British talents such as 808 Melo and AXL Beats are working with big names like
Drake and Travis Scott – but the killing of scene linchpin Pop Smoke has created crisis
For a few joyful, sweaty months last summer, Welcome to the Party by Brooklyn drill
Rapper Pop Smoke was the sound of New York. His smoky baritone seemed predestined for greatness, melding perfectly with the chaos compacted into the beat. But in a
New York rap scene full of earned self-reverence, not many knew this was a track made by a
British producer, 808 Melo.
“Brooklyn and
London are the same thing,” Pop told Complex magazine in early February. “We both got our super-posh sides and we got our super-ghetto sides. We eat the same food, drink the same drink, dress the same. If I show you a nigga from London right now, you can’t tell he’s from London.”