Lord Byron, Robin Hood, HP Sauce; Nottingham has done its fair bit to shape British culture (and breakfasts). Now however, the East Midlands city is having an equally substantial impact on homegrown sounds, all thanks to the musical pairing of Young T and Bugsey.
The pair – real names Ra’chard Tucker and Doyin Julius – burst onto the scene with their debut mixtape, Plead the 5th, back in the far-flung past of 2020, and with their next having just landed by the time you read this, we took the opportunity to chat to the daring duo cresting a new wave of British rap.
Since then, they’ve been endorsed by the likes of Stormzy and gone from strength to strength. And even if you’re not into homegrown UK rap (for shame) then you’ll likely have heard one of their tracks on repeat, especially if you’re a TikTok junkie. Heard the funky backing track to the #Don’tRushChallenge? Yep, that’s them.
“It was cool man! Any platform that’s helping people make their dream a reality, to allow people to have a career, to just express yourself, I’m super grateful for it. It’s still going on too. The other day I saw this video of a guy tying his shoelace, just tying his shoelace, and it had nine million views, two-pointsomething million likes and Don’t Rush in the background. I was just thinking… wow, man. It’s a beautiful thing.”
“We loved it,” chimes in Young T, “we did the challenge with the group of girls that started the challenge, it was cool.” Even if Don’t Rush is the only one of their songs you’ve heard though, it remains a pretty apt example of Young T and Bugsey’s approach to music, as they explain:
Bugsey: “You can describe our stuff as feel-good music; music that makes you want to move, grind to, music with substance and a weight of rap in there. It has longevity, transcends region, it’s not just ‘British rap’.”
Young T: “We take inspiration from so many places, 50 Cent, Nelly, J Cole, Big Sean, Drake, they were all a big part of our growing up, right up to the edgy stuff like A$AP Rocky. What I would say is most of it’s been US based.”
Bugsey: “We have love for UK rappers – even Chip, Chip was Chip, you know what I mean? Guy’s crazy – but the US stuff is naturally what we listened to the most.”
That stateside influence is a big part of both Plead the 5th (which makes sense, given their debut mixtape’s title) and the new tracks on Truth be Told. The difference is that while the first introduced Young T and Bugsey to the world, the latter shows just what they can do.
There’s a lot to unpack throughout Truth be Told. Trapwave, afro-swing, plenty of Skepta-esque grime, the pair aren’t shy about wearing their influences on their sleeve, blending them together into a new but familiar set of tracks, underpinned by the kind of feel-good vibe that makes you want to move. Honestly though, I had the opening – and title – track, Truth Be Told, on repeat. That smooth flow is aurally addictive.
And in their mix of chilled-out party vibes and West Coast-slanted rap it’s hard to miss that Young T and Bugsey like a watch. Why else do you think we, a watch mag, got some time with them? Hell, their wrist game is on point in every video they make, and you can probably guess which maker has a starring role.
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Bugsey: “Me? I got two Rolexes. I got two Jubilee strap Datejusts. I got a Wimbledon and one in mother-of-pearl.”
Young T: “Same here, I got two Rollies as well. One’s also a Wimbledon and I got a Sundust Datejust. Predictable as those answers may be though, the guys are anything but posturing when it comes to their watch game. A few references in and the tempo of our conversation had shot up faster than a chopper after too many Red Bulls.
Bugsey: “I also got a Cartier but I’m looking to get a new one, the blue-faced Santos. Just gotta upgrade it when I can, all that rapper stuff. I do like APs as well but not that diamond stuff, just plain Royal Oaks. I need to get along to them, see what’s what. I wanna get an OP Tiffany blue. Ever since the Patek came out they’ve been going mental! Saw one go for 80K the other day, mental. I was just thinking to myself, if I can get hold of one it’s gonna be bread.”
Honestly, he’s not wrong there. And honestly, if Truth Be Told does half as well as it should do, he might just be able to get one of those bad boys at auction.
To keep up to date on Young T & Bugsey, follow their Instagram @youngtandbugsey.
