As a student at Oxford University, Romford rapper YT was more locked into the depths of internet music than 8 a.m. lectures. Like most rappers, his first forays into SoundCloud were uneven pastiches: deadpan raps with the nonchalant exuberance of early MadeinTYO, attempts to mirror the melodrama of Slayworld, and glimpses of absurdity that set the stage for his current work. In 2021, his plugg-driven “Arc’teryx” even became a minor hit on TikTok. But according to YT, it didn’t truly click until he heard Xaviersobased’s jerk-infused 2022 song “patchmade” and discovered a new playground of bungee-jumping melodic riffs. #STILLSWAGGIN, compiled during YT’s final year of university in 2023, blended the playful energy of new wave bounce with 2010s nostalgia and laced it with politically incorrect punchlines that usually wouldn’t leave the group chat. His new album, OI!, builds on the jerk sound with compact flows that stutter like a skipping record yet glide like a figure skater. The only misstep is when YT focuses too much on the thrill of success rather than the charm of his idiosyncrasies.
What initially drew me into YT’s music was its hyperspecific UK perspective, wrapped in a distinctly Zoomer brand of humor. There was so much joy in hearing him scrap the mayor’s London Plan and sketch out his own version on #STILLSWAGGIN. On “#PURRR,” he traversed the country completing missions to meet up with girls (“Got a girl that live in Chelsea, said her daddy is an earl/Got an Oxford girl at Jesus, so I’m linkin’ her on Turl”). OI! still has flashes of that regional wit, like when he blurts out, “With a posh girl, think her parents voted Brexit” on “Put Your Hands Up,” but they’re less frequent. Now they’re getting replaced with rudimentary lines like “Mixed girl, black and white like panda” and some of that hyperlocal appeal is diluted.
Fortunately these beats are fun as hell. YT’s motley crew of producers take turns expanding on the nuances of jerk with instrumentals that hit like relentless 1-2 punches. Minor oddities—bubble bursts, clap pattern switch-ups, glossy synth pads—take each track a little off-kilter in the best way. The tension Kare creates between the sturdy 808s and the superhero power-up synth on standout “Missed Your Call I’m on a Flight Right Now” is the perfect alley-oop for YT to break the fourth wall at the end of his verse (“And the hook’s coming back right now, so get up, get up”). A sample of Swedish House Mafia’s “One” on “Put Your Hands Up” supercharges the chanted hook to stadium proportions. Stringing it all together is the trademark “Oi!” ad-lib, a rallying cry with a long history in the UK punk scene; to signify his own work belongs in the same pantheon, YT juxtaposes it with annoying streamer voiceovers.
YT himself is also having more fun, changing up the pace of his flows like a decathlete. On summer 2024 single (and throwback Funky Metro video) “Black & Tan,” East London heavyweight Lancey Foux joins in to unleash a barrage of one-liners, stacking them up until it feels like the seams of Ambezza’s seismic beat will break. YT’s signature stammer reaches new heights when he phonetically spells out Montreal design studio JJJJound with a suaveness that shouldn’t be possible. On “Diamonds,” fellow rising UK rapper Fimiguerrero’s earworm hook sends his syllables pinging through a pinball machine—but the duo don’t provide any of the quotables that seal YT’s best songs.
The goofy sitcom-like humor that characterized #STILLSWAGGIN isn’t as consistent this go around. The songs are good, sometimes great, but they lack the “What the hell did he just say?” moments that’d leave you chuckling and reaching to share with a friend. YT used to introduce each new foreign girlfriend with an original identifier (“Shawty came from Madagascar and she like to move”). But now he’s just focused on filling up the Rolodex (and the closet) with as many nationalities as possible: “Got this girl, she French and Spanish, like Balenci.” That little extra detail is what separated YT from the other rappers remaking jerk in their own image—a source of personality that gave the music extra oomph. OI! still has the requisite energy, but without those left-field moments, it loses just a bit of what distinguished him in the first place.
