After a brief hiatus, Lewisham’s favourite MC Slim recently returned with the release of his single “Double R’s”. Swiftly after, he jumped on his debut Daily Duppy and teamed up with previous collaborator North London’s masked rapper M Hunchofor the dark, atmospheric track “Any Minute” – With his triumphant comeback, he has reclaimed his status within the scene and proven that he is here to stay. Now, he is releasing his mixtape Still Working 2, the long-awaited follow up to 2019’s Still Working. Ahead of the release and giving fans an early preview of what to expect, last night Slim released the visual for ‘Let’s Talk Money’ featuring Drill superstar Headie One.
‘Headie featured on my first project Still Working so I had to get him back for 2. No joking let’s talk some serious stuff is the mood for Let’s Talk Money’ Slim
Slim has definitely returned with renewed determination and a clear sense of purpose as Still Working 2 explores a fresh perspective and sound, whilst still staying true to his gritty, raw blend of sub-genres that fans love him for. Stacked with 13 tracks in total, the project includes more exciting collaborations with the likes of R&B songstress Mnelia and UK heavyweight Potter Payper, as well as numerous solo tracks which again demonstrate his powerful vocals and hypnotic lyricism alongside a grippingly dark blend of rap and drill melodies.
To understand Slim’s story, it’s important to head back four years ago, to his first release. In 2019, not long after he dropped ‘Still Working’ – his slick project of finely tuned rap, told with trap lingo – he went to prison. The South Londoner had expected the moment and he’d started releasing music one year earlier, for the first time in his life, as a way to prepare himself. “It was an outstanding case, so I knew I was going to go in,” he explains. He’d been arrested and subsequently banned from Scotland in 2018, so while he waited for his case to be heard, he decided to give music a proper try. “The trap rappers and the real rappers were coming through,” he remembers. Plus, “I had a schedule I needed to fill.” Music became the thing.
Slim’s first single “Different” arrived in 2018, with follow-up record “Magic” and breakthrough track “Again & Again” coming after. Each one building his story as one of the UK’s next-up rappers to watch. This led to a link-up with GRM Records – the iconic label and juggernaut responsible for platforming some of UK’s biggest names in rap. “It started working and the traction came – I thought: ‘This might be the other angle for me in life,’” says Slim. Then flash forward. Mid-way through a tour, six weeks after releasing the critically acclaimed ‘Still Working’, which reached the UK Chart Top 40, Slim had to carry out his sentence. He went inside in May, 2019 and stayed there until his April, 2023, while his mixtape–feat collabs with M Huncho, K Trap and Headie One continued to rack up plays.
Slim announced his return on June 1 with laser-focused comeback single “Double R’s” – his first release since being locked up. You can hear the hunger. “I’m fresh home, I’m patterned like I never missed a minute / Half a mill for a mixtape, 27 for a brizzy,” he raps over atmospheric, smokey trappy production, his voice shining like a beacon. “That was the first song I recorded. It was the fresh home energy. You can’t re-do that unless you’ve had the experience of getting out,” he says.
On the track’s meaning, Slim says: “It’s coming back from a bad situation. I’m showing them you can come back heavy and hard. No matter what you’re doing, everyone goes through sticky times. It doesn’t have to be jail. It could be anything: a family member could die, your mental health [could be bad]. When you come back refreshed, this song is how you might feel.”
It’s one of many new tracks Slim’s recorded in the month or so since leaving prison. “It’s about doing stuff “people won’t expect.” Pushing new angles, sounds, motives. Recording back-to-back-to-back. This approach all goes back to Slim’s mindset from day one. Which, coincidentally, also leads into the record’s name: Still Working. “I have to treat it like that. When I was caught up in my graft and my grind, I was non-stop,” says Slim. “That’s me. 110% at all times. Sacrificing meals just to work. Sacrificing family time. Now I’m here. The main difference is the fact that police aren’t going to be kicking off the studio door because we’re doing something illegal.”
This time around, Slim’s motivated to bring his polished rap records to a wider audience. To pick up before the jail time, where that headline tour in 2019 left off, pushing his plans forward. “For me to transfer what I was doing on another hustle, to this, is nothing for me. I don’t have to worry about a lot of things that can happen. For me, everything is easy. That’s the honest truth.”
He’s still working, and the new project is ready to showcase his much-awaited return.
