Messy

‘Messy’, the new release by Thamesmead-based artists Paul Stephan and Quincy OG, proves that they never miss a beat. One of my favourite underground drill artists, I followed a lot of Paul Stephan’s releases for a while; while he swiftly dances over the jazzy, bouncy ‘Paul Stephy Kane’ and bops along to ‘Things on Things’, drill tracks are where he really hits his stride. ‘Messy’ is such a track; the relatively lowkey instrumental allows Stephan and his self-titled ‘partner in rhyme’ Quincy to have crystal-clear vocals that keep the song catchy long after the otherwise average beat fades away.

While I was less familiar with Quincy’s releases, a quick glance through his Spotify reveals that he’s building a portfolio with his own range, as well. The two artists’ partnership fits almost perfectly––Stephan’s clear-cut vocals are perfectly balanced by Quincy’s melodic verses and impeccable rhyming, and it makes for a captivating track that’s neither too repetitive nor too ordinary. They both make switches to their flows through the song, as well, which makes for an unusual listening experience––it’s often hard to balance a steady drill track with shifting flow, but in ‘Messy’ it works well and keeps the song sharp (I often find myself echoing Stephan’s “shut up, move” lyric whenever I’m in bad traffic, which is testament to its catchiness and aptness for real-world situations.) Ultimately, ‘Messy’ is a banger, and I’m looking forward to hearing what tracks these two tackle next.