The Croydon drill artist became a star while he was doing his GCSEs. Now, he has his sights set on making it Stateside
You would be hard-pressed to find someone who raps more clearly than the 19-year-old SL. “If you rap slower, people take you in more, they understand what you’re saying. Especially if we’re talking about
BREAKING into
American audiences. They hear us and they think about grime and fast rapping, but the way I do it is slow,,” he explains, ahead of the release of his new 10-track mixtape, Different Dude.
While still studying for his GCSEs, SL shot to internet fame in 2017 when the DIY-style video for his eerie street anthem Gentleman went viral (it now has 44m-plus views on YouTube). Following it up with the delicately catchy single Tropical, SL has marked himself out as one to watch, carving out his own crisp, melodic lane in an ever-densifying
UK rap scene. “Coming up, everyone was on them violent drill beats. So I’d listen to Drake-type beats, or Lil Uzi Vert-type beats – something different,” he says.