TAZE

Taze is one of the few drill artists to unite London’s postcodes. Born and raised in Deptford, he grew up on a diet of South London road rap - Giggs ran the scene at the time - and bashment bangers from the likes of Vybz Kartel and Tommy Lee Sparta.

Starting out by jumping on riddims such as Pull Up To Mi Bumper, in 2015 he switched to the sound of drill, inspired by the music Chief Keef was dropping from Chicago. His first drill breakthrough track Trap Not Carni landed in 2016, recorded with regular collaborator Russ, it drew an explicit link between the bashment that had soundtracked their teens and the new sound of drill that was gripping the South London underground. His status was cemented by a run of hood classics, including the iconic Loski x Russ x Taze link up Olympic Chingings, a couple of massive Lightwork freestyles, and solo bangers such as Pallance and Splendid.

Having moved over to West London aged 18, he connected with his cousins Horrid 1 and Sav O, mainstays of Digga D’s collective CGM. This led to further collaborations, and 2019 - 2020 saw Taze drop fan favourites such as Unprovoked, featuring CGM, along with solo outings such as his own jumpy, UK Funky-meets-drill party banger Heads, Shoulders (snapped up by Ministry of Sound), as well as having the stand out verse on one of drill’s earliest bonafide chart hits, Gun Lean Remix (now on 20m views).

With his ability to amp up the energy levels on any track, a unique flow that twists and turns, and a unique sense of lyricism, it’s little surprise that Taze picked up international attention. US drill royalty Sheff G got in contact with Taze via instagram, and the duo created one of the earliest UK x US drill link ups, Zoo, shot in NYC, and proof that the UK scene was creating MCs able to go toe to toe with America’s finest.

Now back in the booth with a stack of tracks, Taze’s is back with his brand new mixtape, Trench.