D-Block Europe and Their Trail-Blazing Take on UK Trap Music 

One of the first of their kind, D-Block Europe have successfully found a way to recreate the sound of Trap. Their concoction of UK and American influences have set them aside from other UK Rap artists and they are finally getting the credit they deserve. 

Founded in Lewisham, D-Block Europe is a collective of artists with a convincingly American sound. Led by Young Adz and Dirtbike LB, the autotuned vocals sound closer to the Trap music of the US than UK Rap. Their debut album ‘Home Alone’ reached number six on the UK charts. This is an especially feat impressive considering it is independently released. 

Since their debut, D-Block has gone from success to success. They have featured with a large range of artists from both sides of the Atlantic. At one point a quarter of the tracks on the UK top 100 charts were either by or featuring D-Block themselves. 

Re-creating an American Sound in South-East London 

The pioneers hail from Lewisham. A borough known for other musicians such as Grime artist Novelist, Elf Kid and Shaybo A.K.A ” the Queen of the South”. 

Notoriously hard to pin down, their collective quietness as a crew even extends to their upcoming releases. D-Block have become known for the lack of promotion in the lead up to new mixtapes. That said, it doesn’t stop them from selling out a show at Alexandra Palace in 10 minutes. Before the show, the pair found themselves in a spot of trouble after publicly saying that they would “destroy” the venue. Unfortunately, the figure of speech was taken literally. D-Block then had to issue a statement declaring that they had no intentions of actually damaging the historic building. 

Renowned for their exhilarating live performances, D-Block’s 2021 tour had sold-out arena shows. In the was of this masses of fans across the pond are begging them to come stateside. The Guardian described one of their concerts as an “explosive mania”. Considering the buzz around their social media pages, it seems a fair review. 

Finally Getting the Recognition They Deserve 

Despite having entered the charts relentlessly since their beginnings, D-Block have remained relatively underground until recently. Their 2021 single ‘Overseas’ featuring Central Cee pushed them into the UK Top Ten positioning them at number 7. D-block later triumphed at the MOBO’s last year, beating out the likes of Dave and Little Simz for the ‘Best Hip Hop Act’ award. 

The collective is now nominated for the Brit Award for Best Group. Competing alongside the likes of Coldplay and London Grammar, they are the only group of their genre nominated. That said, D-Block’s music is known for its uniqueness. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that they are the stand out nominees for the award. 

Their latest mixtape ‘Home Alone 2’, took over a year to create. For now, there is little information about any future music being released. For now, D-Block have asked us to “live with the music” from their latest mixtape before moving on from it. It’s been a fierce period of growth for the collective. We are given a detailed image of what they have matured into with ‘Home Alone 2’.