When it comes to UK rap, there isn’t quite a figure like K-Trap. From his level-headed persona to his quick-witted bars, the artist has rapidly built a name for himself in the ever-evolving scene, becoming a leading light during the burgeoning years of UK drill. While the genre was often criticised for its hard-hitting and raw origins, the rapper stayed above the remarks and denunciation from the press and continued on his own journey. Drama, controversy and long-drawn-out Twitter threads aren’t K Trap’s forte. Instead, the rapper has artistically crafted his own lane away from the timeline, which has seen him cultivate features and relationships with some of the biggest names in UK music.

His entry onto the scene is the same as his music: forward-thinking, cut-throat and dominating. With singles such as “David Blaine” and “Paper Planes”, the artist ascended to superiority in 2016 and commanded the attention of the scene. With his signature balaclava in hand and a plethora of bars documenting his days, the rapper proudly tunnel-visioned himself and became a distinguished rapper with no bounds.

But of course, making the transition from street life to artist doesn’t come without its challenges and politics. “With wearing a mask, what people thought of me was just a bit too much. I didn’t want that kind of thing around my name,” the rapper candidly revealed. “I just wanted to be a normal human being. With the mask on and the drill sound, it was kind of negative. I wanted to make other music so let me put down the mask for a little bit. Obviously, when I was wearing the mask I had reasons for wearing it and those reasons for wearing it aren’t valid anymore so I thought why have I still got it on?”

Retiring his trademark mask with the release of his “No Magic” mixtape two years ago, K Trap introduced us to the man behind the balaclava and the results were cutting-edge. Throughout the 11-track project, K Trap carves out a new side to himself, from the gritty straight-talking “No Caller” with heavyweight Headie One to party anthem with Donae’o “Stay Safe” the rapper does it all. Lending the same ferocious energy to his debut album Street Side Effects, K Trap slickly delivers an intoxicating cocktail of earnest energy and cadence.

With back-to-back projects, the Gipsy Hill-hailed rapper has been at full speed ahead since his debut almost six years ago, so when lockdown took a firm grip of the world 18 months ago, K Trap wasn’t quite sure how to handle the sudden change, “We were coming out of lockdown then going into lockdown, I was losing the feel of music,” The rapper frankly states. “I didn’t really feel like an artist even though I dropped last year and I was dropping music, it was all a bit weird.”

Even with three mixtapes, a debut album and a selection of features that most rappers would dream of, a wave of uncertainty suddenly took hold of the “Pick ’n’ Mix” rapper during lockdown and he couldn’t help but wonder what direction his sound would venture into next. With experimentation at the root of his artistry, the rapper took it upon himself to go back to basics with his new project – honing in on the same enthralling nihilistic productions and cheeky braggadocio that saw him propel to fame.

The result? A cohesive 16-track mixtape that not only highlights his growth as a rapper but hones in on his originality. Calling on the likes of DoRoad, Youngs Teflon, Lotto Ash and PR SAD, K Trap swiftly and effortlessly serves up a selection of punchy flows with concise deliveries, teaming it with equally as eerie backdrop. Inviting us to a more introspective space for “Addiction” and “Intentions”, once again the rapper arguably breaks down more sides to his persona, further exploring his once-gritty lifestyle, and it doesn’t stop there.

While this project is less than two months old, K Trap reveals that a joint project with friend and fellow artist Blade Brown is on the way and he assures us nothing is off-limits. Steadily cooking up in the studio, K Trap catches up with me virtually breaking down his growth over the years, finding his sound and why this project feels like the most natural yet.

Check out the interview below…

How are you doing? Are you in the studio?
Yeah, I’m in the studio

Is this new stuff you’re working on or is your project not finished yet?
No, it’s finished but we’re just listening to some music and just chilling.

How has the past year been for you?
I’ve just been working on myself and trying to get things done. I feel like I’ve gone back to basics and just working on my stuff.

With everything that’s happened in the last year was your creativity affected? Or your work rate or how you approach music?
Yeah, it kind of made me lose the feel a bit, because everything was up and down, we didn’t know what we were doing. We were coming out of lockdown then going into lockdown, I was losing the feel of music and I didn’t really feel like an artist even though I dropped last year and I was dropping music, it was all a bit weird.

How did you get back into the feel of music again?
This year I made a promise to myself that regardless of what’s going on with COVID, not even COVID just regardless, you’ve just got to get to work man. You can’t really dwell on nothing, whatever will be is going to be so you’ve got to go hard with the situations that pop up.

Like you said, this year was about going back to basics, what made you first start doing music?
I’ve always liked music, I’ve always done music from when I was a kid but I didn’t really take it seriously and I didn’t really like the stuff that came with it. I wouldn’t say I didn’t like it but I didn’t really care about it. I got to a point where I felt like the people needed to hear me, I needed to pop up. Some of the people that came before me, and my friends that were doing music were successful and that motivated me.

You first caught my attention in 2017, when you did “David Blaine”. How would you describe your growth from then to now?
It’s been crazy, it’s been mad, we’ve just been leveling up every time. The times when I did ‘David Blaine’, those were the best times for me personally. We’ve definitely been growing since then.

Your sound definitely evolved along the journey. You were very much into drill at one point and then got into trap. What made you go into different genres?
I think it was my lifestyle and what different stuff I was going through in life. When I was making David Blaine, I was a lot younger and it was just a bit different. My life just changed around.

When you first came onto the scene you were wearing a mask and a balaclava but then you stopped and took it off and said, I can’t do this anymore, did you feel a pressure to do that or was it something you had wanted to do for a while?
I always wanted to do it. Even though people loved it, it just wasn’t my character. I just felt like it was getting a bit annoying. With wearing a mask, what people thought of me was just a bit too much. I didn’t want that kind of thing around my name, I just wanted to be a normal human being. With the mask on and the drill, it was kind of negative. I wanted to make other music so let me put down the mask for a little bit. Obviously when I was wearing the mask I had reasons for wearing it and those reasons for wearing it aren’t valid anymore so I thought why have I still got it on?

Do you feel like you’re more you without the mask than you were before?
No, because now I feel more me when I’ve got the mask on, when I’m not, I’m getting there. It’s a process I think.

Last year you dropped sixteen tracks, which is a lot of songs for Street Side Effects. You dropped it during lockdown, was it made during lockdown or was it made before everything happened?
During lockdown. Lockdown kind of made the project. The project was sounding way different before. Lockdown forced me to calm down the mood that I was in and just reflect on my music so I made it during lockdown basically yeah.

Making it during lockdown did you face any challenges? Did you feel like it was harder to make it or easy if anything?
Yeah I think we all face challenges. It was harder, there were times that I felt like I didn’t want to make music and times where I wasn’t in the mood but you’ve still got to make it happen. Everyone went through some kind of challenge

Comparing this to your latest project, obviously it’s only been a year in between, what would you say has been the big difference between the two?
I feel like Street Side Effects album was more conscious and I wouldn’t say more thoughtful because this one was but it wasn’t a different side of me and I feel like this is more familiar to “Trapo”.

You say this one is going back to your old sound and how you first started, do you feel like over the years you’ve lost your sound in a sense?
No I loved it. People must’ve thought I’d lost it but I didn’t it, I just wanted to make different music for a little bit. I’m just proving a point to the supporters that doubted me and thought I did lose it that I’m still here and it didn’t go anywhere
.
Do you prefer doing this type of music?
This music is easy, it comes, it’s what I know. At the same time, I like to explore different stuff and do other music because at the same time like with drill music, I don’t listen to drill music 24/7 so I get inspiration from other artists and music. I just like making music.

Did you feel a pressure to go back to this or was it more like this is what I want to do for my own reasons, not for anybody else?
I wouldn’t say pressure but I did want to prove a point a little bit. It’s also refreshing too because I feel like as much as I make different music too, I didn’t lose it but I felt like I was getting a bit out of touch.

From listening to it, it definitely sounds more like you when I discovered you as to what it was a year ago. Obviously, you worked with Lotta Ash etc on the album as well. I’m surprised there’s not more features. What made you collaborate with Lotta Ash and Tefla on this one?
I just feel like for me personally, I wouldn’t say they [features] don’t benefit me but I feel like my support is a bit different. I feel like they just like me on a tune and the organic relationships because obviously I did a project the year before with loads of features and it didn’t really gravitate to all the supported songs and it made me think, let me just do this naturally, organically, I just want to get busy.

This one as well includes sixteen tracks, there’s a lot of songs on there, which one means the most to you and why?
For me it’s the most conscious song, the song that I’m being the other side of me. There’s a song called “Intentions”, that means the most to me because I’m speaking on things that I don’t usually speak on, but all of them play a part. They’ve all got their different meanings and how I feel about them.

Your mindset going into creating this project, what spurred on this interest in making it?
Literally, there wasn’t a mindset in a sense, it was just getting in the studio and making music. I haven’t been going in thinking I want make this song, I want to do this, I want to do that, I just got a good relationship with the producers and engineers and we’ve just been working hard. And it feels like enough is enough, we go through the songs and we wrap it up.

You separated from the label side of it to do your own thing now, is this a new chapter for you?
Yes definitely, like I said, I’m working on me now. I realised a few things, I’ve seen how things need to go and things have been going and yeah I’m working on myself.

Like you said earlier, you don’t even listen to that much drill and trap music so what do you listen to?
I listen to everything: drill trap, whatever song is in my playlist. I’ll flick from a drill song to a flipping slow song or an R&B song, a hip hop song, a reggae song it just depends. I take in everything to be fair, it depends on my mood.

What do you think is the biggest misconception about you?
I feel like my supporters kind of understand me, they don’t really get stuff too wrong about me. I don’t know, I feel like everyone’s been kinda calm. Anyone who thinks I care about the internet and timeline stuff are wrong. But I feel like people already know that.

I wouldn’t have thought you did, you don’t seem like the type of person who would. For someone like you who is up high in the drill and trap scene, who is the one that you’re looking to and are most excited for?
DoRoad, he’s on the tape, he’s up there. PRSAD, he’s on the tape too you should definitely look out for him, I’m excited for him. That’s it really, I don’t know a lot of names but I click on a lot of things, there’s loads of talent, names I don’t know right now.

Going back to the album you wanted to stay away from the marketing field of everything, like doing the big pushes and everything – why is that?
I just don’t feel like that works for me. I feel like just doing me, works for me, anything too industry anything label-y, anything too ‘following the rules’ is just not me.
I think you’ve been down that road and realised this isn’t what I want to do.

How far do you want to go with this? You’ve been in the industry since 2016, it’s 2021, where do you see yourself going? What’s next for you?
I’m just taking it as it comes man. There are definitely more places to go and levels to climb up to, but I’m easy man. I’ve got to keep my supporters happy and keep levelling up, so whatever the music takes me, I’m happy to go.