- Words Darcy Culverhouse
Rising through the ranks, hip-hop artist UraelB unravels a West Coast groove in his latest track, ‘Dirty Toothbrush’.
When describing UraelB, a multitude of favourable adjectives aptly capture both him and his musical style. Yet, it’s the label ‘wunderkind’ that truly calls out the loudest. Embarking on his musical journey at the tender age of 17, it has only been an upward trajectory for the West Coast rap talisman since. Finding his feet in seamless flow and intellectual wordplay that reads like poetry, UraelB is carving his own path, where the West Coast rap ethos pulses as reflective storytelling is unfurled.
As he stands testament that age is just a number, as a teenager, UraelB started releasing a steady slew of records, all whilst he moulded and perfected his hook-filled style of rap. As he manifested further successes, he started to reap the rewards of his efforts. From soaking in accolades with his debut album, DemiGod, to collaborating with the likes of hip-hop connoisseur Nelly, during an appearance on hit TV show Dancing With the Stars, UraelB now sits at the zenith of his career, and if his latest track is anything to go off, it’s signals greater things are yet to come.
Striking a perfect equilibrium between a confidence-boosting anthem and poignant storytelling, ‘Dirty Toothbrush’ sees UraelB’s distinctive style come into play. Peeling back the multifaceted layers of hip-hop, we witness UraelB paint a picture of his childhood all to a backdrop of smooth and melancholic production. Interplaying funk nuances with hip-hop and West Coast rap, UraelB demonstrates his artistic prowess, with each rhyme cementing his position at the forefront of the hip-hop scene, leaving us eagerly beckoning for more.
Speaking about the track, UraelB says: “’Dirty Toothbrush’ is vivid imagery of my life growing up as an adolescent in South Central LA. The production and mood of the beat tugged me to tell my story of running wild with my friends and basking in the freeness of life at the time. The irony is that a ‘Dirty Toothbrush’ signifies something was just cleaned, but life and the fun I had at the time was everything but clean.”