UK Artist To Watch: ArrDee

Thanks to his iconic line on a remix of Russ Millions and Tion Wayne‘s song “Body,” which topped the charts in a number of countries, including the United Kingdom, ArrDee has fast risen to fame and has since been dominating the charts with his own solo music.

Remarkably, ArrDee‘s Body verse has gone viral globally, yet few people know who the guy behind the voice is. So here are a few remarkable things about ArrDee, the fast-rising UK rapper.

ArrDee, Riley Davis, born 17 September 2002 is a Brighton-based rapper. Those close to him gave him his stage name, which was derived from the letters of his first and last names’ initials (R.D – ArrDee).

Notably, some of the rapper’s first recognized hits are “6AM in Brighton,” his Plugged In freestyle on PressPlay, and his BlackBox freestyles.

“Jiggy (Whiz),” and his cameo on another Tion Wayne smash, “Wid It,” are also among the Brighton rapper’s renowned hits. After releasing his “Cheeky Bars” freestyle on Mixtape Madness, his name began to gain traction in the wider UK music community.

ArrDee said sometime last year that he worked as a box packer in an Amazon warehouse. One really remarkable thing is that while working for the company, the Brighton rapper was able to spend some time crafting lyrics for one of his breakthrough tunes, “Cheeky Bars.”

Yes, Riley Davies managed working nights with taking trains to London for studio sessions and industry networking – and it all really paid off for him at last.

In 2021, the 19-year-old rapper scored three Top Ten songs – “Flowers (Say My Name),” “Oliver Twist,” and an appearance on Digga D’s “Wasted” – and filled the UK rap industry with a mischievous sense of humor that had arguably been missing from the scene for some time.

Moreover, the track “Oliver Twist,” which was inspired by Charles Dickens‘ novel, peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart.

Davies‘ third solo song was “Flowers (Say My Name),” which sampled Sweet Female Attitude‘s “Flowers” and Destiny’s Child‘s “Say My Name.” It was released on November 11, 2021, and reached number 5 on the UK’s Official Singles Chart Top 100, spending nine weeks in the Top 40, including six weeks in the Top 10.

Another remarkable thing to note. It is also unusual to come across a rapper that represents both the good and bad sides of living in Brighton.

ArrDee mentioned one time in an interview that he had a lot more to prove, coming from Brighton.

The rapper said, “when we did the freestyle, 6AM in Brighton, a lot of people advised against calling it that. They were like: ‘Brighton has got a bit of a stigma.’ I was like: no, you know what, it’s bigger than me, so if I can shine a light on the town because of my whole personality, me being comfortable in my skin comes from Brighton because there are crazy characters out here, but no one gets judged, so I wouldn’t be me without being born and raised here, and I want to be telling it like it is.”

Listen to Flowers (Say My Name) by ArrDee