Like so much of our lives, M1llionz’s debut mixtape, Provisional License, didn’t go entirely to plan. Born Miguel Rahiece Cunningham, the rapper’s early career almost entirely spanned a pandemic. To build up over a year’s worth of thriving material and never perform live is a bizarre turn of events, but fortunately, for M1llionz, it’s been the making of him. “Coming through in the last few years means you don't know what to expect,” M1llionz tells Apple Music. “People tell you, but you need to experience it for yourself. You're seeing all these people that know your songs and everybody's been indoors for like two years listening and taking note of what's going on.” Even in the booth, he had to learn quickly. He confesses that it wasn’t until April 2020’s “Y PREE” (his fifth solo single and sixth overall) that he felt confident enough to pursue music as anything more than a hobby. This, it has to be mentioned, was three months after he delivered one of the most swaggering, self-assured freestyles for Kenny Allstar’s Voice of the Streets series. It’s tempting to wonder whether that confidence stems from being so vividly different from his UK rap contemporaries. Everything from his flow to the beat selections to the way he carries himself seems unique. Does he feel part of the drill scene? “I don't think so at all,” he says. “The beats have that drill influence, but my flow and my content? Not at all.” The influence of drill does ring through this tape—thanks in part to the influence of producers including Bkay, Ghosty, Honeywoodsix and Jevon—but just like the garage-owing “B1llionz” and the dancehall-soaked “Y PREE”, there’s so much more to M1llionz’s Provisional License than 808s and hi-hats. Here he walks us through his debut mixtape, track by track. “Intro” “This was produced by Jevon and Honeywoodsix. I had most of the songs for the tape, but everybody was saying I needed an intro. So I went in and wrote it there and then. We switched up the beat a couple of times—at first, the intro is slower, the second beat's a bit more jumpy, then by the third beat, it gets even crazier. I wanted it to build up to lead into the second song.” “Pedestrian” “This track was produced by H1K at the end of 2019. So, to be fair, I can't remember specifically, remember how that went, but I do remember that when I did record it, everybody liked it, but I just didn't end up releasing it. So, obviously, I saved it and for whatever reason I held on to it all this time, and it turned out to be the right decision.” “Bando Spot” “This is one of the more catchy tracks. It's jumpy, there's a lot of flow changes, and it's a bit different for me as well, because my personality comes out on this one. It’s a nice one to get the party going as well. As for the 50 Cent [‘Candy Shop’] sample, that was my idea. I was in the studio with Honeywood and I started singing the hook, he said, ‘Yo, you might as well just sample that,’ and it just worked.” “Air BnB” (feat. Headie One) “I was in the studio and decided I wanted Headie One on a song. So I did my bits in the day and I linked him later in the night and he filled in his bits. It’s a natural one when you hear that one. In the studio, it sounded mad. Everyone says it’s one of the best songs on here, but I don't know.” “Badnis” “I started recording this a little while ago, but it wasn’t quite there, something was missing. Then, when we got the voice note of the yard man talking about guns and placed that at the start of the intro, I think that sealed the song. The intro adds a bit of character to it and sets the scene for what I’m talking about.” “Mobbin” “I want this one to be like [2020 single] ‘Lagga’, basically. Obviously, it’s not on here, so I haven’t got a mad, head-banging, crazy go-nuts song; hopefully that's what this does. It’s something for people to smash up the house to, basically. I didn’t want to recreate it exactly, but I wanted something similar for this tape.” “Provisional License” (feat. AJ Tracey) “The sample alone brings the tune up, but the lyrics and the hook are very catchy, too. There's a bit more meaning to this one. I’m saying my mum wants me to be surrounded by different people, positive people, but I'm obviously doing what I'm doing. Don’t get me wrong, she’s happy for me, but she was unsure at first. Obviously, every parent's going to be like that, but I think it's more the content of what I’m saying. After a while, she realised it’s just entertainment, isn't it? So she's going to be happy either way.” “Jail Brain” “I wrote some of this in jail, the first bit at least. So it would have been like 2019. I like the beat and I feel like I’m just flowing for ages. I only recorded the first bit, but [British producer] Bkay was like, ‘Yo, you need to finish it, finish it, finish it.’ So when I went to America at the end of 2020, I ended up finishing it. It's aimed at the ladies, but at the same time, men can relate to it also. It’s just life.” “How Many Times” (feat. Lotto Ash) “I was sent this track with the chorus already on it. So once I heard it, I said, ‘This is ridiculous. I need this.’ And I ended up recording it—it’s one of my favourites because it's a lot deeper than it appears. It's like people won’t realise how many times you've done something or how many times you've tried to elevate...it could be anything. People don't walk in your shoes, and you don't walk in other people’s. So neither side are really ever going to understand. You’ve just got to keep persevering and keep it going.” “Adrenaline” “I don't know, everyone thinks this track is mad, except for me. I just think it's a normal song. I did this ages ago, and even recorded a video in Dubai for it last year. Obviously, that didn't end up coming out, but I was convinced to have it on here.” “Regular Bag” “That was Jevon and Honeywood again. I think the flow change here is crazy. Each sequence I'd do like a four-bar, change it to a completely different flow, and switch it again. The hook's catchy as well. It's like on ‘Adrenaline’, but I think the verses are more lyrical.” “Hometown” (feat. Jevon) “This one’s definitely my favourite. It’s produced by Jevon, again, and it’s a deeper one to end on, to balance things out, and the hook from Jevon's really catchy.”