Spotlight: ArrDee Talks Spirituality, Writing Process & New EP
“NO ONE UNDERSTANDS GREATNESS — until it’s already happened … [until] it’s a bandwagon that they’re able to jump on,” Brighton-born-and-raised rapper and self-proclaimed “attention-seeker”ArrDee says. You may recognize him from his dynamic remix of Tion Wayne’s “Body,” which exploded on TikTok and saw the young drill rapper launched into the spotlight.
“I can’t stop [working] — there’s so many people that are trying to be in my position or a further position and it’s a very big race with a lot of contenders, so that’s motivational in that I can’t stop working,” ArrDee describes. “I wouldn’t ever box myself in — not even as a drill rapper, [but] I’d say rap in general; I’m an artist, and I’ll continue to prove I can rap time and time again.”
Since the drop of “Body,” ArrDee has had a string of successful singles, collaborated with fellow UK rapper Aitch, and is finally releasing his debut EP, Pier Pressure, out now. The Luna Collective had the privilege of attending a virtual press conference hosted by 1824 of Universal Music Group, where ArrDee answered questions on everything from his upcoming EP to his spirituality and love of performing.
“I wouldn’t say coming from the UK is a setback,” ArrDee notes. “It’s what makes me unique as a rapper, and I’ve always said from quite early that — it’s a weird way to say it — but I’m quite digestibility British. For what somebody from outside of the UK would think of a British person — like tea, crumpets, Harry Potter [and] all of that — it’s actually quite me, and I kind of fill the stereotype. If anything, it’s more of an advantage than a disadvantage.”
Reaching huge numbers on TikTok, ArrDee’s remix had a lasting effect on the artist. “The ‘Body’ remix touched basically everyone on the planet and everyone was rocking with it for a long time and that obviously put me in quite a big limelight … It’s done a lot of things for a lot of people.”
Though ArrDee tries to focus on the creative aspect of making music, the song’s variability is something that also weighs on the rapper’s mind during his process. “I’d love to say it isn’t [on my mind], and it wasn’t at first — obviously now as I’m developing as an artist, I’m quite heavily involved in the business side of things of my music,” he says. “Obviously music is more than just a number or something going viral — there’s passion and magic and all sorts that music does to people beyond the realm of just the internet and breaking out viral, [but] I also have to consider the fact that certain songs at least need to pop off and go viral for me to stay in people’s heads.”
Outside of his own passion and drive, ArrDee cites the likes of Eminem and Lil Wayne as some of his biggest inspirations: “Eminem was the first rapper that I listened to and the rapper I listened to the most growing up,” he explains. “He was different and rapped about a lot of things I could relate to. [Lil Wayne’s] body of work and his projects were just different, and the way he executed bars were different. He did a song called ‘10,000 bars.’ I think it was half an hour long and it was basically the rest of any written down bars he’d ever written, and you can hear him tearing the pages. It was just mad raw, and that was the last time he’d ever spat written lyrics; from there he just went into the studio and done whatever he doe — that magic behind the mic off the top of his head — and I remember trying to memorize the whole half an hour … it was like a set almost. He was one of the first rap artists I fell in love with and [I] really appreciated his passion for rap.”
Surprisingly, ArrDee also shares that rock music has had a significant impact on his work as well. “Rock music is what I grew up on — Kings of Leon, AC/DC, Guns and Roses, Bon Jovi,” he says. “That’s why you can hear a lot of guitar — 99% of my songs have a lot of guitar in them and before I started rapping, I actually took guitar lessons myself; it’s something I wanna pick back up so I can input it into my own music.”
ArrDee’s other big inspiration? “Jack Black,” he says. “I was a massive fan of Tenacious D when I was younger — his presence in videos, TV, films, and just him as a person … he has this massive personality that everybody could feel behind the screen, and you felt like you [knew] him, and … just having that big personality that shone through isn’t easy to do.”
The young rapper makes it clear he certainly isn’t afraid of hard work either. “I think that’s a misconception — that I’ve just kind of ‘got here’ … out of nowhere, but in reality there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work,” ArrDee explains. “As much as I’m always smiling, there's a lot of hard work and planning and stress and me beefing [with] half my team when really I’m the one in the wrong, because things aren’t going the way they’re supposed to. But there’s a lot that goes on. Keeping that hunger of wanting more and more, not getting complacent or being happy in the position I’m in. I always want more like I said in ‘Oliver Twist’ — that was the whole concept of that song, [that] I’ll always be pushing for more; I don’t have the ability to stop.”
ArrDee’s new mixtape, Pier Pressure, is “a lot more personal” than the rapper’s other work. “It’s got a few jumpy, party, litty — whatever you want to call them — songs on there, [but] it unveils a lot more layers to me, not only as an artist but as a person,” he says. “Things I’ve been through and how my mind works. The tape introduces me as a person.”
Looking to connect more with fans, ArrDee explains how this project is different from what he’s previously created. “The UK fans love that real rap, [and] there’s a lot of that real rap of this project, some proper lyricism; I wanted to be a bit more personal with my fanbase,” he describes. “Obviously true supporters and proper followers and real fans know a lot about me, because I try and be as completely transparent as possible. But in terms of the wider audience, I just wanted them to get to know me a little bit more, which is why I didn’t go for every song being party and jumpy. This tape says, ‘This is me, I’m here, and I’m here to stay.’”
The first single off the mixtape, “Come and Go,” has already been released. “I wrote and recorded [‘Come and Go’] around the time we’d gone past ‘Body’; I’d blown massively, and I had a lot of people that didn’t want to know me,” ArrDee explains. “A lot of different people were coming and going — everyone wants to come party with me but nobody really wants to sit down and go through all the hard work and the business side of things and relationships. There’s been a lot of coming and going throughout my life and obviously it’s all character development, but it was something I needed to get off my chest and vent, and I think it’s one of my first venting tracks that I’ve put out there so … [I’m] definitely happy that this one’s finally out.”
In the studio, ArrDee’s experience making Pier Pressure saw him spending lots of time with the little details. “Once I’m vibing and I’m in the studio, I have to make sure the vibe is right — not just with me, but with everyone in the room — so unless I’m writing from home and I’ve already recorded it and I know the lyrics are certified and that the song is a smash, then I’ll just be bouncing off bars out loud, almost freestyling a bit, but rapping certain bits to people and gauging their kind of reaction,” he says. “If their reaction isn’t that solid then I won’t write that one down, for example [with] ‘Flowers,’ the first line of that was something … I was just walking around the studio — I can’t sit still in there either; you’ll see in interviews and just in general — so I’m always pacing around the studio doing circles and walking, but I rapped the first lines to my manager, ‘I don’t give girl flowers, I give you good wood though,’ and he laughed, and that’s kind of how I write in terms of drill songs … because they have to be vibey and jumpy, and it’s the same thing when [recording] it as well.”
But this isn’t the only thing that makes ArrDee stand out from other artists. “I think the difference between me and other rappers is that I have quite a different tone,” he says. “And it’s because I’m smiling as much as I can whilst rapping, ’cause I feel like putting that into the song. When you’re listening back you can hear it and feel it when someone’s happy and smiling — it gives it that vibe; that little bit of magic or sauce that I put into my songs.”
ArrDee even takes time during the interview to show his black sapphire ring and earring, sharing his love of manifestation and crystals, which he inherited from his mother. “I still don’t understand it entirely now, as much as I’m always trying to,” he begins. “It was the very first lockdown where obviously I was spending a lot of time with my mum that I took more of an understanding to it. Some people have religion and believing in God, and having faith is what keeps them going, because there is a greater cause and that’s each to their own. This is my one: my stones and my mum doing her rituals and everything … making sure I’m protected and grounded — I think it’s just calming for me, especially in an industry that’s so fast-paced and so cutthroat that you could be it today and gone tomorrow. I have a very very close relationship with my mum.”
When performing live, ArrDee explains that he’s always trying to liven up the mood. “I’m quite fun and energetic — it’s all party and it’s all lit and good vibes,” he says. “I don’t get anxiety … Okay that’s a lie — when I did the Capital Jingle Bell Ball I did, just because, for one, everybody’s sat down [and] for two, it was a much younger crowd. Obviously you’ve got families there and I’ve been used to performing at clubs where I can engage with the crowd and I can swear and people are drinking, and I’ve got ways to gass the crowd up. Whereas [with these kinds of crowds] I can’t really sit and swear and use the lines that I used to gass up people in the club to families that have come to sit down and watch a concert. I usually just have a drink and run out on stage and go ham — I like to sing and dance. I’ve said before [that] I’m an attention seeker, [and] having everyone scream back the lyrics at you is always rewarding for all the hard work you put into it.”
But no matter who the crowd is, ArrDee is there to create moments that can be looked back on. “My music is bringing all of those people there together in one place and creating a memory for everyone that’s at the show and that’s there listening.”
So what’s next for ArrDee? “It would be sick to do a tour in somewhere like Japan, where even if you’re not necessarily understanding the words that are coming out of my mouth … Obviously music is bigger than that, and sonically I’m about vibes and bringing people together — music is blessed like that,” he describes. “I’d definitely like to expand into the US market — everything is much bigger out there in terms of the music, views, and coverage, and obviously the American side of music is just bigger, but from where we’re standing over here things are definitely blowing up and are bigger than they’ve ever been.”
ArrDee also admires the variety that exists within the US music industry. “With the UK, once there’s a sound that’s popping, everyone kind of swings towards that sound, because we’re not as big as the US market — and that’s one of the blessings of the US market, that you can jump on your completely own original sound — beat style, tempo, everything — and still build that fanbase,” he says. “Whereas the UK is a bit smaller — you have to kind of adhere to what people are used to listening to a little bit.”
As ArrDee continues to grow, he hopes to move up in terms of creative process as well. “I’d love to learn to produce, too,” he explains. “I've tried so many times, but I’ve got a really really short fuse and a big temper, and I’m not that patient so it frustrates me.”
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