Tion Wayne - Green With Envy

The Quietus

Green With Envy is an appropriate choice of title. Edmonton Green native Tion Wayne must have left the rest of the UK drill scene feeling jealous when he became the first artist from the genre to get to Number One with the absolute thumper of a single, ‘Body’, in March 2021. Such a reaction would be misplaced, though. Tion didn't reach the top through pure good luck: years of hard work went into it, too. He released his first track, ‘Edmonton’, on YouTube as a seventeen-year-old in 2010, and his journey has involved many ups and downs on the way to pop’s summit. The highs have included the much-loved Wayne’s World mixtape trilogy; the lows, infamously, a series of stints in prison. But after each setback he has always rebounded with some incredible music.

The darker side of Tion peaks on the project’s drill tracks, such as posse cut ‘Anything Grr’, where his 3x3 crew showcase that they are nothing to play with. “Paranoid all my life, no slippin’, what can I say? I got too much victims”, he spits, with the war-like track putting the listener in the sonic zone of being in a city under siege. It is unfortunate that the perceived realness of violence in UK drill is beloved by many of its fans, and Tion does embody this in many of his rap tracks – perhaps giving us a clue as to why he has become so popular. But at the same time, he always includes his trademark Afro-leaning pop numbers, which offer a welcome break from the harsher songs on the album. ‘Who’s True’, which features Nigerian superstar Davido, exemplifies this, with Tion tapping into his own Nigerian roots with the Afro-centric vibe.

Towards the end of the record Tion goes deep into emotional territory. On ‘Homecoming’ he raps about his mother having cancer and beating it. He ends the song with a prayer, and on the outro, ‘Road to Riches’, he raps: “I thank God the fact I’m alive”. He was stabbed in the back as a teen but was able to push through – he might be shining like a diamond star on a platinum chain these days, but lines like these are subtle reminders that what he’s been through hasn’t always been glitter and gold.

Tion Wayne did a perfect job at leaving his enemies green with envy with this uber strong debut, perfectly balancing productions that deliver pop sensibility and hardcore street anthems with ease. But there is a lot more to come from the North London maverick if he continues his current trajectory of bringing the once-rejected UK drill to the mount Olympus of mainstream music.

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(Atlantic)
The chart-topping MC tilts at the mainstream with mixed results