Headie One
When: 27th November 2024
Location: O2 Academy
Headie One is one of the biggest names in UK drill. Coming to Glasgow’s O2 Academy on 27th November 2024.
Rising out of North London gang Tottenham Mandem and its Star Gang offshoot rap collective, Headie One began releasing music in the early 2010s under the name Headz. Releasing his debut Headz Or Tails mixtape in 2014, he went on to frequently collaborate with fellow Star Gang member RV, adopting the Headie One moniker. The pair released their first joint mixtape Sticks & Stones in 2016 before fully embracing the drill scene for their 2017 release, Drillers x Trappers. Together, the duo founded the influential OFB, a drill collective based on the notorious Broadwater Farm estate. During this time they teamed up with underground producers MKThePlug and M1OnTheBeat, settling on their urgent, energetic sound.
February 2018 saw Headie One release The One through Sony subsidiary Relentless Records. The mixtape featured Know Better, another collaboration with RV, and Golden Boot. Both tracks would define the UK drill scene at the time. Only months later, he unveiled The One Two, before teaming back up with RV for the sequel to Drillers x Trappers. Released in March 2019, Drillers x Trappers II would go on to break into the official UK top 40.
It laid the foundations for his fourth solo mixtape, Music x Road, his first to reach the top five on the UK album chart. The release featured 18Hunna, his mainstream breakthrough single, and welcomed guest performances from the likes of Skepta, Dave and NAV. Headie One teamed up with producer Fred Again for the 2019 single Charades and the subsequent GANG mixtape.
Teaming up with Stormzy
After teaming up with multi-award winner Stormzy on Audacity from the rapper’s sophomore album Heavy Is The Head, Headie One entered 2020 with the release of new single Rose Gold. In July 2020 he teamed up with Canadian superstar Drake for the Only You Freestyle, before unveiling his AJ Tracey and Stormzy collaboration, Ain’t It Different. The track climbed to No.3 on the official UK singles chart.
Headie One’s debut full-length, Edna, arrived on 9 October 2020 featuring his three previously released tracks. The rapper had teamed up with the likes of Future, M Huncho, Aitch and Mahalia for the record, and preceded its arrival with the new track Breathing. In 2023 the British Phonographic Industry presented Headie One with the Brits Billion Award for achieving one billion streams in the UK; the same year he released the collaborative mixtape Strength to Strength with K-Trap.
In June 2024 Headie One released his second studio album The Last One, which featured the tracks ‘I Still Know Better’ and ‘Cry No More’, featuring Stormzy and Tay Keith.
