Clapton rapper championed by Jeremih, others…
[Video][Website]
[5.75]
Mark Sinker: Birmingham-born, local queen of code-shifting — speaks fluent Dutch, toasts a streak, keeps her cool with stars — she lives in Clapton currently, which is to say, literally round the corner from me. If I haven’t seen her in the street I’ve seen her on a bus — except I think I’d spot someone this regal, she commands space. Menacingly insistent seven-note chime, declaration of girl-gang material heft — all the ways she rules — and still I’m not sure this doesn’t muffle her range. Only this seems the wrong neighbourhood to be saying so…
[7]
Thomas Inskeep: Stefflon Don is way too hard for the BBC’s Sound Of poll, or just about anywhere else for that matter. She’s the UK’s at-long-last answer to Lil’ Kim, an uncompromising female rapper who can SPIT with the best of ’em. “Real Ting” is hard as hell and thumps like early Run-DMC.
[7]
Micha Cavaseno: Because everyone needed a new UK rapper with the skillset of Fat Joe and a septum piercing to do a shoddy attempt at “Ooouuu.” Stefflon swags hard but spits maximum air with her sea of yawnable punchlines and generic flow, and she flips between patois and a weird fake accent that attempts to shotgun marry Essex and East New York to less than appealing effect. Also, this dude Rymez’ drums make Swizz Beats sound like Ski Beatz.
[2]
Crystal Leww: That beat! It reminds me of this beat that Saint produced and Princess Nokia bodied last year. Rymez lets Stefflon Don do her work over that propulsive bass drum, every once in a while doing that pause and speed it up thing. Stefflon Don brings a toughness reminiscent of early-’00s US hip hop, but her accent is unmistakably London. “Real Ting” big ups her own authenticity and genuineness, and it hits hard.
[7]
Hannah Jocelyn: The flow is awesome — Stefflon Don structures her lines in a way where every other bar sounds like it could be the chorus of another song entirely. In fact, a line like “diamonds on my body weighing kilos” would make a better hook than the actual one. It’s easy to forgive, though, considering how briefly it passes by. Don sometimes loses me with her shoehorned pop culture references, but then she pulls me right back with a line like “only pretty women in my kitchen.” Even when she doesn’t pull something off, the beat is there to catch her — it takes “Ooouuu” and raises the stakes brilliantly. “Ooouuu” sounded laid-back, but with the orchestral hits and the bigger drums “Real Ting” sounds forceful, with refreshing swagger.
[7]
Iain Mew: The bit in the video where she pauses the song to back up her DJ Khaled acclaim with the proof, as if she can’t believe it herself otherwise, helped tip me into liking this even more. It would be cringeworthy if she didn’t have the skills to back up her confident lyrics, but having already confirmed that one it’s a nice moment of lightness and, in its own way, realness.
[7]
Ramzi Awn: The message gets lost in the mix on “Real Ting.” Angst with echoes only goes so far, and even though the flow is right, the synth lines are ultimately too little too late.
[5]
Madeleine Lee: She saves the best lines for last, but the rest is non-stick.
[4]