East London rapper Dutchavelli is here to help establish the next superstar rap family. The brother of Stefflon Don, Dutchavelli is putting his own spin on drill - and he's already dropped two of 2020's biggest UK rap singles.
He started out with simple intentions, saying, “At first when I was rapping it was never really to be a global superstar. Even though I was infatuated with the idea, I thought, a kid where I’m from, that doesn’t happen. It was just to be the best out of my friends.”
After all, being born in Birmingham, but raised in the Netherlands, Dutch took a crash course in hip-hop and rap - and came out the other side wanting to be like Tupac and Eminem, watching US rap battles, and the UK's Lord Of The Mics series.
It was only in 2017 that Dutch began to release music, despite having honed his craft for years. Releasing his debut music video, New Jack City, saw Dutch quickly gain new fans - but he'd soon disappear, ready to emerge a superstar in 2020.
Starting the year off with a bang, Dutch's first track upon his return, Only If You Knew, talks about Dutch's colourful life. It's a track that you'll want to play at a party - but you can also sit down and just digest it.
That's the duality of Dutch's music - he freestyles his lyrics, but his years spent studying the greats means he's always got a killer punchline or two up his sleeve.
With expectations high based off Only If You Know, Dutch's next release had to land even harder - and it did. Surely was his next cut, and it touched on his friendships, as well as an ex that needed to stop hitting him up - Dutch doesn't need any distractions on the path he's on.
People are already taking notice of what Dutch is doing too. One of music's biggest stars, Drake, is a big fan - taking to Instagram to share multiple clips of Dutchavelli, opening him up to a whole new audience. Given Drake's interest in the UK rap scene, it's not too farfetched to hope for a collaboration at some point.
When he's not in the booth, Dutch is making moves elsewhere. He's developing his label, 2Up2Down, into a place that young acts can shine, as well as supporting school kids across south London (such as handing out free chicken and chips). Dutch wants to put UK rap on his back, and there's every indication that he's going to be one of the most recognisable faces in the scene in no time at all.
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It's safe to say that Dutchavelli is on the path to superstardom, and he's not going to let anything stop him. Keep an eye on what Dutch does in 2020 and beyond - with an unmistakeable voice, and seemingly never-ending bars, Dutch is next up.
