Music
The ascent of AJ Tracey in 10 essential tracks
From the Lane to LA, follow the west Londoner’s rise with a batch of his best tracks.
Known for his instant charm and sundry approach to rap, AJ Tracey’s profile has risen rapidly over the last half-decade. Cutting his teeth on back-to-back radio sets, Tracey was for a while poised as being one of grime’s future voices.
Those years of hard graft have manifested in a career that now traverses numerous genres, however. Tracey has found his own pocket, serving up garage, grime, trap, and UK rap. His independent approach, both musically and as a brand has led him to multiple UK chart successes, breakthroughs in the realm of fashion, and a crowning sold out headline show at the iconic Alexandra Palace.
More signs of success this year are on the horizon, as his latest collaboration, Rain, with rising Manchester rapper Aitch, leapt into the Official Charts’ Top 5 last Friday. As AJ Tracey continues to build his case as one of the region’s most intriguing rappers of our time, we trace his career to date.
1. Wifey Riddim
Taking on an iconic grime concept and making it your own is by no means an easy challenge. However, on his first EP, Tracey rose to the challenge, emphasising a clear homage to Tinie Tempah’s original Wifey tune in the process. Marking the start of a now three-part series, the Ladbroke Grove native is charismatic and raw in his approach throughout.
2. Packages
Following a firmly-established buzz, Packages was met with further excitement and its raw, back-to-basics video quickly went viral online. In a nod to cult mid-noughties movie Kidulthood, Tracey incorporates a burger order with “no onions” -- adding as sense of humour to his foundations in wordplay. This skill has subsequently become a staple across his discography.
3. Spirit Bomb
Passionate, potent and effortless, Spirit Bomb arrived in August 2015, and would later take centre stage on Tracey’s sophomore Alex Moran EP. Instantly solidifying his status as a lyricist capable of marrying his aggressive cadence with an almost soothing confidence.
4. Fire In The Booth freestyle
Yet again displaying a disciplined and seasoned arsenal, AJ tackles the infamous Charlie Sloth-fronted platform with ease: switching flows and comfortably riding an array of beats. This freestyle marked AJ’s ascension into the UK rap’s upper echelons.
5. Thiago Silva (with Dave)
Who doesn’t enjoy a friendly MC head-to-head that puts penmanship to the test? Dave joins Tracey on this grime-tinged cut, managing to keep up with ease. The pair trade bars about Nike, ladies and, of course, the titular Brazillian football player. This collab, appearing in tandem with the rise of the likes of J Hus and Stormzy, put a spotlight on a new generation of rappers on the cusp of mainstream attention at the time.
6. Buster Cannon
Upping the ante, Buster Cannon rounded off Tracey’s 2016. Both psychedelic and animated, AJ is lyrically in his own league here -- with onomatopoeia and adlibs in abundance. It’s widely known that the London-based wordsmith is an anime fanatic, and the Buster Cannon video – shot in Japan – nods to this obsession, as well as signalling a new level of ambition for his visuals.
7. Butterflies (ft. Not3s)
AJ’s first Top 20 breakthrough, Butterflies marked the beginning of the road leading to his self-titled debut album. Assisted by Afropop frontman Not3s and backed by a silky, marimba-and-dembow beat from Nyge, Butterflies quickly became a 2018 summer essential.
8. Ladbroke Grove
The standout from AJ’s already-thriving first LP campaign, Ladbroke Grove felt like a concrete win for the lyricist. On a Conducta-produced garage beat sampling Jorja Smith’s Wandering Romance, the single leapt into the Official Charts’ Top 5 and to this day still stands as Tracey’s biggest hit. Here, there was no denying that AJ Tracey, the star, had arrived.
9. Kiss And Tell (with Skepta)
Throughout his career AJ Tracey has always noted Skepta as one of his biggest musical inspirations. In late 2019, the duo finally christened Tracey’s arrival into the big leagues by formally collaborating on Kiss And Tell. Loaded with classic, pirate radio-era Skepta bars -- “Go on then, go on then” -- both rappers meld perfectly, leaving listeners wondering why this partnership hadn’t happened sooner.
10. Rain (with Aitch)
Post-Reading Festival, several award wins -- including NME’s Best British Song -- and a host of other impressive feats, AJ Tracey decided to usher in 2020 by switching things up once again. Alongside Mancunian Aitch, Rain infuses Tay Keith’s classic trap touch with a distinctly UK tone and flow. It’s clear that as a scene, the UK’s rappers have moved on from the days of trying to simply imitate US sounds. Tracks such as this highlight the new levels of mutual respect reached on both sides of the Atlantic.
Now watch AJ Tracey's London team clash Leeds in Grime-A-Side:
6 min
Grime-A-Side 2016: London v Leeds
Red Bull Grime A Side: London v Leeds
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