“The whole time I was working on this album, I was consciously thinking, ‘What if people just want more drill?’” K-Trap tells Apple Music. “But at the same time, I’m thinking they could also want more of anything else.” On debut studio album Street Side Effects, the south London MC—popularly known as “Trappo”—brings a focus to his sound, touching on the world around him with maturity while acknowledging the treacherous pitfalls of his environment. “This is my album,” he says. “This is me. What’s more respected, bro? Getting an album out talking about waps for 16 songs, the same as any other driller you’ve heard? No. People wanna listen to an album where’s there’s balance and there’s growth.” There’s also some elite recruitment here, with features from contemporaries Fredo, Abra Cadabra and D-Block Europe alongside verses courtesy of seasoned vets Wretch 32 and Giggs. “For me, the features can’t be forced,” he says. “This here doesn’t seem like just a label album. It’s about being true to yourself. It can’t feel staged. These aren’t songs trying to have chart impact. It’s the story of my life.” Here, K-Trap gives us a track-by-track guide to his stunning debut album. Street Side Effects “I’ll be real, the beat took me to a place that I wasn’t really going to when I was doing music. It just took me. And I just gave it off the dome, exactly how I felt. If you’ve been through what I’ve been through or similar, you’ll be like, ‘Wow.’ And if you haven’t, you’d still be surprised. Like, ‘Rah, this is what guys go through!’” Fearless “This is another one where I just went in. I wanted to keep a little bit of the drill flow on this tempo too, you know what I mean?” By The Rules “I might not be in the best position, but I’m way better than how I thought I’d be when I was living by the rules. This song is a true story. When the story was actually happening, I would have never thought I would eventually be releasing my debut album. It just goes to show you can travel a difficult road and still end up in a great destination.” New Opp Block (feat. Abra Cadabra) “I just done a beat with [UK producer] Honeywood Six. It was crazy. I just jumped on it but it was hard. The hook was crazy. I was just thinking, ‘Bruv, I need someone to match man’s energy on it or else I’m miffed.’ And Abz came to mind straightaway. We’ve got that relationship so I shouted him and he came to the booth. We just chopped it up first and then we made it happen.” Just Cool “This is one of my favourites. I started working with [UK producer] Honeywood years ago but we didn’t really connect properly. And then we came back in together. So when it comes to the creative process, with the beats and stuff, he knows that I can do a lot. Certain producers, I’ll get in with them, they just only want to do drill. Me and Honeywood get creative.” Shower Posse (feat. Giggs) “This beat is mad, and it gave me that old school feel, too. I’ve been working with [UK producer] Soundboi from my very early stages. The beat actually reminded me of Giggs. It’s funny because the engineer was in the studio doing a Giggs voiceover it and man’s like, ‘Nah man, needs Hollow on this.’” Probably (feat. Blade Brown) “We made a song before this, and it was hard, but it wasn’t [2019 single] ‘Joints’ hard. That went off. So we scrapped that song and just done something a bit more jumpy, more trappy and we made it happen. You can hear this in a club.” Hot There (feat. Fredo) “This gave me that flyboy kind of energy. Man just came on that kind of bossy, fly, young rich kind of pattern. There aren’t a lot of people that can really match it. So obviously I just patterned that with Fred.” She Wanna Come “If I’m being honest, it’s my least favourite on the album. But it’s maybe because it’s just far from man’s sound, you get me? But I feel like it was still needed. Sounds like a bit of a friendly one for other people, you know what I mean?” Pour It Up (feat. M1llionz) “This beat just hits different. It’s like drill, but it’s still bright. It’s not dark, but it’s jumpy. I think girls can fuck with it and the mandem too. And M1llionz done his thing, too. I think he’s hard!” The Re-Up 2 “I just fuck with [2018 single] ‘The Re-Up’, man. I was just messing about one time and I thought, ‘Fuck it. I’m going to record a second part.’ For me, there’s ‘The Re-Up 1’ and ‘The Re-Up 2’ is just what’s been good since then.” Whip That Work “No, it definitely wasn’t [the first single I made for the album], but it’s like, at that time, I wasn’t sure what to drop. And ‘Whip That Work’ made a lot of sense.” Bentayga (feat. D-Block Europe) “This is two worlds coming together. Initially I stopped recording and I felt like it needed a melody, some sort of wave. Now it’s got D-Block on it.” Promised “This is another one where the beat just put me in another place and I kind of zoned out. I just gave it to them, man. ‘Couple man I grew with probably won’t talk again/Blame that bag I never had/Ever took an L and the man you decide to tell is sorta glad?’” Lessons (feat. Wretch 32) “‘They just see the name and think they know the topic, girls, money guns and a load of boxes.’ Wretch is blessed, man. People like Wretch just reminded me that people are normal and they will come and link you in the studio, make music, and it’s not awkward. He’s just calm, bro. But I’ve always wanted something with Wretch.” Story Of My Life “‘Get that money, better feed the hyenas before they start talking like divas.’ That was kind of like a wrap-up for me, man. Just put everything in one and give them it. How do I explain it? Just the realness. What’s going on right now. That’s how I would say.”