The Rise of Afro-Drill: How RAE KAPITAL Is Bridging Two Worlds

Genre-blending isn't new. But what RAE KAPITAL is doing — fusing the raw energy of UK drill with the rhythmic complexity of West African music — feels genuinely unprecedented.

The Ghanaian-British rapper grew up in East London, raised on a diet of grime MCs and highlife records his parents played on Sunday mornings. "Those two things lived in separate rooms in my head for years," he explains. "Afro-drill is what happens when you knock the wall down."

His breakout track "No Passport" is the perfect entry point: a stuttering drill beat overlaid with talking drum patterns, RAE's rapid-fire bars switching between English and Twi. It racked up 25 million YouTube views in its first month and sparked a wave of imitators — but nobody does it like the original.

The music is just the surface. RAE KAPITAL represents a generation of diaspora kids who refuse to choose between their identities. His concerts are events — half mosh pit, half cultural celebration, all energy.