The rapper from Bury may resemble McLovin, but his rapping skills suggest he has double the experience. With his thoughtful new EP ‘it’s all up in the air,’ Pozzy is carving out his own identity.
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Pozzy is behind the bar. He hasn’t just climbed over to joke around like many twenty-year-olds might. He’s not serving drinks either. To be honest, if Pozzy walked into The Golden Hart on any other day, he might not even be served. The Bury rapper definitely has an unassuming appearance. His distinctive rimless glasses have led to comparisons with McLovin. Does that ever annoy him? I inquire. “I take it in my stride,” he responds.
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Pozzy is far more than just “the rapper who resembles the guy from Superbad.” On the day of our photoshoot, DJ Mag announces their nominations for breakthrough vocalists, and Pozzy is included. We’re also just a day away from the release of his latest EP, ‘it’s all up in the air.’ Despite running on little sleep, he’s upbeat. Even the landlord’s sick dog doesn’t put a damper on the mood. “You’ll have to stop taking photos when the vet arrives,” she comments. The chaos seems fitting. Pozzy hasn’t followed a conventional path to get here.
“I ran your tape and I found it was perjury / No one’s heard of you / They all heard of me / Got one bar that’ll send you to surgery,” he raps in his viral freestyle for BBC 1Xtra. “It all unfolded over a few days,” he explains. “I woke up one day and saw it had reached 100k. I mean, I had a few videos with 100k views before, but this was quick. Then it hit a million, and I thought, I guess this might actually be seen as viral.” With endorsements pouring in (“I was receiving messages from really random people”), it would have been easy for Pozzy to ride that wave and keep producing more of the same. More cyphers, more freestyles, more catchy lines that would circulate on Instagram.
Instead, he shifted focus, embracing a sound that resonates more with the politically charged lyrics of Dave’s ‘Psychodrama’ than the witty material that initially brought him recognition. “You know, when the 1Xtra stuff happened, everyone just assumed, oh yeah, he’s grime,” he shares over a pint of Guinness. “That’s great, I appreciate that, but it’s not all I make.” If you’re familiar with “Pozzy lore,” it makes sense. His musical journey began with classical piano (“I started when I was about seven. I didn’t really enjoy it much as I grew older.”) and singing. “Singing, like really singing?” I ask. “Yeah,” he replies. “Even in the EP, there are a couple of little backing vocals.”
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A couple of years later, Pozzy finds himself creating what he calls a “rubbish beat” for music college and decides to try his hand at rapping. “It all started from there,” he recounts. “I used to freestyle over MF Doom beats with my friends on Friday nights. That’s when I realized I was actually not bad at this.” After moving to London for university, he dedicated “practice hours” with Dockside Radio, doing cyphers with fellow emerging MCs. Artists like $ABODI, HEN$HAW, and X@NDRO – the latter two appearing as guests on the EP. It's a notable rise, highlighting Pozzy’s contribution to the scene despite coming from outside it.
However, ‘it’s all up in the air’ isn’t about cyphers. It’s introspective, focusing on vulnerability rather than the kind of lines that would get Pozzy featured on GRM Daily. He cites influences like Matt Maltese and Loyle Carner in his production, evident in tracks like “step on the train” and “home and away.” The contrast is intentional: fast-paced bars juxtaposed with lo-fi piano melodies that typically aren’t found in grime. “I like to create without limitations,” he remarks. “I think that’s why my beats are a bit unusual.” Strange or not, it’s pleasant to listen to — until you tune in to the deeper meanings in his lyrics.
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“And Kier Starmer’s in parliament fronting / It's not genocide but it’s troubling / And by the way your bills are now doubling,” he raps in the EP’s opening track. I mention that this isn’t exactly typical content for a twenty-year-old. “I’ve always had a political awareness,” he explains. “My parents are quite political, and I just rap about what matters to me.” That perspective is reflected throughout the EP. He might seem ahead of his years at first
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The rapper from Bury may resemble McLovin, but his rapping skills reflect someone with double the experience. With his reflective new EP 'it's all up in the air',