Since dropping in February, this shadowy, snot-nosed track has elevated all three artists to the podium. But for all mink’s cultural capital, EsDeeKid is passing industry thresholds the Londoner hasn’t hit yet. It’s been about six months since Rebel first dropped, and it’s spent the past 12 weeks climbing the UK charts, so far peaking at No. 9; last week, it debuted at No. 13 on Billboard’s Rap Albums chart in the U.S. But I hate playing the numbers game. I say all that to say this: EsDeeKid is now the world’s hottest rapper to the east of the Atlantic. And it’s not because of who he’s cool with, or who TikTok conspiracy theorists think he is behind the mask, but because of how he wields that fucking accent.
Now, I need answers. Has a Scouser ever been this pissed off? Surely not since Gerrard slipped at Anfield that one time? EsDeeKid rips through verses like a maelstrom. “Got long, black hair like I’m emo/Drugs all white, albino,” he spits on “Mist.” The way he slants his rhymes in tandem with his pronunciation is what makes him so interesting. He doesn’t care about appeasing anyone who didn’t grow up where he did. On “Tartan,” featuring UK underground champ Fimiguerrero, he flexes, “Got a bad bitch and she came from Lebanon/Pop these pills, gone blue like Everton,” and you think, Damn, I never thought you could say “Lebanon” like that. The novelty of EsDee’s inflections put a fun spin on his hard-nosed style; I imagine all those consonant digraphs that bust “Panic” wide open covered his pop filter in saliva.
That novelty starts to fade with repeat listens, though. EsDeeKid knocks you over the head with his brazen delivery, and his flow is as strident as any of his counterparts’. You hear that on “Panic” especially, but also on “Rottweiler,” “Dirty,” and “4 Raws,” where he sounds like he’s foaming at the mouth. He’s a gifted enough performer that his presence alone can entertain, but the approach is so one-note that the showmanship begins to feel hollow. Part of the issue is his cut-and-dry lyricism, which ends up feeling accessible and shallow at the same time. Punchlines are simple, designer labels abundant (“I’m Prada’d up like the devil”).
