RV is set to dominate the game in 2023 with an impressive series of projects that he has been recently working on. The OFB rapper has already unveiled the first piece of the puzzle, the eagerly anticipated tape entitled Inconspicuous which sees the Bally-On-RV that the fans have been asking for over the years shell authentic old school drill beats and bringing back the original RV sound for the day one fans. Both the original and the deluxe version of the project have so far been very well received by the audience who is also in for another surprise very soon.
The Tottenham-hailing artist has only started putting his masterplan into motion and 2023 is set to be the year where Bally-On RV and Bally-Off RV come together to deliver the experience that the fans have been waiting for.
In an exclusive interview for GRM Daily, RV discusses his plans for this year, what people can expect from his as well as who he is outside of music and a few things that not too many people know about him.
Let’s talk about your latest project Inconspicuous. Can you tell me how it came to life?
“So the concept of the project is me going back to my roots. I feel like I’m most known for when I was making songs with Headie and I was wearing a balaclava in like 2017, early 2018 and like my fans have dubbed it Bally RV cause obviously I’ve took the mask off now and they always referred to that saying “We need that Bally RV back, we need that Bally RV back.”
“So this is what that project is. It’s basically me making the music that I’m most known for.”
And how did you pick the name?
“So when I first came out of jail in 2019 I was on tour with Headie. I’d just recently come out, people didn’t know that I was out so I was doing like a surprise appearance at one of his shows in Manchester. So I was there but nobody could know I was there until I actually came out (on stage). And I went to go to the smoking area with Dezzie but the fans had already been queuing up around the corner and the smoking area was at the front where the fans were so I’m thinking “How can we go to the smoking area without being seen?”
“And then I put my hood on and I covered up my face and I was walking and I was recording myself, like walking past people and not being noticed, and I was like “Yeah, I’m inconspicuous.” And since then everybody thought it was funny and then like this became my thing. Anytime I’m seeing random bally people I say “I’m inconspicuous”, so yeah.”
What statement are you looking to make with this project?
“Just that Bally RV is always there and that I appreciate my fans, my co-founding people that have been there from the start, so obviously I always want to cater to them. And that I’m still one of the hardest in drill.”
Can you walk me through the creative process of making the tape? Starting with the initial idea and moving on to writing sessions, video shoots, etc.
“Well, obviously cause of the nature of the music things had to happen in life and I had to be in a certain mind frame for me to channel Bally RV, you know what I’m saying? Cause like when I was making that music I was in a different point of my life and a lot of things have changed for me for the better since then.
“So naturally my music reflected that and I was making less of that type of music. That’s probably why the demand for it was so high. But like certain things just happened in life and I was able to channel it into my music. So that was the main creative process.
“And then it became a thing where the producers that I was linking and the beats that I was selecting had to be similar to ones I would’ve used before. Because I know since 2016 drill has changed a lot, the sound of drill has changed a lot, the type of artists that are making drill and what drill is about has changed a lot, so I just wanted to keep it authentic. So yeah, that was my thought process when going into sessions and making the songs.”
You also bring the whole OFB family on the tape as well, so naturally I’m curious to know what an OFB session looks like?
“Um, an OFB session is hectic IF you can even get a proper one. It’s very hard to get everybody under the same roof at the same time. Sometimes it’s, oh yeah, you might get two people to do their bit one day and then another two people another day or whatever.
“Sometimes you gotta send it over and just in general with the creative process, even if you do get everybody under the same roof one day, people might have writer’s block that day or they might not be feeling it that day and they might have to do their thing at another stage or whatever.”
How do you overcome that writer’s block?
“You know what I feel like just life experiences or just like emotion, how you feel at the time, because I like to keep things real. Like I can’t just make up stuff, I have to be feeling something when I write it. There are times where I feel like “Oh yeah, I need to write some bars” and I go to write some bars and then I dunno what to write about cause I have no inspiration. Do you know what I mean? So if I got writer’s block, I just know that I’m lacking something in life so I go try and find that inspiration whether that’s looking back at old videos, whether that’s thinking about the past and remembering things, whether that is something recent. You can get inspiration from anywhere at any time.”
Was there a key moment that made this album into what it is now?
“Well actually when I was recording music I wasn’t necessarily recording for this project. It just ended up coming about cause I was recording for a different project which I’m still working on now, but I was over recording. So I planned to do a project which was like half bally on and half bally off, which I’m still planning on doing, but I over recorded for the bally on side because I like to record more songs than I need and then pick the best ones or whatever, and I’ll just work on a lot.
“And I had so many songs, and I had so much demand from people telling me to release music that I just decided to just put something together and yeah, give the fans something to listen to.”
So what made you want to tap into old drill? Because I remember seeing some interviews where you were saying that even though there is a demand for it people want to hear new drill more.
“So like I said I’m working on another project, which is gonna be loads of different other stuff, but then I also said like, just being a demand from my fans. And it’s like I wanted to give them what they wanted. Like they support me with my other music but it’s just like the comments that I receive are like “Yeah, Bally RV is undefeated,” like “I like your music. I like your new music,” like they always ask me for new music anyway, but they always say “Yeah, Bally RV is undefeated.” So this is basically for them. This is strictly for the fans and also this is music that I enjoy making.
“You know, sometimes people lose their passion for stuff and start following the industry or whatever and trying to go mainstream, which is cool cause it is a career at the end of the day and it’s a business. But like sometimes we do have to take it back to the music and the essence, you know what I’m saying? I feel like drill is the UK’s biggest genre. But it’s like, there’s people that created drill over here. There’s people that are like pioneers of drill over here, and there’s people that have switched up drill over here. So like drill over here is more like clubby, dancey rather than hardcore. It started hardcore, you know what I’m saying? So I feel like there is a gap for the hardcore drill.
“People do miss the hardcore drill cause a lot of people that were making the hardcore drill don’t make it anymore. So I feel like everybody’s looking at me and pointing fingers at me to bring that back. So yeah, that’s how, that’s how we ended up here, you know?”
I love that! And also the fact that you brought in 67 as well which are literally the pioneers of UK drill. In the light of what you just said, what track hits home differently for you?
“It’s hard to pick one. Personally I do like the intro. I feel like the last time I dropped a drill project, apart from Drillers x Trappers, the last time I dropped a solo drill project was 2019 which was the Savage EP and everybody was gassed off the intro. So I wanted to try and recreate that again with the intro. Just set the tone for the rest of the tape from the start and just go in. So yeah, I do like that song.
“I do like the song with Monkey and Dimzy you see, it’s a bit different. Obviously I like the songs that I’ve already released but there’s a bonus track on there with Headie and that song basically takes me back to Drillers X Trappers I and II and then that’s basically the essence.
“I feel like RV had two different waves. There was 2017 with the bally and there was 2019 when I first came out of jail and took off the bally and I did the Savage EP and Drillers x Trappers II. So I feel like there’s songs on there that take me back to 2017 with the bally and I feel like there’s songs that take me back to 2019 as well.”
Speaking of bringing back the old school, I see what you’ve been doing on TikTok and that you’re bringing back the windproof jackets with the goggles. Why these jackets and why now?
“So that’s how Inconspicuous started. It was one of those jackets that I used to cover my face. So this was from 2019. So the actual jacket I was wearing, I put the hood on and then I put the goggles down. That’s probably why people didn’t recognise who I was. And since then, like on Snapchat, everybody was just sending me videos of them doing the same thing. So it became a thing. These videos are from 2019, 2020. I’ve got hundreds of them. I just couldn’t put them all into one video on TikTok. But I’ve got loads, people were sending me them daily.”
I got you! What else have you got planned for 2023?
“Well I got my next project dropping in summertime. Something that’s not 100% set in stone yet but I do want to do is complete the Drillers x Trappers trilogy. We need to do number three! I’m gonna try everything in my power to make it happen.”
But I still want to know, you still need to give me something! Talk to me about the next tape that’s coming out in the summer, let’s start with that.
“Okay. So the next tape is me basically showcasing my music talents, making different genres of music, you know what I’m saying? Like obviously anybody that knows my full story, like I first started making music in like 2010, that was like UK rap. And then I went to jail for a long time, then I came back out and whatnot. So I want to get back to actually rapping, I feel like UK rap is coming back now. There’s a lot of artists that are doing well within the UK rap (scene).
“Obviously I’m mostly known for drill cause I had a lot of success in 2017, 18 and 19, but I came up rapping, you know what I’m saying? So I would like to be getting back to rap. My favourite genre of music is trap so I would like to be making some trap and obviously still make drill, so yeah. And obviously we need some summer bangers as well so I’ve got a few of those coming!”
Are we going to hear you on a garage song too then?
“You know what, I wouldn’t say yes or no. When I go into the studio, I go into the studio and I just go with the vibe, do you know what I’m saying? I wouldn’t go in the studio and say “Yeah, do you know what? I need to make a garage tune today.” But if I could go in the studio and then somebody plays me a garage beat and I like it then there’s no reason why I wouldn’t jump in it but what I would do, it would be an RV garage tune.”
Okay, now tell me more about the trilogy!
“So, yeah, well people have been asking for that for years and it’s just something I feel like.. To wrap it up would be good. And I feel like, like I said, a lot changed in drill in that time and I feel like me and Headie worked together well, we contrasted each other well. So I feel like that would be a good thing to get done for everybody really. For the listeners, for ourselves and for the culture.”
I also want to ask you a couple questions just for everyone to get to know you more as a person. What are three things that not many people know about you?
“That I’m actually a nice, normal guy. I feel like a lot of people have a perception of me based on my music, which is understandable because it is true stuff, but it’s like, it’s a part of me, that’s not my whole thing. Like they just see RV as this, like, I don’t know the word to use, like a figure, but I’m not RV 24/7, 365, you know what I mean?”
Okay. So you’re Jordan as well.
“Yeah, I’m Jordan, I’m Rico, I’m other things, you know what I’m saying. Two other things, I’m left-handed, they say that left handed people are creative, so I don’t know, and I’m a bit of a, I don’t wanna say control freak or OCD, but I like to do a lot of things myself and get things done. That’s probably why I haven’t signed to a label yet and I’ve been independent for very long cause I like to make sure things are done my way, like the way that I like it to be done.”
Have you got any pet peeves?
“Verbal abuse. I hate online trolls. That’s one of my pet peeves. Yeah, I’m gonna go with that one.”
What has been the happiest moment in your life so far and why?
“The happiest moment of my life was my son. Well, the reason why, that’s basically self-explanatory, but I feel like that was very life changing. It was a big blessing as well.”
Speaking of kids, I know that when you was a kid your main passions were football music. Why did you choose music over football?
“Um, do you know what? I wouldn’t say that I chose one over the other. Music just happened for me. I think I’ve said this in an interview before, I didn’t plan to be a rapper. It was a hobby, I enjoyed rapping. Even when I came out of jail the first time I said I wasn’t going to be rapping anymore but I used to see people about and they’re like “What? You don’t make music no more?” like “You’re sick, I used to listen to you” or whatever and Headie said he wanted to continue making music as well so we like ended up making music again but I never actually planned to be a rapper. It just happened.
And then, yeah, with football, I stopped playing football when I was like 16. So, cause like when I was playing football I didn’t see it as a potential job, I saw it as fun. A hobby. So anything that I didn’t find fun about it, I didn’t take serious. So like when I was scouted for like professional teams and they tried to make me play in a position that I didn’t want to play in I just didn’t go. Or like, if I didn’t like training, I wouldn’t go, I’ll just turn up to matches. But obviously that’s not how you make it as a professional.”
Last but not least, what is the best thing that you’ve done inconspicuously?
“The best thing that I’ve done inconspicuously is.. That’s a good question, you know. I’m not sure that’s something that I can even answer for legal reasons (laughs) but let’s just say the balaclava in my lifetime hasn’t always only been for branding.”