Track of the Week: The Latest

South London’s DC returns with The Latest, a suave showcase of skill, sentiment and swagger.  

Since emerging on the scene in the late ’10s, DC has rose to amongst the most cherished rappers in the alternative rap field. His game-changing ’21 project In The Loop, which features cuts like Paro(noia) and the Knucks featuring Bobby & Rowdy, was one of the finest alternative rap projects of the year, and saw DC swim across the talent-infested oceans of the underground scene and onto the drier inhabitation of mainstream rap. It’s been nearly 18 months since the impactful body of work however, and the scene has progressed invariably since then. The rapper had to come harder than ever to re-emphasise his acumen - he succeeds in that on this new single.

The Latest feels like a reintroduction into the sonic and thematic world of DC, a narrator unafraid to talk of struggles and adversity, yet doing so in a way that effortlessly bleeds magnetism. The beat, courtesy of South-East London’s multi-faceted talent emil, provides a swing-laden soulful sample, groove-inducing bass and snappy drums - a vibrant and hazy backdrop for DC to croon across. As nonchalant as ever, DC barely raps; as if in conversation with one of his boys, he walks the beat casually but never drags his feet, with a melodic allure lingering behind his potent booming tone. 

Offering barely a 16, it feels like DC is merely teasing us, a snapshot of the creative excellence to come. Hopefully we don’t have to wait as long this time.