Tottenham, North London based Drill emcee Headie One and Toronto, Canada based Rap heavyweight Drake have dropped their new track/visual ONLY YOU FREESTYLE, produced by M1 On The Beat
Headie One and Drake have joined forces to release a new single entitled ‘Only You Freestyle’. Underpinned by a piercing and ominous instrumental crafted by the prolific M1 On The Beat, the two rap titans take turns spitting scorching bars, expertly demonstrating their mutually commanding delivery and insatiable flow.
Highly-anticipated, the buzz for a potential collaboration with Headie and Drake began to brew following Drake’s recent forays into Drill music with tracks like ‘War’ and ‘Demons’ from his newly released chart-topping project ‘Dark Lane Demo Tapes’.
Drake has also publicly endorsed and shown support for Headie’s artistry on social media several times, most recently with the release of ‘Rose Gold’ which dropped in May. With a rich and well-documented history of Drake championing a host of British emcees like Dave, Loski, Giggs, and Skepta, ‘Only You Freestyle’ is another example of Drake’s reverence for the UK’s diverse rap scene.
‘Only You Freestyle’ came together organically between the two artists. The collaboration emerged from a place of pure respect for each other’s work. The GRAMMY® winning heavyweight reached out to Headie via Instagram, saying he’d love for them to do a song together. Headie was sent then the beat, recorded his verse, and sent it back to Drake.
Speaking on how much he respects and admires Headie One’s lyrical ability, Drake said,
“I had to go hard, especially on a track with one of the best drill artists in the world…Scratch that – the best drill artist in the world”.
The accompanying video once again sees Headie team up with acclaimed director Nathan James Tettey who previously worked on the visuals for ‘Both’, ‘18HUNNA’, and ‘Rose Gold’. Shot between London and Toronto the video shows Headie and Drake backed by their respective crews in dimly lit parking lots as they deliver their verses.
Bursting onto the scene with his debut mixtape ‘Headz or Tails’ in 2014 followed by a series of joint projects with RV, Headie One has cemented himself as one of the UK’s most formidable talents. Instrumental in leading the wave of Drill music, his contributions have seen the grassroots subgenre rise from the underground to become one of the most praised scenes in modern music.
In April, Headie released ‘GANG’, an experimental collaborative mixtape with producer Fred Again…The project featured an eclectic list of artists including FKA twigs, Jamie xx, Sampha, Octavian, and Slowthai. Displaying a diverse set of musical sensibilities and sounds, ‘GANG’ was immediately critically acclaimed, receiving praise from a host of tastemaker publications like Crack Magazine, NME, Pitchfork, Dazed, Loud & Quiet, and more.
To date, his music has since amassed over sixty million streams while notching up multiple top 20 placements on the UK Charts with ‘Music x Road’ reaching the top 5 last year. Last year he played Glastonbury and sold out Brixton Academy, his biggest headline show to date, while his huge crossover track ‘Both’ became his biggest airplay hit.
Headie One x Drake – Only You Freestyle via iTunes/Spotify
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