Album Review: Youngs Teflon Sees Clearly On ‘Keep The Change’

Keep The Change is Youngs Teflon’s long awaited full-length follow up to 2019’s ambitious three-part release Blood, Swvgg & Tears. For Youngs creatively, the main shift from then to now seems to be one of hindsight. With previous projects, especially the ones from before his hiatus in 2016, he rapped from the perspective of being in the streets, Keep the Change’s lyrical vantage point maintains distance from that life. 

‘Da Gutter’ is as blatant a homage to Nas as possible, with the beat flipping the piano riff from ‘N.Y State of Mind’ into a sonic space that maintains the retro authenticity of the 90s East Coast scene, whilst undergirding it with a more modern and direct trap sound. Nas’ artistry is transposed from New York into Tefs’ “Southwest London state of mind”.

Teflon employs features from the likes of Knucks, Frank Ekwa, Clavish, and Blaqbones. Aitch and Tef also link up well on ‘Motion’. A relaxed sample is placed over drums that sound particularly punchy and fresh. Aitch takes the flow of his counterpart and develops it pleasingly, a great example of collaborative relay. Knucks’ feature on ‘Tony’s Tub’ is almost as hard. Yet, Aitch and Youngs seem to have more synergy. 

‘Brownin’ discusses admiration between Youngs Teflon and a romantic partner. The contrast between rapped and sung delivery in the first and second verses respectively adds some welcome variation. Yet, what is striking about this song is the thematic maturity. ‘Brownin’ moves away from the transactional relationships commonly explored in modern hip-hop; its monologue on co-dependency and reciprocal loyalty is a breath of fresh air.

‘Unusual Suspects’ is where I think this artist shines the brightest. The crystal-clear realism with which he paints his narratives is arguably his strongest trait – his storytelling is rivalled only by Potter Payper in the UK scene. The tune’s dark tale alone is gripping enough, but the story’s twists and turns showcase Youngs Teflon’s lyrical efficiency within the song form. 

‘Need You’ is one of the best cuts here with a beautiful emo-rap beat ridden lackadaisically, contrasting with introspective discussions of the foreboding reality of a criminal life. The hook on here is great: “make a n**** kill his friend that’s what the greed do” is poignantly crooned with expressive autotune. 

Youngs Teflon raps with a maturity that is refreshing, yet grounded. He is commonly touted as a rapper that distils hip-hop’s essence, whilst avoiding the influence of gimmicks and trends; his conjuring of vivid and palpable imagery shows this. Keep the Change is undoubtedly his most solid release so far. 

3.5/5 Stars

Words by Charlie Edmondson