How British rapper Temia is bringing the drill wave to Canada

Three things stand out in rapper Temia's songs: dark drill beats, razor-sharp lyrics and her striking English accent. "I just be playing my part/ spades out and I'm stacking my cards" she raps on her fierce grime single "Different," effortlessly flexing her flow across each bar.

"Different" carries the signature U.K. drill sound of syncopated hi-hats found in songs by English rappers such as Shaybo, Central Cee or Dave. However, the beats aren't common in the rap music coming out of Calgary or Vancouver, the cities Temia divides her time between. But because she was raised in South London, the birthplace of U.K. drill, her songs are infused with the genre's trademark thundering drums and brazen lyricism.

"I think there's this niche that I'm in [with] British female artists doing drill. But I also want to be able to reinvent that," she says. "I like the way people are being creative with [the genre]. It's not just one cookie-cutter type of drill. People are making different types of drill, whether they're adding EDM to it or adding R&B to it or even [making] trap drill." 

Temia moved to Calgary with her family in 2013, despite being told to start her rap career in the U.K. by music industry folks who said she wouldn't find a market for her music in North America. 

"At first I was a little bit apprehensive [about] coming into that sound, because even though I love drill and that's my lane … I was worried because I hear sometimes from Canadians and Americans [that] they can't understand our accents," she says.

But she decided to ignore the naysayers and dropped her first track, "Granted," in 2020. The reception to the song was overwhelmingly positive, with person after person praising her with a flurry of fire emojis in the comments section on YouTube and Instagram. 

"Whoever said [I couldn't do it] has to eat their words," she says.

Although the swirl of drill permeates many of Temia's songs, her overall sound is a blend of much more, pulling from bass-heavy grime and the pulsating rhythms of Jersey club. 

"I think my music is very dark sometimes … it's pretty moody, but … I always try to find different, more fun or more interesting ways to deliver something that I'm thinking about," she says. "I try to make my bars as witty as possible."

She counts Drake and Nicki Minaj, two other rappers known for their memorable wordplay, as inspirations, and in 2022 Temia released "Donya," a hard-hitting remix of Drake's bouncy track "Sticky." "I want Donatella just don't tell her I want Stella," she raps on the song, showcasing a Drizzy-like penchant for name-dropping designers.

"I've been obsessed with him since I was very, very young," Temia says of the Grammy-winning rapper, whom she hopes to collaborate with one day. She has a list of other artists she aspires to team up with, citing Nicki Minaj, Burna Boy and Cupcakke as examples. In July, she got the chance to open for Cupcakke and chatted with the Chicago rapper known for her daring lyrics backstage, ahead of her performance at Fortune Sound Club in Vancouver.

"She is so iconic, I love her," Temia says of their conversation. "She loved my outfit and she said I looked really good, so I took that compliment and I will take it to my grave," she adds with a laugh.

"I think that was probably one of my best performances to date, not because of anything I did, just because of the audience," she says. "The crowd was insane."

Performing and connecting with a crowd is one of Temia's favourite parts of being a musician, and she's performed at Sled Island, Canadian Music Week and more. However, it's writing songs that drives her artistry. Growing up, she competed in public-speaking competitions and also wrote poetry, which she says helped her to hone those skills. 

"When I started making music, I think I put the things [in my songs] that I didn't want to say to people in person," she says. "I'm such an overthinker and I'm someone who always wants to put things in perspective for other people to understand where I'm coming from. And I feel like my music is the best outlet for me to do that."

While that introspection is the foundation for a number of Temia's songs, it's not the case for all of them. The track "Different" was born from a bout of writer's block. She was advised by her manager to overcome it by saying anything that was on her mind, even if it didn't make sense. The result was an explosive track showcasing her lyrical toughness, and ability to switch cadences while calling out anyone standing in her way. 

I hope to be able to break through a new sound with my creativity.- Temia

"Different" might be an anthem with the purpose of quieting any haters, but Temia says it's not the cynics who fuel the majority of her passionate raps; it's her parents, who are her biggest fans.

"Last year I opened for Ja Rule in Calgary at the Stampede, and my dad was there beaming with pride," she says, adding that they've been supportive of her career. "I think they really enjoy when I'm in my most creative zone because I think that's when I'm most myself."

It's that artistic spirit that she says energizes her.

"I want to be able to [put out music] that people can immediately hear and they can be like, 'OK, that's Temia, this is something different, this is something I've never heard before,'" she adds, before mentioning that she is aiming to release a new project early next year. "I hope to be able to break through a new sound with my creativity."

The Block is counting down to hip-hop's anniversary by airing 50 stories over 50 days that focus on significant artists, events and moments in hip-hop history. The 50 stories will air nationwide each night on The Block on CBC Music until Aug. 11 to coincide with The Block Party.