When it comes to unexpected success stories, Rejjie Snow’s ranks highly. The 24-year-old is one of rap’s rising stars, mingling with heavyweights such as Kendrick Lamar, yet he hails from a small suburb just north of Dublin, an area hardly known for its hip-hop heritage.
Snow, whose real name is Alex Anyaegbunam, says he was “the only coloured kid” in Drumcondra. Now he’s signed to the same label as major players Fetty Wap and Young Thug, is about to release his debut album, Dear Annie – exec-produced by Lamar’s Grammy-winning right-hand man, Rahki – and is attempting to bridge the transatlantic divide with his own brightly-hued grab bag of G-funk, backpack trap, acid rap and spectral jazz.
It’s a good job Snow packed in a football scholarship in Florida. Since deciding to focus on music, he has been steadily pinpointing the sweet spot between experimental and pop. On moving to London, he befriended King Krule and Loyle Carner, the Mercury nominee who also appeared on Snow’s first mixtape, 2013’s Rejovich. And there was the small matter of supporting Madonna on her 2015 Rebel Heart tour (he says he’s still not sure how he landed the job).
Since then, his collaborations with Rick Rubin-like Canadian dance dude Kaytranada have helped to smooth his genre-jumping style. That’s not to say that Snow would rule out working with mainstream stars in the future. “I’m down to do a track with Britney Spears, if she’s down,” he said recently. Anyone got her number?
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