British rapper Irving Ampofo Adjei, known professionally as Headie One, has released his new track “Pound Signs“. The track was released on Thursday June 24th – the first one to be released since his outstanding Brit Awards performance this year. The track undoubtedly serves as a reminder of Headie One’s increasing reputation as one of Britains biggest rappers.
“Pound Signs” contributes to Headie One’s impressive and successful discography. The track opens with audio extracted from an interview with Bob Marley, in which he was in conversation about how financial wealth and monetary gain doesn’t equate to personal fulfilment. This interview sets the tone for the rest of “Pound Signs” – it is fuelled with hi-hit patterns and 808 slides typical to UK drill as well as lyricism which reveals the advantages and disadvantages of gaining money in a modern society. It is this kind of insightful lyricism which contributed to the notable success of Irving’s critically acclaimed album “Edna” in 2020.
Headie One’s latest album “Edna” was released on Friday 9th October of last year. The 20-track album reflects on the loss of the rappers mother, hence the album being named after her. The critical success of “Edna” is undoubtable and it is no wonder that Headie One received various reputable nominations. For instance this year Headie One was nominated for the Brit Award for British Single with Master-card, as well as the Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist. Such nominations and critical success have contributed to the artist rightfully earning the reputation as one of the best Drill artist’s out there.
Clearly 2020 was significant for Headie One and it is no doubt that this will continue throughout 2021, especially with the release of “Pound Signs“. The release of “Pound Signs” has also sparked hope for the preparation of a following album in the near future. For now we can appreciate the single for the talent it showcases and the message that it offers. You can watch the music video for “Pound Signs” here.
“Pound Signs” certainly shows promise for the UK artist, who isn’t shy of successful hit-singles. His reputation grew from the release of his track “18Hunna“, which features the rapper Dave. “18Hunna” reached number 6 on the UK Singles Chart. As well as this, in August 2020 Headie One, along with British rappers Stormzy and AJ Tracey, released the track “Ain’t It Different“. The track impressively became the highest-charting single for both Headie One and AJ Tracey. Big things can only be expected from the drill star.
Headie one has even previously been labelled as “the best drill artist in the world” by his collaborator Drake – enforcing the reputation he has built on the UK music scene.
In interview with The Guardian, Headie One commented that “I started to realise that music is a language: you have to listen to it and speak back”. You can listen to his new track “Pound Signs” here.
