(Warner Records)The rapper’s debut mixtape puts his Midlands home town on the grime map with a compelling voice and authentic stories
Grime, like all rap, must reflect the streets it comes from. However, until recently that has meant a preponderance of big-city accents. The 22-year-old
Rapper Pa Salieu, who grew up in the Gambia and Coventry (“COV – City of Violence”, according to this debut mixtape) is a compelling new voice. He doesn’t quite have J Hus’s warmth or versatility, but his shape-shifting accent and authoritative flow brings a presence you find only in the best.
Right from Block Boy’s opening, “Look, my name is Pa and I’m from Hillset/ Bust gun, dodge slugs, got touched, skipped death”, Salieu flaunts his flair for drama. Although familiar tropes of bandos, traps and opps litter his raps, there’s little of the vapid materialism or deadening nihilism that haunts so many debuts. Instead there’s introspection, mixed with self-promotion that wavers between inspirational and unconvincing. It feels real. Frontline and My Family are among the best singles of the year, and there are three more just as good here.