Always Relevant and Always Bass-Heavy: Big Narstie’s spring single ‘One Time’ could be our drill record of the year. Here’s why…
SINGLE Review: One Time by Big Narstie
For people who like…drill, bass music, UK rap.
Big Narstie dropped his latest album Momentum a few months ago, with the final single One Time released two months beforehand – a stand-out track that places Narstie firmly as the number one king of bass in the UK rap world (no surprise). Read below to discover why this is our favourite drill record of the year so far, and a perfect gate-way to the full album…
Whatever sub-genre of rap Big Narstie lays down his lyrics to, you just know it’s going to be a deep, dirty, sub-bass extravaganza with sharp-witted bars and the lowest frequencies in the game. One Time, the final single for his 2025 album Momentum, is the epitome of Narstie’s bass-ladened talent and contemporary vibe in 2025.
Despite beginning with an old-skool rhythmic jungle sample, 15 seconds in you’re shown exactly how drill got its name – a pneumatic drilling sound that’s so low-frequency it makes a Black & Decker sound like a dog whistle (both muted on opposite ends of the pitch spectrum). Then come Narstie’s “wung sen” bars that have you doing mental kung fu, with a bassline so deep that it’s simply inaudible without a Sennheiser sub woofer.
Born and raised in Lambeth, South London, there’s few that represent London bass and rap music with such authenticity and accessibility as Big Narstie. He remains the uncontested leader of bass-heavy rap in the UK, yet again bringing us deep and dirty beats that brilliantly blur the line between music and a DIY soundboard – some might not think of that as musical creativity, but across the airwaves of south London it absolutely is!
As Narstie says himself in this single, “far from normal, far from the box…made from a different fabric, cut from a different cloth,” nothing could be closer to the truth. As usual with his music, there’s something for both bass music enthusiasts as well as UK rap aficionados to enjoy here – with his words seeming to go off on different tangents of tempo, yet always managing to come back to form a coherent bar.
With Narstie’s solid bars coupled with fresh drill production, One Time is a prime demonstration of his ability to always stay current, relevant, and hard hitting – vibes he’s always been able to embody since his early days to now, and will likely continue to his last days. Whatever’s new in rap, Big Narstie is putting his stamp on it inside and outside the box.
Listen to One Time below, and watch how it draws you into Momentum thereafter.
