the tone for me to be in the position with the advancements and with the internet, they’ve already paved the road for me to run.”
Have you done any live shows?
“I’ve done one or two little open mics before Kitchen Stove. It was good, I got a lot of love. It’s nerve-wracking when you first start but that’s why I needed to push through and just do it – you can’t get too comfortable in your comfort zone in situations like that and I learned there’s many levels to performing, engaging with the crowd and breath control.
“Me, personally, I’ve never been gone to shows really but allow going to a show as a fan and I’m having to sing your songs to your face when I can do that at home for free? I want people to make me stay on the stage. I want them to experience something and think, ‘Rah my man performed, the show was banging, the tunes were lit’.”