Tottenham trailblazer Blay Vision today drops 'Pain', his most emotive and ambitious project to date. The hyper-talented MC and producer is a rare gem in the UK rap scene, one who can compete with the best in the lanes of rapping as well as production.
The five-tracked EP, out now via DMY Artists, sees a collaboration with the MOBO-nominated Manga Saint Hilare on 'Pree', where over bouncy, DJ Mustard-esque production Blay and Manga spar with layered melodies and hard-hitting bars. There's also 'Gomenasai' (an informal Japanese saying for "sorry" in a nod to Blay's fascination with Japanese culture), a stirring tear-jerker of a rap cut with chrome synths.
Elsewhere there's the tougher 'Realist Cuz' and 'Revenge' on the record, where Blay plays with lightning synths on multi-layered beats. On 'Kill Somebody', the gleefully morbid refrain "I just wanna kill somebody," sits at odds with the lush, atmospheric production that could score its own movie, proving Blay yet again to be an artist with a surprise up his sleeve.
Blay recently unveiled the moody, cinematic visuals for 'Kill Somebody', channelling the iconic scene from American Psycho where Patrick Bateman discusses Huey Lewis and the News before axeing an investment banker - only Blay is holding a copy of Jme's 'Serious'. Directed by Adam Horton, a long-running collaborator of BPlay Vision's, the video aligns with some of the dark themes that run through Blay's lyrics on the track.
There's few artists that can both MC and produce to such an incredibly high standard, but Blay Vision is one of these talents. A key player in the capital's rap scene, the Tottenham artist has carved out his own sound; a high-strength blend of neon melodies and dark frequencies that draws on the roots of grime but with a future-facing outlook.
When it dropped in 2018, his debut mixtape 'The Vision' was hailed as one of the best instrumental grime tapes of all time, and was quickly followed up with more of his unique productions that would become a mainstay in DJ sets at that time.
Favoured by both the rap and dance music scenes, Blay has worked with the most influential names in grime, including Jme (collaborating on 'Gone Mad' - a track that has earned well over two million streams - as well as producing for Jme's 'Grime MC' album) as well as Skepta, P Money, Dapz On The Map, President T and more. While Blay's beats have drawn bars from these big-name spitters, his own vocals are a highlight too, pioneering a sung-rap style that's fully taken off in the UK.
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