ArrDee says team around him and Brighton have kept him humble

The rapper, 20, originally from Woodingdean, said his close family and friends around him keep him have kept him “in check” since first hitting the charts in 2021.

ArrDee, real name Riley Davies, described Brighton as a “massive part” of keeping him humble.

Before his explosion on to the scene in 2021, ArrDee worked at an Amazon warehouse in Littlehampton, as well as a fish and chip shop.

• READ MORE: ArrDee says he and Fatboy Slim 'can make a banger' if they collaborate

He did this to pay for making music and to travel across the south of England to perform at freestyle music events.

ArrDee, who went to Hove Park School, told The Argus: “It’s the team around me, I haven’t got anyone in my team that I didn’t know before I blew up.

"If I started to move away, I would have them saying ‘remember your roots’.

“Also Brighton is a very non-boujee, non-judgmental town in the sense that you can’t act like the big man. In London you have all these VIP places and VIP clubs.

ArrDee in his music video for '6am in Brighton'

“Brighton is a massive part of keeping me humble. It’s my hometown and you’re allowed to be who you want to be. The small team I have around me are always keeping me in check.”

ArrDee featured on YouTube channel The Brighton Cypher in September 2020.

The channel aims to showcase “Brighton’s raw talents”.

He said its founder Oje Eigbadon, known as OJ, has been a “big brother” to him.

ArrDee released his new rum on Thursday (Image: Litty Liquor)

ArrDee added: “My best friend of nearly ten years now is also my personal assistant. OJ from The Brighton Cypher who has been my big brother. He gave me jobs when I was struggling with rent. He’s part of my management team.

“My uncle is my business manager, my camera man has worked with me since I was 12 years old and now we’re doing tours across Australia and the rest of the world.

“Everyone in my circle has been there from the jump, I like to keep it that way. I don’t like to build just business relationships because I don’t find them that trustworthy.”

ArrDee in The Brighton Cypher in September 2020 (Image: The Brighton Cypher/ 1T.TV)

Speaking of his appearance on The Brighton Cypher, ArrDee added: “I was the young boy, in a cypher you’re only meant to go for eight bars or 16 bars.

“I was hungry and because I was the youngest and I didn’t know anyone there at that time apart from OJ, I felt I had to be the hungriest and have the best bars. I like the friendly competition.

“I just focused on the hunger I had and come in with the bars. Everyone who supported me there I have given them that same love back.”

ArrDee previously told The Argus how he “can’t remember a time” when he did not want to be a musician and would often take his Sony Walkman CD player to Hove Park School and show videos of himself rapping to his friends.

ArrDee launched his rum Litty Liquor on Thursday following a launch part on the Brighton i360 on Tuesday.

Around 150 people, including Chris Eubank Jr, attended the launch party.