Right Dere - M1llionz (2023)

Not for the faint-hearted, a Brummie accent floats with raw, vengeful poetry over a haunting instrumental. Forensic storytelling, moral complexity, violent drama — this is UK drill at its most potent

Cards on the table: this song is a bit mad. But it deserves a break down and I listen to it so much that I can no longer deny it a seat among All City royalty.

Since M1llionz burst out of Birmingham, in the English West Midlands, in 2019, surfing UK drill’s wave of dangerously lyrical yet commercially viable solo outfits from outside of London, he has held my attention. His deep accent, softened voice and forensic wordplay, all usually laid over haunting beats and alongside epic cinematography, make his journey, style and output uniquely addictive.

He has since managed to juggle underground authenticity and overground sheen with ease in a way that many drillers have failed to do. The frustrating saturation of violent digital content means that it’s no longer easy to surprise viewers of music videos any more. But the iconic, Covid-era release of Lagga in 2020 had my eyes glued to the screen like never before. From then onwards, my ears have tapped into the higher level of M1llionz’s artistry. It makes me wince but still go back for more, especially when I’m working out or jogging. As with almost all drill, I wouldn’t recommend listening if you are feeling fragile.

Accompanied by another mind-boggling video, this time filmed in Nigeria, between jungle and city, Right Dere is a first-person story of vengeance.

The first verse is a series of war philosophies that bring to life the moral complexities of inner-city violence and hyper-vigilance:

“I keep tellin' bro it's not worth it, but I'm a hypocrite,
'Cause I got so much to lose, but still I'm in this park lookin' inconspicuous”

“Have you ever had an asthma attack tryna run from jakes 'cause your stamina's shagged?
Or have you ever banged and it jammed? Delay on the click like COD when it lags.”

The second verse is where things get specific and visceral, like a climactic scene from an audio novel. M1llionz describes turning up at the house of his co-defendant (the person who was accused of the same crime as him), its “lights off, blinds flickering.” By sweet-talking his friend’s mum, who has known him since he was young, he makes his way inside in pursuit of his target. Apart from clearly descending into violence, we’re left on a vague cliffhanger of how it ends.

Like a noir crime drama or bloody horror film — John Wick or Gangs of London come to mind — it is a gripping example of using narrative fiction to give listeners and viewers a window into the gruesome, tragic realities of code-breaking, snitching culture and community violence.

Needless to say, I do not condone the behaviours described in the lyrics. But I do believe that many young drill rappers could learn from a song like this — telling a story that creates a character through whom trauma, experience and feeling can be channeled — to avoid their exaggerated claims of violence being perceived as literal and therefore criminalised by prosecutors in court.

Follow the All City Spootify playlist here: