City Of God

“If I watch something, it’s to get me away from the real world,” Blanco tells Apple Music. “I stay aware of that when I write and bring it to my music. So, even if lines seem abstract, trust me, the fictional and nonfictional always relate in some way. The details are intertwined.” On *City of God*, the London rapper encodes bright, swirling rhymes that call back to his troubled teenage years (as a member of Kennington drill collective Harlem Spartans), among a surreal inventory of the pop culture in which he found an escape. Much like the acclaimed Brazilian film that shares its title, Blanco’s debut full-length deals with cycles of violence, poverty, and loss of innocence across a hazy summer that ripped his crew apart. To capture the full picture, however, required the patience for several takes. “The hard part is saying ‘OK, it’s done,’” he says. “How can you tell? I think I’ve had to rewrite and record over on most of the songs here, because I want it perfect, every time. The first time is only the draft.\" On productions from 169, Sango, The Elements, and Alexay Beats, Blanco visits stuttering baile funk (“TSG”), hard-hitting drill (“Cerberus”), and spacious Afrobeat instrumentation (“Too Late”)—channeling the intensity of his coming-of-age in nonchalant style (“Talk like I’m 40, I’m 21/You ain’t been where I’ve been, ask anyone,” he declares on “Fala”). “I’m influenced by those that stay true to who they are,” he says. “Whether it’s artists, or characters from \[Japanese manga series\] *Naruto*. If you look at these titles, and the tempos, it’s all me being myself.” Here, he talks us through each track. **“Pain”** “This track is inspired by a character from *Naruto*. His name’s Nagato, but his alias is Pain, and he’s a character I can relate to in so many ways.” **“The Great Escape”** “At first, I was skeptical about jumping on this track, because I don’t see myself as a drill artist. I never did. It’s the sound that I started with, I guess, but everyone else kinda placed me there—I wasn’t set on it long-term. It was refreshing working with Cee, though—he’s really doing his thing on drill right now.” **“Asura & Indra”** “Working with Sango on this song was lit. We made maybe three songs, and this is the first out. The fans have been wanting us to work together for a *while*. Seriously, they would tag him \[online\] on my music more than any other producer. Asura and Indra are more characters from *Naruto*—they’re basically the founders of *everything*. Even if it looks like a show for kids, it’s complex and involves some real political battles.” **“Dennis Rodman”** “I used to follow basketball a little here and there, and a player I liked was Dennis Rodman. I like that he was his own man. So, why not dedicate a song to him? This is my first track with \[UK producer duo\] iLL BLU. They sent the beat and said, ‘Do whatever,’ and I took care of the rest.” **“Cerberus” (feat. K-Trap & Loski)** “If I could have had it my way, I would have released this project with no features. Then I thought, ‘Nah, these guys need to be on the project.’ I even had an idea to give them each separate songs, but I feel like this way is better.” **“Shippūden”** “Yeah, I know, another *Naruto* reference, flippin’ hell. I’ll never forget the night I wrote this song: I had another song prepared for this beat, it was weak, and I had a session the next day! I said to myself, ‘You’re not going in with this weak-ass song.’ So, I had a nap, woke up at 3:00 am, and stayed up until 5:30 am, just writing until I was happy with it.” **“Magneto”** “I heard Dave’s ‘Professor X’ \[on 2019’s *Top Boy* compilation of tracks inspired by the show\]. I was like, ‘This is a bop.’ And I like his thinking outside the box, so I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m \[Marvel Comics character\] Magneto. Let’s do it.’ Shout-out to \[UK producer\] 169—he turned up with this beat, and I knew it was the right one.” **“Time Out”** “This track just kinda happened to come together. I was with \[UK producer\] LiTek, and he whipped up this delicious beat. It just made me feel a way, man. I had to spit some truth to it. The voice on the intro is from an old Voice Note I received from \[deceased Harlem Spartans rapper\] Bis a few years ago. I heard it again recently and thought, ‘Yeah, I want this in.’” **“Fala”** “This is one of those songs where the beat determined everything that I say. I think I liked \[the beat\] so much, I recorded two versions at one point, but this here is the most recent version. ‘Fala’ is a Portuguese word; it means ‘Speech.’” **“Itachi”** “This is the last *Naruto* reference, man! Itachi is a fictional character who slaughtered his own race and spared his brother, for the better cause. Sounds crazy, but his ideology and intelligence I really admire.” **“Surveillance”** “For this track, it was good to see NSG at work \[in the studio\] and contrast it with myself. First, they get the harmony down—they figure out how it’s gonna sound, without lyrics, and they add those in later. And we also had to fit seven verses on the track, so there was discussion on where I would come in, and \[UK producers\] The Elements helped me find the perfect spot to jump in.” **“TSG”** “This is possibly my favorite song on the tape. I’ve been sitting on it since 2019. It’s just the beat—I love it. As soon as I hear a beat I’m feeling, I’m writing to it. I don’t waste a second. Tory Lanez does the same thing, I heard. You have to attack, straight away.” **“Too Late” (feat. Ama Lou)** “Ama Lou, people love her! I think she heard \[2020 single\] ‘Anakin’ and reached out to me about getting in the studio. It took a while, but finally we made it happen. She’s quite similar to me—she’s a perfectionist, too, and even though we only made two tracks before she had to fly to LA, we’ve planned to make more music, for sure. This is just a taster.” **“Safe Space”** “I’ve never really shown this side of me before. So, I nearly didn’t include it on this project. I thought, ‘Maybe it’ll suit the next one,’ then I had a last-minute change of heart.”

A key member of the legendary drill group, the Kennington star is coming into his own with a bold mixtape inspired by Brazilian funk

There’s not many like Blanco. The Harlem Spartan is becoming a figurehead in UK rap. He’s shown versatility on the mic, and in doing so,