The Rise of Dutchavelli

Dutchavelli, or should I say man of the year? A towering figure with a distinct tone, that over the last few months has flown to the very forefront of British Rap. Born in Birmingham, a flourishing Stephan Allen soon moved to Rotterdam in the Netherlands before returning home to England in East London at the youthful age of 12. With a Jamaican and Trinidadian descent, his family are nothing short of talent, quickly being labelled as “Stefflon Don’s brother”, the indisputable force was quick to dismantle such titles and proved himself to be an artist in his own right, and in turn, gained a boast-worthy fan base with support from the likes of global mega-star Drake.

Stepping onto the scene back in 2016 with his debut single ‘New Jack City’, this track housed a head-bopping instrumental and saw Dutchavelli open the track with his signature and instantly recognizable tone. Riding around in a bright blue jeep with his boys, he entered the game with a certified bang. A year later, he took his career up a notch and released a slew of spiraling tracks including ‘Memories’, ‘Let It Breathe’, ‘Speeding’, ‘Stick’ with Footsie and ‘Feel The Same’ alongside Krissy, a more sun-kissed and up-beat offering. Closing out what had been a packed 2017, he dropped the energy-driven cut ‘Say Narda’ with both Desperado and Karmah Cruz. Gaining hundreds of thousands of views on each video, Dutchavelli soon started to build a name for himself and was posing as an artist to watch.

Journeying forward to 2018, the hype surrounding his promising name was still strong and he entered the new year alongside Jibsta on ‘LOL’. Clocking in at just over 4 minutes long, Jibsta introduced the track with an infectious and melodic hook before Dutchavelli cut through with playful bars and a glossy flow. Currently sitting at over 2.3 million views on YouTube alone, he later returned with ‘John Wayne’ in June; a hard-hitting and no-nonsense track that glimmered with the up-most greaze.

Having spent time away in prison, Dutchavelli came back with an almighty bang and kick started the new decade with his explosive, break-out hit ‘Only If You Knew’. Garnering over 22 million views on YouTube, the visuals showcased the rapper leaving pen in style before returning to the block amongst his boys. Dressed in all black from head to toe, and paired with a long red coat, little did he know that this song would be the start of a global takeover. Boasting his raw wordsmith from start to finish; “Look, Pack going up north like Pogba / Kev just stepped out of rehab last week / Still tryna score like Didier Drogba / Dan just looks like Harry Potter / Told the cats they should call him Oscar Hit the M-Way with two phones up / Now I’m tryna come back with guala” , if shows were still taking place this year, it’s only evident this track would shell down the clubs!

Shortly returning with ‘Surely’ in April, Dutchavelli solidified his position in the game, piercing through the skittering backdrop with his boisterous tone and raw street poetics; “On an estate, see the boydem enter / Put the thing in the bin like Brenda / Don’t ask about GZ B easy, that’s a violent member / Thousand grams of the pressa / One phone call that’s going up Leicester / Ever had a cat OD off a tester / Can’t cope with all this pressure“, Dutchavelli left you wanting more from the onset.

Taking a quick break from his solo drops, he appeared on what’s arguably one of the biggest tracks of the year titled, ‘I Dunno’, alongside UK hit makers Stormzy and Tion Wayne. Complimenting each other’s styles perfectly, this up-beat offering is bursting at the seams with energy and peaked at No.7 in the Official Charts – and for good reason to! Joining forces with M Huncho for ‘Burning’ in June, the flute-lead instrumental courtesy of Quincy, acted as a balanced foundation for the pair to spit atop; the contrast between M Huncho’s slick auto-tuned vocals fit swimmingly against the punching and vigorous bars from Dutchavelli; “Free smoke, got the city all burning / Still feels like my opps ain’t learning / Trigger on the dots too sensitive / Told bro, “Take your time when you’re turning”.

Later that month, he returned with a collaboration no one expected, it was at this point we knew Dutchavelli had touched various points across the globe. Partnering up with Gzuz and Noizy for their European banger ‘All Dem Talk’– this track spoke for itself! If any song was brimming from start to finish with greaze it’d be this one! Enriched with razor sharp bars, vocals and punchlines, the masses took to social media and championed the move from the soaring rapper.

Half way through summer, the ascending star offloaded ‘Black’, yet another strong and rampant offering that payed homage to his manager and close friend Fox. With production from Big Zeeko, Dutchavelli let his opposition know that he wasn’t there to play games, the Kevin Hudson-directed video took us through a vigorous narrative that saw Dutchavelli and his boys mob out a variety of locations whilst dressed head to toe in black – correlating with the title of the track perfectly. Turning up the heat further with the release of ‘Bando Diaries’, the menacing beat set the tone for what was about to be set loose! Gliding with ease over the bass-heavy beat, his fearless and fiery exterior set’s for a comedic comment section under each music video, one of which said, “Dutchavelli’s the type of guy to bring a mattress to a pillow fight”, playing into the TL, the list really does go on!

Flash forward to the 21^st of September, Dutchavelli connected all corners of the globe together for his highly anticipated ‘Bando Diaries’ remix! Tapping OneFour, Kekra, Noizy and DIVINE, this remix speaks for itself. Only highlighting his immense rise to fame, he was able to create a culturally landmark offering that is currently sitting at over 7 million views on YouTube alone. But it doesn’t end there, linking up with DigDat and B Young for a fiery street heater named ‘808’, he recently joined forces with Birmingham newcomer M1llionz on the menacing joint titled, ‘Cool With Me’. Each known for their individual styles, Dutchavelli only proved his ability to not only adapt but also make multiple bangers!

With his debut mixtape ‘Dutch From The 5th’ rolling out this Friday, Dutchavelli is only set to certify his position and claim further success over the 16-track project. Whilst we wait for the mixtape to drop, be sure to watch the visuals for ‘Cool With Me’ below!