Bugzy Malone has one of the most disttinctive voices in the UK rap scene. His flow and storytelling abilities seperate him from others in the game. If you haven’t heard of him or his music, I recommend checking out his original Daily Duppy perfomance. This track will effectively introduce you to his lifestyle and past. Despite the serious tone within most of his discography, in 2023, him and Arrdee released the playful track One Direction, which has over 10 million streams. Another extremely motivational track from him is Moving. It’s about his own determination and rejection to the idea of giving up.
Moving is part of his 2016 album Facing Time, which is an extremely raw and honest project. The first track, with the same name (Facing Time), expresses Bugzy Malone’s own personal battles with fame and how it feels like being in prison; with a lack of freedom. This was only a short project with 8 songs, but definitely worth a listen. The fact this has no features at all helps show the honesty of Bugzy Malone’s thoughts.
One of the most popular tracks on this project is definitely Beauty and the Beast. This is for sure a storytelling masterpiece. Something that isn’t seen very often in the rap scene. It tells the story of Bugzy Malone’s previous battles with a relationship. It reminds me of Dave’s track How I Met My Ex. Both songs are on a whole ‘nother level.
B.Inspired is Bugzy Malone’s debut studio album, released in 2018. It’s more experimental and can be defined as heavily inspiring. You can tell he poured his heart out into the whole project, rapping about what he feels. He touches on subjects such as early life stuggles, depression, violence and the stuggles of growing up in his home town of Manchester. Something I appreciated about this album is the collaborations within it. The honest vocals from artists such as JP Cooper and Rag’n’Bone Man raise the emotional feeling instantly. Die By The Gun is one of my favourite tracks from this project.
In a way, Bugzy Malone’s discography can be seen as an alternative to therapy. Many people relate to what he is talking about, which is why his music is so popular. Underrated, but still popular.
In terms of his whole discography, my favourite track is by far Welcome To The Hood with Emili Sandé. This gives an honest representation of growing up ‘in the hood’. Bugzy Malone tells how he feels it is a completely different world to the one outside of it:
'Welcome to the hood
Where no one teaches you to love because we're all products of lust'
'Welcome to the hood
Where boredom leads to depression, depression leads to drugs'
'And school's a waste of time cos we're learning outta books
And when you're academic you get taken for a mug
Cos mathematics won't help when you're in a puddle of blood
And I say welcome to the hood'
His latest album The Great British Dream was released in May 2024 and continues the raw and honest theme throughout Bugzy Malone’s whole discography.
His latest release is The Riddler | The Journal Of An Evil Genius Volume 2.
If you hadn’t heard of Bugzy Malone before this, I hope he will be in your rotation from now on. His whole discography is full of relatable, honest and inspirational songs. If you want to feel motivated, start listening to Bugzy Malone. Now.