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Time and time again, TikTok has proven to be the platform that changed it all. In addition to its seemingly endless saturation of lifestyle tutorials and dance trends, it has played an integral role in music discovery for a new generation.

 From the thousands of videos posted every day from TikTok users around the world, it’s become natural for certain trends to ignite faster than they ever could have on alternative social platforms. While these trends certainly contribute to our newfound social understandings, they have also regularly introduce us to a world of artists that we might have otherwise overlooked without such powerful forms of mediated content. And due to the fact that we live in a time where the Internet, more often than not, has a significant correlation to the ways that we move in the world, it’s important to recognize the ones that are making waves in the culture, and Freddie Dredd is doing just that.

Despite garnering a niche fanbase over the past couple of years for his gritty and unconventional approach to the modern trap soundscape, Dredd’s work has recently become a seen in massive influx in the amount of streams across platforms. Garnering the attention of millions on platforms like TikTok, it’s clear that Dredd’s music is making a serious impact on Gen Z. And even though it seems like TikTok might have been his big break, we’re here to tell you that Dredd is way more than just a temporary viral sensation.

Based out of Oshawa, Ontario, Dredd is a Canadian rapper and producer known for bringing new traits to contemporary hip-hop. Often integrating grainy, vintage samples with lo-fi, synthesized trap rhythms, Dredd’s distinct style is a testament to the ever-evolving nature of hip-hop. Furthermore, his sound has been attributed to a subgenre of trap called “phonk,” a style that stems influence from Memphis rap, g-funk, and a chopped-and-screwed remixing technique that is made evident in the majority of Dredd’s discography.

Although he tends to work on a primarily solo basis, Dredd has been known to frequently collaborate with other underground hip-hop artists, such as Baker, RAMIREZ, and Slim Guerilla. And while we can certainly attribute the inspiration of his cryptic, unconventional flows to his underground contemporaries, Dredd’s music possesses a unique duality - one that, despite its murky influences, can garner serious attention in mainstream media because of its emphasis on stylistic fusion. Clearly, with over three million videos and counting made to his songs on TikTok, Dredd is steadily becoming a household name for young content creators and music lovers alike.

While Dredd has been in the game for at least a few years now, he’s recently gained a wealth of traction on social media for his 2019 single “Cha Cha.” The track has amassed over 2.7 million videos from creators across TikTok and has remained a focal point of his discography with its unique sampling of “Sway It, Hula Girl” from Japanese-Brazilian bossa nova singer Lisa Ono. And while this blissful production is certainly a striking, stylistic dichotomy to Dredd’s grungy approach to rap, it’s a sound that exists completely on its own, which we think is dope.

But you shouldn’t stop there. Although his viral hits are well-deserving of the acclaim, we also believe that they are just the tip of the iceberg for Dredd. If you find yourself rocking with the bouncy and distorted nature of “Cha Cha” and “GTG,” then you have to scope out his debut project Pink Lotus and his most recent EP, Variety Pack EP, Vol. 1, to get a better sense of what he’s all about. 

And while his single releases make up a majority of his artist discography, Dredd’s compiled projects offer a somewhat coherent understanding to the “method behind the madness.” When heard in sequential order, they familiarize us with Dredd’s unique ability to reconstruct storytelling through an experimental and revolutionary style of hip-hop.