Aaron Davis, more famously known as Bugzy Malone is undoubtedly a legend in the UK scene, helping to shine a light on MCs outside of London, the Manchester born rapper has already created an incredible legacy for himself all while being independent. As he became the first grime artist from Manchester to obtain commercial success in the UK, Bugzy’s introspective and raw style has been on full display.
In addition to having a UK Top 5 EP with King of the North, and a UK Top 10 album with B. Inspired, Bugzy also created clothing line with JD called ‘B Malone’ and has appeared in a feature film, 2019’s The Gentleman, directed by Guy Ritchie. Despite being involved in a near fatal crash early in 2020, Bugzy Malone has come back like he never left.
As the fan proclaimed ‘ King of the North’, Bugzy has truly put Manny on the map, becoming one of the most successful independent MCs the UK has known. Before you take in his new album The Resurrection, here are 11 essential Bugzy Malone tracks you need to listen to.
Fire In The Booth
Back in 2015, Bugzy Malone was gaining traction on the scene with some of his tracks like “Spitfire” on JDZMedia but it was this freestyle on the famous BBC 1xtra series that cemented Bugzy in the UK scene, becoming the fastest in the series to reach 1 million views.
In addition, this freestyle is currently the most viewed Fire in the Booth with over 26 million views. This Fire In the Booth started what became one of the most infamous beefs in the UK grime scene as Bugzy called out fellow MC Chip. Showcasing his aggressive and slick wordplay, this freestyle served as many’s first introduction to Bugzy Malone.
“Hulk Smash“
This track originally dropped on P110 Music in 2015 and showcased a Bugzy Malone with something to prove. The tense instrumental, produced by ZDot gives off a sense of urgency and danger which was further portrayed with Bugzy’s aggressive cadence and delivery. The track, named after Marvel’s famous Avenger, is full of hard-hitting bars as Bugzy’s speaks to both his fans and haters.
“Swear down, it’s deep
And I’m a wolf that doesn’t like sheep
F**k anyone that doesn’t like me
If you’re not on my line you’re not in my league”
Bugzy lays down a message to the UK scene here as he cements himself as an upcoming star.
“M.E.N“
“M.E.N” serves as a reflective look at the Manchester grime artist. The track, is named after the “Manchester Evening News”, a major newspaper in the North West city. Here, Bugzy tells his side of the story after the same newspaper published an article on him in 2015. The track covers Bugzy’s childhood and upbringing in the Manchester as well as his life so far. Bugzy states his desire to leave a legacy, saying,
“I don’t mind going out as a legend as long as I’m known as Manchester’s best”
Serving as an essential look at Bugzy’s contemplative style during his come up, “M.E.N” dropped at a pivotal moment in Bugzy’s career.
“Bruce Wayne“
Bugzy again titles one of his tracks after a comic book character, this time the track is named after DC’s Dark Knight. As one of the singles from his 2017 EP, King of the North, Bugzy provided us with an impressive display on this one full of bars and wordplay, ‘You’re a joker, you’ll get your head slapped in’.
The tense, sinister tone is felt in both the production as well as Bugzy’s menacing delivery. Bugzy’s ominous take on the “na na na na” ad-lib from the 60s Batman theme completes the brooding vibe of the track.
“Beauty and the Beast“
This song, off his 2016 EP Facing Time, shows Bugzy’s versatility with this RnB inspired track being a lot more mellow in tone, as Bugzy paints a picture with his words. Delving into his past, Bugzy talks about the difficulty of maintaining a relationship while trying to build his career.
Through this heartfelt, reflective track, Bugzy showed a side of himself that contrasted well with the high energy grime bangers from his early days. With an impressive 43 million Spotify streams and becoming certified Gold in the UK Independent charts, this track clearly resonated with people as Bugzy’s artistry shines through.
“Elite Sessions”
Dropping way back in December 2014, this one is an early Bugzy Malone Essential. The King in the North, is doing what he does best, and just brings us some good old fashioned rap. Racking up over 15 million views, this one really was elite.
“Spitfire”
Another one of the JDZ Media classics is Bugzy Malone’s “SpitFire” session. Once again be brings a no frills approach and delivers straight bars.
“Kilos“
Kilos served as a clash of titans for the Manchester artists as Bugzy, the older more experienced MC, joined forces with Aitch, the new kid on the block who was making waves. The two rappers describe the lavish lifestyle they lead after becoming stars in the rap game on the high-tempo, guitar-based, instrumental courtesy of Swifta Beater. Aitch provides us with one of his best features yet with his signature fast flows and creative bars. The energy on this track is infectious as Bugzy and Aitch do their city proud, truly repping the 0161.
“Confessions“
Before all the glossy high budget vids, Bugzy was just barring in the ends with his boys. “Confessions” which has racked up over seven million views to date, is one for the Bugzy Fans that have been around since the beginning of his journey.
“M.E.N III“
This is perhaps Bugzy Malone at his most raw and transparent. In the third installment of his M.E.N trilogy, Bugzy goes deep into his past, talking about his upbringing, relationship with his parents as well as the aftermath of his crash. Serving as Bugzy’s highly anticipated return to the rap game, “M.E.N III” continued along the lines of its predecessors with Bugzy opening up and delving into topics like mental health and suicide. A testament to Bugzy’s mentality and resilience, “M.E.N III” was a perfect conclusion to the M.E.N trilogy.
“Notorious“
The final track sees Bugzy finally collaborate with Chip in the highly anticipated link up. Despite their beef in 2015 being well documented, the two artists buried the hatchet back in 2017.
They come together on this satisfying track that sees the two go back-to-back boasting about what they’ve done for their cities as well as their ‘notorious’ status.
Their beef is mentioned with Chip saying, “So me and B ain’t ever going out like Pac and Biggie,”. The sample taken from Turbulence’ song of the same name combines with Blinkie’s production and makes for a jumpy, high-energy instrumental. This collaboration between Bugzy and Chip didn’t disappoint.