Ciel – ‘SPiCE’ review: the UK’s ‘Cyberpunk Yardie’ strikes again

11 April, 2025

Ciel

Just as the once cultish UK rap underground – a scene bubbling with raw, unfiltered flair – is being put under the spotlight, another character spawns from the chaos. Enter Ciel: the 19-year-old “Cyberpunk Yardie” reprogramming trap’s source code. The London rapper scored his breakout moment in 2023 with his glitchy, genre-blurring tape ‘CIELMYRIAD’, a cult favourite that introduced his warped blend of dancehall, trap and electronic madness to the world. But his second mixtape ‘SPiCE’ is louder, messier and sexier – a full-bodied evolution that dials everything up to the max, throwing you headfirst into a world of soundsystem meltdowns, horny punchlines and loudmouthed affirmations of self.

READ MORE: YT – ‘Oi!’ review: underground rap star makes his biggest bid for mainstream success yet

‘Whine On Me’ kicks things off with chaotic bass and mind-numbing synths, infusing the “wotless” nature of Jamaican bashment parties with the end-of-days anarchy of modern trap. He speaks in patois, throws in references to carnival and flips Vybz Kartel’s iconic “A-wuh” ad-lib – warping dancehall through an electrified trap lens. That energy carries over into ‘Waxxon’ – a club-ready anthem laced with jerk-inspired 808s – and into ‘Ransom’, where buzzing synths highlight Ciel’s boastful gyalist persona. ‘Long Islnd’ then brings it all together, flexing Ciel’s best attributes: his vocal dexterity, poetic hooks (“I been sipping on her body like Long Island”) and a peppery flow.

There’s more gold tucked into ‘SPiCE’. ‘Modafinil’ is a self-produced, triumphant flex about resilience that finds the star in smug and entirely self-possessed form, anointing himself as a “young, free, sexy, unstoppable and untouchable” undergroundling on the brink of blowing up. “Who am I, if I’m not outstanding?” he teases, “What am I, if I’m not the baddest bitch on Earth?” ‘Baby, I’m On Go’ and ‘Fly, It’s Us It’s We’, too, shine as R&B highlights. The former glides on twinkling piano chimes, crafting a woozy, flirtatious ode to a crush, while the latter takes on the form of a trap-infused superhero’s plea for his Mary Jane, delivering a powerful, heart-on-sleeve finale.

But there are moments where the mixtape veers into a generic SoundCloud-era trap parody, especially on ‘Butterflyz’. The song sounds like a knockoff of ‘Love Hurts’ by Playboi Carti and Travis Scott, its soaring synths and lazy 808s panning in and out as Ciel croons a predictable tale of tortured love with his autotuned vocals. ‘What U Heard?’ is another Carti clone as the burgeoning computerised beat – laced with racing and restless melodies – feels like something made by someone in the Opium label clan, with lyrics that give Ice Spice a run for her money: “Me and my brother, we shit and we– / Me and my brother the shit, and we poop.”

Still, when Ciel lands, he really lands. Despite the occasional stumble, his ability to craft a world that feels distinctly his own makes ‘SPiCE’ a thrilling listen, showing just how much the UK underground scene stands to gain from his fearless experimentation. It’s loud, unbothered, and bursting with flavour and – in an underground scene that’s arguably never been better (sorry grime purists) – Ciel is shaping the future with his genre-defying sound, unapologetic energy, and magnetic authenticity.