UK rap aficionado Youngs Teflon takes Wonderland track-by-track through his grit-laden latest studio album, Keep The Change.
A consistent and significant figure at the core of UK rap’s augmentation across the past decade and a half, South London road rap trailblazer Youngs Teflon boasts an undeniable legacy. The depth of his discography is immense, with hard-hitting and thematically dense projects continuing to be delivered — the latest of which being Keep The Change.
Teflon’s new album is a reflective and resonant work. The rapper sounds as sharp as ever across the cinematic, atmospheric musical palettes, looking back on his career, his street encounters and his personal growth. Boasting features from the likes of Clavish, Knucks and Blaqbones, it’s undoubtedly one of the most quintessential UK rap releases this year to date. Below, Teflon exclusively tells Wonderland about the album in our latest track-by-track.
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Read the track-by-track…
“Crouching Tiger”
When I first heard the sample for this the producer had sent it to me before the beat was finished. But what I heard was so cinematic it sounded like a movie. And I immediately knew it had to be the intro. As soon as I got in the booth and started spitting bars I felt invisible like I was just gliding through the bars and along with its Asian influences, I had to title it Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. I wanted an impactful intro, and just by the melody alone I knew what the lyrics had to be. This had to be the intro.
“Da Gutter”
This is the first track I made from the album. It’s a throwback type track, reminiscent of old skool 90’s hip hop and resonates with me as a rap anthem.
Originally this was based on NAS’s ‘N.Y. State Of Mind’ sample, which is one of my favourite tracks. ‘Da Gutter’ talks about making it out of the hood and no longer being caught up in the struggle. I wanted to pay homage to one of my favourite rappers NAS but we had a tough time clearing the sample, so we ended up switching it to a sample of the sample so to speak, but those who know NAS know what’s up and will know the inspo behind ‘Da Gutter’.
“Motion” ft. Aitch
This is one of my favourite tracks from the tape even before Aitch was on it. It has a bubbly beat, it’s up tempo, it’s a feel good track, I’m talking from a place of still being undisputed. I needed someone else that could match that energy on this one and compliment the track, so as soon as Aitch popped up in my mind, I knew he’d be perfect so I sent it over to him and the rest is history. I think this is one of my favourite verses from Aitch in general, if I do say so myself!
“Brownin’”
This track samples an iconic Aaliyah song ‘I Don’t Wanna’. Storytelling is my thing so it was the perfect song to let everyone know about my Brownin’ which is another term for a girlfriend. This track sings her praises about how much I appreciate her, her loyalty, and confidence. I wanted to make a song for the ladies, if you will, something that they could also get down to on this album and something that’s a little softer and more vulnerable for me.
“Tony’s Tub” ft. Knucks
Tony’s Tub is another reference to the movie Scarface, where the main character Tony Montanna is in a massive bathtub smoking a cigar and drinking champagne, shouting about how the world is his and he’s on top..
Essentially,the vibe of the track is all about being the boss, being on top and being “certi”. This one features Knucks and when we first sat down we listened to a few samples and this one popped up and we were like “yeah this is it”. We were actually going to call it something else but then we thought “ Nahhh” lets just call it what it is. If you listen to the lyrics you’ll understand why it’s called Tony’s Tub, it’s basically that Scarface scene created in the studio.
“Favourite Poison”
I recorded this in the same session as ‘Da Gutter’ and at the time I only had the first verse, no chorus, nothing, but I kept listening to the verse over and over again. When I finally got the hook, I felt it was a little too ‘lovey dovey’, only focusing on the positive side of relationships, so I had to be real, as they do call me the “reality rapper” and I flipped the second verse, by sprinkling a pinch of toxicity over it. I’m sure everyone can relate to a toxic relationship at some point in their life and I wanted to acknowledge that, hence the oxymoron title, ‘Favourite Poison’.
“Cologne” ft. Clavish
This is a track where I just wanted to gas myself up, brag a little you know, ‘talk the ting’ be hyped. Letting the ladies know that if you’re gonna ‘stand by your man’ you’ve got to stand all the way up as a ‘ride & die’ and if not then feel free to leave, as we also have options. Clavish was the perfect person for this as he also embodies an aura of confidence and authenticity in most of his songs, so he was the perfect feature for this.
“Ain’t Right” ft. Blaqbonez
Working on this one, I was in my element, feeling relaxed and free. I just wanted to announce that I’m crowning myself the King. That I no longer need validation from anyone, I’ve done my time in this game and I’m still undisputed, “I’m the underground King without a crown!” is the standout bar.
Blaqubonez is a super talented artist from Nigeria and it was actually my mum that put me onto him, as she’s a connoisseur when it comes to Afro music and she was right, he brings the perfect amount of vim (energy) to this track. This was recorded in Ghana in an impromptu session after a being at a writing camp.
“Need You”
‘Need You’ was semi recorded around 3 years ago and I didn’t plan to release it but I randomly played it in a label meeting and my A&R and manager loved the song so much that I decided to finish it off and put it on the album.
“Wrong Ones”
This was also written and recorded around the same time as ‘Need You’ and is another one of my favourites, I can never listen to it just once, I heard the beat and instantly understood the melody. It felt so familiar to me, so much so that the track didn’t follow my usual writing process, I just went into the booth and started freestyling. The melody gets me every time. In a nutshell ‘Wrong Ones’ is about getting involved with the wrong crowd back in the day, hanging out and being influenced by the wrong ones.
“Unusual Suspects”
This song came about whilst watching the movie Heat, starring Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer. I had received the beat prior to this, but when watching the movie that beat was all I could think about. It sounded like a movie in itself, so I started writing the bars in the style of a script. It felt like I was writing a short movie although it’s a tale of life in the hood.
“Product Of My Environment”
Again I was in a session and I popped out and heard another producer working in another studio so I went in and started listening to some of his beats. On hearing one with violins I knew I wanted to work with this vibe, so I just started rapping over it, about how and where I grew up, my musical choices and what motivated my younger self. For me ‘Product of my Environment’ is an important track on the album, as it’s the tale of my early journey, the story of what shaped me. Personally it’s my standout track.
“Members Only” ft. Frank Ekwa
Another favourite of mine. As I’m not known for making obvious feel good music, due to my beat choices and lyrical contents, I’m viewed as a more gritty rapper, but “Members Only” is the closest you’ll get to feel good music from me. It’s a celebration of “making it out of the hood” , being legit and no longer having to engage in certain activities to survive. I’ve evolved, I’m now in a nice, quiet neighbourhood, I enjoy my day to day and I no longer have to watch my back. So for me it’s a really positive track.
“Sicily”
It’s actually the instruments and the beat that for me that interestingly reminds me of Sicily. Essentially it’s me playing up and telling my girl that I’m busy and that I’ll call her in the morning and not call. It’s a bit of fun and as it’s the outro I just wanted to be jovial with it.
