More about: Digga D

I have it on very good authority that to even have an inkling of what you’re doing at the age of 21 is no mean feat. To be considered a pioneer of your scene, with two top 20 mixtapes and a third on the way, a BBC documentary, British GQ cover spread and a legal rap sheet that’d make big Charlie Bronson blush is all just part and parcel for Rhys Angelo Emile Herbert, known to legions of drill fans (and increasingly the pop mainstream) as Ladbroke Grove born rapper and songwriter Digga D.

Noughty By Nature marks the focal point of an already very busy 2022. The aptly titled 'Intro' serves a dual role as an opening for the tape and an autobiographical chronology asserting Digga’s credibility off the bat. A quick scan of his Wikipedia page reinforces his lyrical references to an authentic drill lifestyle from a young age are, as he says, facts. Nothing is fabricated, unlike the unnamed fellow MCs that he takes shots at for their exaggerations—he “lived the life they rap about”.

It’s likely an allusion to schoolmate and therefore de facto rival Central Cee, a rapper spearheading the pop-drill archetype who’s genuineness has been brought into question by Digga in the past. His resentment for comparisons with the ‘23’ star, as well as Queen’s Park’s Fredo, was mentioned on last years Plugged In Freestyle, and he doesn’t pull his punches when it comes to his rivals this time round either. 'Load Up', for example, let’s us know that even Grandmas aren’t off limits when it comes to his wrath.

Digga D certainly revels in his villainy, the CBO-enforced bleepings of names and places that litter the tape only serving to add intrigue and a fun Easter egg hunt for those predisposed. Despite the efforts of crime stoppers, curtain twitchers and rap NIMBYs alike to taper back his lyrics, there are still plenty of ‘did he really just say that?’ moments. Part of Digga’s appeal lies in his unwavering commitment to crossing the lines of taste to get his often extremely violent or slightly sexually gross points across, like a bizarre drill mix of Tarantino, Immortal Technique and the late Gilbert Gottfried.

But Noughty By Nature is also Digga D’s life story and surprisingly personal as a result—buried beneath the braggadocio are early mentions of his council house upbringing with his single mother. It documents his development as an artist and a person, as shown on the tape artwork; a tongue in cheek mock-up of Rudolph Zallinger’s March of Progress that shows Digga go from a toy gun toting toddler to a teen with the real thing, before eventually choosing the microphone as his weapon of choice.

The tape is also more musically-diverse than previous work. 'Stuck In The Mud’s strange, weaving brass sample is unsettlingly catchy and breathes life into a fairly unremarkable lyric. Statement makes use of a simple and forlorn piano and string combo, and closer 'Let It Go’s lush faux-balladry harks to 2000’s across-the-pond hip-hop are complemented by Maverick Sabre’s smoky tones.

The balance of features is effective. There are some formidable artists on Noughty By Nature: big name American rappers like B-Lovee and Moneybagg Yo on 'What You Reckon' and 'G Lock' respectively as well as the aforementioned Sabre and Ladbroke Grove’s poster boy AJ Tracey, amongst others, yet only really the Scouse driller Still Brickin, on 'Pump 101', threatens to steal away any limelight.

Digga does owe a lot to 50 Cent for this one. He’s not been shy about his appreciation for the G-Unit superstar in the past, and the three-punch knockout of 'Pump 101', 'Hold It Down' and 'What You Reckon' all interpolate Fiddy’s work in some shape or form. There are similarities between the two; an against the odds rise to stardom against the best wishes of law enforcement and terrified parents. It isn’t surprising therefore that the tape pays such an homage to the US veteran.

You could expect with a virtually unrivalled prolificacy like Digga D’s that the quality of the music may be lacking as a consequence, but it seems no one told him, as it isn’t so. Though a chunk of Noughty By Nature has already been released, and Digga’s fondness for a leak means some of the other tracks are also familiar to hardcore fans, his work rate is nigh impossible to criticise.

On his third full-length offering Digga D shows no signs of slowing down, holding back or pursuing any sort of good behaviour. This might be mortifying for the most tight-arsed of society, but it’s a delight for the rest of us.

Noughty By Nature is out now.

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More about: Digga D