L E M F R E C K is a rapper, actor and producer hailing from Cardiff, Wales. Most would recognise him as a grime artist, bringing a production style and rap flow similar to that of Skepta or Pa Salieu. Growing up, L E M F R E C K was a huge fan of the buzzing UK hip-hop scene, taking inspiration from MCs such as D Double E and Kano. Now, he takes his influence and vision and pours it into his first single of 2022, RED HOT featuring MacOsare.
RED HOT instantly caught my attention before even clicking on the music video as the video ratio was noticeably different. The standard video size of a YouTube video is 16:9, but RED HOT’s music video is slightly narrow and presents a feeling of claustrophobia. Already, L E M F R E C K’s talents as a creative shine through. Then we get to the song itself; a string-heavy ensemble starts things off, followed by a booming bass loop that rumbles into the first verse. It’s also worth pointing out the ‘Yonkers’ sample that plays throughout the left channel, adding variety to the beat. Lyrically,
L E M F R E C K delivers these politically and socially charged bars of “hiding Ps from the government” and how “communities don’t get none of it” in a cool, raspy flow that demonstrates both confidence and swagger. It’s a grimy style of rap that lends itself perfectly to the image he’s portraying in both his lyrical storytelling and literal shots from the music video.
A surprisingly catchy chorus arrives at the 1:16 mark, with L E M F R E C K slyly telling the audience he doesn’t run from the police as he’s too concerned with his own wealth. Or, in his words, “I don’t even run from feds, just thinkin’ ‘bout this bread”. He ends his chorus with the chilling image of how his “mandem” are “breaking necks”. It’s a hardcore lifestyle that’s depicted in RED HOT, but also a slight peek into the harsh realities of someone who grew up in one of the worst UK cities for the standard of living.
MacOsare steps up to the plate as he spits his verse with a much livelier flow, a nice contrast from the more low-key verse of L E M F R E C K. In it, he informs the listener pretty early on that he is not one to mess with. The line “don’t ever pull up to my set, hands down, don’t get me vexed” is expressed with this calm level of authority, and with the isolated bass thumbs looming in the back it makes for a pretty tense section of the song. The rest of his verse is well executed and has a rhyming scheme towards the tail-end that would probably end in a mic-drop had it been performed live.
After another helping of the chorus, thus concludes this fiery yet ice-cold track that can hopefully now prove to everyone why L E M F R E C K is so deserving of being named One to Watch by BBC Introducing. A hard-hitting beat, effortlessly rapped verses and choruses and some poignant storytelling all culminate into a song that truly is Red Hot.
L E M F R E C K’s latest track Play with Silver is out now.