SLANG

Raised in West London in late-’90s Southall, Dan, also known as SLANG, emerged from a collision of cultures, sounds and harsh street realities that continue to shape his music today. Growing up in an area deeply affected by a heroin epidemic, his early life was marked by instability and loss. The death of his brother fractured his family, while his father’s long periods in prison left a lasting impact on his upbringing. By his early teens, Dan had been excluded from school and was already on a path that pointed towards a life of pain. Instead, he found an outlet in music. Youth clubs in Southall became a turning point. Inspired by peers and future stars like Jamal Edwards, Scrufizzer and Parker Ighile, he began to channel his experiences into sound. At the same time, he witnessed many of those around him fall to prison sentences or lose their lives, reinforcing how narrow the line was between survival and becoming a statistic. Cutting his teeth in the first wave of UK grime with the Gritty Committee and pirate radio station Freeze 92.7, he built a raw, instinctive sound. A run of collaborations with Wiley led to his first major release, “Bright Lights,” alongside Giggs and Juelz Santana.