Listen to ArrDee fire shots at UK rap scene on ‘If The Shoe Fits’

16 May, 2024

ArrDee at Capital's Jingle Bell Ball in November 2023. Photo credit: Mike Marsland/WireImage

ArrDee has fired shots at numerous figures in the UK rap scene on his new solo single ‘If The Shoe Fits’ – listen below

Last week, the Brighton rapper drew inspiration from the ongoing rap battle between Drake and Kendrick Lamar and dropped his own diss track. The song samples ‘Like That’ – the Metro Boomin-produced song in which the latter ignited his feud against the OVO rapper. In a surprise release, ArrDee used the same beat to also go after many of his peers who “can’t hit the bigger market“.

In the intro, the 21-year-old sampled a clip of music manager Bouncer asking: “Who is the last artist that breakthrough? When I say breakthrough, I’m talking about on the levels as ArrDee – who was the last ArrDee?”

“Nobody’s done shit since me/ The whole scene’s swimming up shit’s creek, where the fuck are all the newcomers?,” ArrDee spits in the opening lines. “I told them not to take the piss, I took the piss, came here to do numbers/ And now, they all have one hit and quit, new kids can’t last new summers.”

He mocks UK drill newcomer Nemzzz because his “hits ain’t charting” and also takes a jab at nostalgic rapper Strandz for having one charting song (2023’s ‘Us Against The World’) “but we knew it wasn’t lasting“.

ArrDee claims that, after Central Cee blew up overseas, the UK rap scene “got scared ’cause they’re talentless” and believes many need a “banger and a sound to work from” – suggesting most of the UK is full of copycat rappers.

He promises: “I’m a put ’em on the spot/ If I gotta send shots to wake ’em up again, I’m the alarm clock.”

There is a moment in the song where ArrDee calls out an unknown rapper, whom many believe to be Digga D. “I don’t want no other rapper friends so they can chat in their DMs about how I’m dead, your biggest hits the ones I worked on,” the former proclaims. “I revived certain man’s careers and never had no cheers.”

The platinum-selling rapper hopped on the remix to the west London star’s 2021 viral single ‘Wasted’ – which flipped the classic UK garage tune by T2, ‘Heartbroken’. Months after its release, a video of Digga D making fun of ArrDee in a group chat was leaked online. The drill star publicly apologised for what he said in the footage and there seemed to be no problems between the two.

One rapper called RK has responded to ‘If The Shoe Fits’ so far. The Birmingham star replied on ‘You’re Not That Guy’, saying ArrDee makes “party music” and is only respected due to the numbers he pulls and not his rapping abilities.

The last release ArrDee put out was a collaborative single with French rapper Favé called ‘Time’. It was his second release of the year, following ’12AM At Home’ – a song that sees ArrDee confidently boast about his success, skills and more in one verse.

In a four-star review of his 2022 debut mixtape ‘Pier Pressure’, NME wrote: “This concise 11-track project thankfully isn’t overloaded with guest features that come across like contractual obligations. Instead, ArrDee plasters the record with radio-friendly drill beats, quality rhymes and nightclub belters befitting of his character, ensuring that ‘Pier Pressure’ provides a clear snapshot of a rapper very much on the rise.”

Last year, ArrDee made his film debut in the British gangster sequel Rise Of The Footsoldier: Vengeance. In an exclusive chat with NME, he said he learnt “to try and be in the moment as much as possible” from co-star Craig Fairbrass.

He also told NME that a “big, big project” would be coming soon to follow ‘Pier Pressure’. “We’ve got some big collaborations on this [new] project from in and outside of the UK,” ArrDee said. “I think it’s gonna show a different side of me, in terms of the levels of my artistry.”

There is currently no release date for ArrDee’s next record.

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