Words BEN TIBBITS

M1llionz is spilling some home truths. “I don’t really like drill if I’m honest,” he tells me. The rapper’s sunk in a chair, a balaclava partially obscuring his face, in the comfort of his management offices in London’s Marble Arch. “Obviously, I do drill songs and work with drill artists and respect [the genre], but I don’t really listen to mad drill.” The trap-deriving style, popular in Chicago then London, renowned for its murkier lyrics and production, is one the 27-year-old’s been ostensibly entwined in as its popularity ballooned on UK soil in recent years. “I didn’t want to come in as a drill artist, it just kind of worked and then that’s just the bracket [the industry] put me in. I’ll accept it, but it’s not really me, to be honest.”

It’s a fair admission from the Birmingham artist who rose to prominence around the turn of the decade with his distinct spin on UK rap. There’s something unmistakably singular in the way he plays the sport of his craft – vocally lighter on his feet than much of his cohort, instantly recognisable for his controlled yet erratic cadence; tenor in pitch, Brummie in tone. His signature flow – skippy yet conversational, piercing and pure – is as scintillating as any in the UK scene. It felt new and exciting when M1lllionz first broke through and naturally attracted imitation. “It doesn't annoy me,” he shrugs of the various homages, or veritable facsimiles, of his flow from contemporaries. “I think it annoys the fans though. I find it quite flattering if I’m honest. If somebody notices that a rapper is mimicking my flow, it must be a good thing because it means I’m doing something right.”

M1llionz has spent the majority of his life in Handsworth, a notorious area in North Birmingham that he feels carries an unfairly negative reputation. “Handsworth is a great area if you take away the negative stuff around it,” he tells me with conviction. “I feel like every area has those [negative] things though. It’s a vibe. It’s always active, you’re always seeing some crazy stuff happening.” The postcode was referred to by Birmingham royalty, late dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah, as “the Jamaican capital of Europe.” M1llionz’s own Jamaican heritage is intrinsic to his musical outlook. He labels dancehall as his biggest inspiration, the use of patois is increasingly present in his lyrical lingo and he’s made music videos in the Caribbean nation.

Often shooting overseas, the visual aspect of the rapper’s artistic brand is towering in its ambition, documenting his immersion into communities in cinematic fashion. At the same time, he also quietly undertakes philanthropic endeavours on his travels. “You can’t just go there and utilise these people’s communities and resources,” he says. “We give back, do charity stuff. I don’t really like to promote [the philanthropy] in a way, because I don’t want it to look like I’m just doing it for the clout.”

Musical talent was something that was always “naturally” nurtured in M1llionz by his mother, a rapper and singer herself. However, an 18-month stint in prison after leaving school would see him finally begin to evaluate his options and refine his trade when he encountered UK rap heavyweights – and latterly contemporaries – via the now defunct British music TV channel 4Music, one that inmates could access inside. “I thought it was sick,” he remembers. “It sticks out to me because I felt like I’d never seen anything like that.” Following his release, he shared early singles like “North West”, “Y PREE”, “Lagga” and “B1llionz”, the latter of which invaded the UK Top 40 and “took [my career] to another level.” Their respective music videos garnered several millions of views each and, from there, the newcomer briskly became a household name not just on the Birmingham scene but in a national context.

In 2021, M1llionz cemented his impact with a debut mixtape, “Provisional Licence”. Boasting a thrilling skit-led theme about “all the hurdles that you’re facing on a day-to-day basis just going from A to B,” and features from Headie One, AJ Tracey and a poignant contribution from the supremely talented Jevon, who sadly died earlier this year, the tape is a mature and assured inaugural entry that deftly delves into both the romanticised and ugly sides of street life alike. “I want you to picture everything I’m saying,” he offers on the intricacy and fearlessness of his lyricism. “I try to fit as much description into a sentence as possible. Sometimes, to be able to relate to something, you wanna be in that person’s shoes. If you just hear a basic line, it’s gonna go over your head, but, when you can actually see it, you can relate to it more. There’s more passion in it and you can feel the music, rather than just listen to it.”

Early October saw his sophomore outing, “Ghetto Life”, over three years after his acclaimed debut. It’s a lengthy address in a contemporary industry with a short attention span, but for M1llionz, quality dictates intention. The work is far more diverse than its predecessor, both in its sonic approach that tackles an eclectic array of rap sub-sounds, and its subject matter, which sees M1llionz often visceral and introspective in his lyrical ideas, most apparent on tragic cautionary tale “Angie” and intimate Tiggs Da Author-featuring tape closer, “Blood On My Hands”. The features are also varied in nation. US rap mogul Mozzy breezes through the flashy and ominous “RS11”, whilst Jamaican dancehall heavyweight Dexta Daps augments the standout single “WAH GWAN” and Nigerian pacesetter Ruger brings class and charisma to the bouncy and bravado-fuelled cut, “Besty”. There’s also towering link-ups closer to home with back-to-back road rap posturing with West London’s Blade Brown, a slot for Birmingham comrade Mwoo and an all-star showcase with chart-botherers Nafe Smallz and Chip.

Yet, despite the quality on display, M1llionz is never outdone by his feature cast, rousing in his messaging, rooted in his take on the mixtape title. “‘Ghetto Life’, for me, is not about poverty or a hard life, it’s about having the fight and the motivation to make it and be something,” he explains. “So, even when you do make it out, if you keep that aspect in your game, you’ll always succeed. Sometimes, if you come from the bottom and climb higher, you might forget that fight that you had before, and, as you get accustomed to nice things, you might lose that hunger that you had. You’ve just got to try and stay humble as much as you can.”

Undoubtedly one of UK rap’s most interesting and dynamic characters, if he stays consistent, M1llionz could be a trailblazer in a scene that needs its next era of players to step up to the plate. And, by the sounds of it, he couldn’t be more ready. “Another tape [in] December,” he reveals with zeal when I ask what he’s got coming up for the rest of the year. “It’s already recorded. I’m just going straight in. I can’t be bothered waiting. I just gotta go again.”

Photography by Beau White