Unknown T’s two mixtapes (2020’s ‘Rise Above Hate‘ and 2021’s ‘Adolescence‘) hinted at an artistry broader than the drill sound he’d been a master of since his 2018 debut single ‘Homerton B‘. His long-awaited debut album ‘Blood Diamond‘ sees him show the fullness of his range. Across the 17 tracks, Unknown T, real name Daniel Richie Lena, proves himself to be more forward-facing than his peers, whilst still maintaining his standing as one of the most technically gifted drillers in the game.
Unknown T has always been identifiable by his patented flow – a flow almost too graceful for the badness brimming in his lyrics – as well as his iconic adlibs and the smooth, deep rumble of his tone. By the third track on ‘Blood Diamond’, the Odumodublvck-assisted ‘Welcome To My Strip’; Lena’s mission of expansion is underway; finding common ground between an East London driller and a West African rap star shouldn’t be as seamless as it is on this track. The following number ‘Hocus Pocus’ is a straight-up hip hop head-to-head featuring a confrontational and braggadocious Loyle Carner serving up an early doors contender for verse of the year. In that same rap bracket, Unknown and fellow drill prodigy Digga D take on the all-time UK rap classic ‘Pain Is Da Essence’. Whilst the interplay is on the right side of satisfactory, their revamped version ‘Adolescence’ falls short of the near-impossible task of matching the presence and persona of Giggs and Dubz.
‘Blood Diamond’s’ highlights come through in the elevated, luxurious sounds of ‘Bon Appetit’, ‘Right Hand’ and ‘Like SZA’. Please, someone give Emil a knighthood for the ‘Bon Appetit’ instrumental. In a previous era, its gorgeous, harmonising saxophone riffs and the sporadic character of the drums would have spawned countless freestyles from other rappers. T laces the beat with an enviable confidence, “this time last year I felt slept on but now I feel like the man” he slurs, somehow retaining his crystal clear clarity. This “elegant drill” as he puts it, is the perfect sound to house his unique sonics and style.
Unknown T reminds us that he still does drill better than the established and the new on cuts like ‘Wisdom & Smoke’, ‘Still In The Mud’ and album opener, ‘2023’. It’s in the way he throws emphasis on the wrong words – his ash-dry, menacing tone and the clarity of the vignettes he paints positioning him comfortably near UK drill’s summit. Given the reality of the drill dominance subsiding, Unknown T’s urge to evolve will future-proof him from the high turnover of trends. As for now, ‘Blood Diamond’ proves that he excels at a host of different sounds within the UK rap umbrella and that he can’t be replicated or replaced.
8/10
Words: Dwayne Wilks
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