Digga D occupies a unique position in the recent stratospheric rise of the UK rap scene. The 20-year-old drill pioneer (and his associated collective 1011) is shackled by a legal gag that censors the rapper from mentioning certain people or writing lyrics that the Metropolitan police deem provocative, following convictions for violent disorder.
Even though the Met presumably screened every song on Made in the Pyrex, Digga’s second mixtape still touches on his gang affiliation on the single Bluuwuu and he repeats the coded Crip call across the project. Elsewhere, the lyrical constrictions are evident but don’t hamper his storytelling: Trust Issues (I’m Joking I Trust My Mum) has been scrubbed of localised references, yet Digga still tells a bleak and affecting account of his post-prison story, outlining his paranoia and revealing his PTSD after being “chinged” in the eye with a sharpened tuna can while inside.
As well as his excellent flow, packed with bravado and sprinkles of humour, Made in the Pyrex also exhibits strong musical growth. After Digga’s most recent release, he was restricted from returning to London and made to stay in Norwich. The capital’s woozy bass and stripped-back sound shapes Woi, but otherwise he sets his sights further afield: the Jamaican music he grew up on influences the bashment-tinged Window, his flow slipping into patois, and Chingy (It’s Whatever) interpolates Midwest rapper Chingy’s cult 2003 hit Right Thurr. While recent headlines have focused on what Digga can’t do, this ambitious mixtape reveals a talent that supersedes any restrictions.
