ArrDee Biography

ArrDee started rapping when he was only 13 years old and ran his studio in a one-bedroom flat. Born and brought up in Brighton, he used the seeming disadvantage of being out of the London music scene to his advantage by rapping primarily about his hometown and shot music videos in the local park, on the beach, or the pier. However, “the music wasn’t going anywhere” until he managed to make some connections through Instagram, where he had about 8K followers.

He eventually started taking the train to London and would often work and sleep in the studios for three days straight. It was particularly difficult for him due to his young age, but it was important in making connections with influential people in the field. He also got a manager who hatched “a two-year plan” that involved releasing the freestyle single Cheeky Bars, the video of which was shot on the bandstand on Brighton seafront. It was released in January 2021 and has earned over 7 million views on YouTube so far. It was followed by another freestyle in March titled 6am in Brighton, which has registered 8.8 million views.

Following the success of the freestyles, he signed a record deal and rented an aparthotel in London to throw a party for his friends where he met Tion Wayne, who offered him the opportunity to collaborate on the remix of his and Russ Millions’ song Body in April 2021. His guest verse in the single went viral on TikTok and helped it reach the top of charts in various countries including the UK, earning platinum status.

ArrDee went on to release the single Oliver Twist in June 2021 which peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart. In August 2021, he released another single titled Jiggy (Whiz) and collaborated again with Tion Wayne on his single Wid It. He sampled the song Flowers by Sweet Female Attitude and Say My Name by Destiny’s Child for his third single, Flowers (Say My Name), released in November 2021, which reached number 5 on the UK's Official Singles Chart Top 100 and stayed in the chart's Top 10 for seven weeks.

He next collaborated with Aitch on the single War which debuted at number 6 on the UK Official Singles Top 100 Chart following its release in February 2022. In March 2022, he released the single Come & Go, as well as his debut mixtape Pier Pressure which entered the ‘UK Official Albums Chart Top 100’ at No.2. His latest single Hello Mate, featuring singer Kyla Reid, was released in July 2022.

ArrDee was born as Riley Davis on September 17, 2002 in the Woodingdean suburb of Brighton, England, the United Kingdom. He had a jovial nature since he was a child and was nicknamed “Smiley Riley” by relatives. He was raised by a single mother and has an elder brother who is autistic. His mother, who is trained in special needs teaching and has a black belt in kick-boxing, also believes in the power of crystals and witchcraft. She gave him a ring with black sapphire, his birthstone, which he believes protects him and keeps him grounded. Moreover, he believes in the manifestation method, that his imagination can manifest his reality. He grew up listening to rock music from artists like Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses and AC/DC and later became interested in rap after listening to Eminem, Lil Wayne and 50 Cent. He would often take his walkman to Hove Park School to show his raps to friends. He later briefly attended Worthing College. He was working nightshifts at the Amazon warehouse in Littlehampton when he released the freestyle ‘Cheeky Bars’. He considers himself to be “very digestibly British” who represents “all the chavvy estate kids” from his hometown as much as the rest of the UK. The Brighton culture is so heavily ingrained in him that he can’t “ever imagine” leaving the town.