RV can point to the day he left prison in 2019 as the moment his life changed. Fresh out and back in the studio, he was ready to make good on the potential he had shown throughout a career that dates back 10 years. However, he found the experience bittersweet due to the Met Police’s prohibitive treatment of drill music. Despite ending the year charting alongside lifelong friend Headie One with the second instalment of their Drillers and Trappers mixtape series, and releasing his own solo EP Savage, RV’s progress was halted by a strict parole system which included running his lyrics by the police for approval.
This, alongside the birth of his first child, motivated RV to take a step back, spending 2020 raising his son, living a rapstar lifestyle, experiencing a life of freedom, things he knew he had to feed into his music if he was to evolve. This new lifestyle is the driving force in RV’s new chapter.
That’s not to say RV isn’t still savage, ever since his debut Cruddy On The Streets in 2010 he’s delivered blunt wordplay, one-liners, and a brutal sense of humour all with no filter.
His story is one of building momentum only to have it interrupted, be it by his own prison sentences or those of his collaborators. This is why he’s so keen to keep progressing and making new music, never staying in the same spot creatively.
With the field at last open in front of him, RV is ready to reap the benefits of something he’s been building his whole life.