As far as British hip hop is concerned, Youngs Teflon should be considered one of the culture’s giants. On Thursday (Feb. 2), the South London emcee decided to remind the masses why he remains a frontrunner with “Ballon D’or (Freestyle).” Produced by LouisAura, the song’s lyrics solidify Teflon’s position in the game:
“Was dead broke, I had to jump out of the hearse, now I’m gettin’ money like a curse, told my mum, ‘It could be worse’… I just got a stack for a show, now that’s the only time I’m going O, feels good to be lit, hella food filling up the fridge, like an ex-Chelsea player, I’m no longer doin’ deals out the bridge, rookie, but I made it to the playoffs, got my 1,000 hours 10 times and you’re questioning my worth?”
In March of last year, Teflon liberated the well-received body of work All Eyes On Me Against The World, an eight-song offering with assists from Ramz, Blade Brown, and Stardom. Months later, the “Nandos” emcee unveiled All Eyes On Me Against The World (Side B), complete with an additional nine cuts and a remix of “Bar Codes” with Giggs. Outside of his own releases, he was also a standout on 2022 drops like Knucks’ “Bible,” K-Trap’s “Molly Mae,” and Clavish’s “4 Of Us.”
In an interview with Mixtape Madness, Teflon spoke on his ability to remain relevant for more than 15 years:
“Our generation didn’t have the TikTok and Triller outlets that this new generation do. We go up on MySpace, Bebo, all of that. I think my longevity comes down to my bars. It’s easy to have a hit song but to have so many years in the game, our generation [is] able to do it through our lyrics.”
Press play on “Ballon D’or (Freestyle)” below.