There’s one thing correct about listening to a Scouse accent over blown-out 808s. Not the sanitised, media-trained model of regional dialect, however the full-throated Merseyside sound the place each “okay” hits like a docker’s handshake.
That’s what EsDeeKid delivers on Phantom, and it’s precisely why the observe’s racked up over 120 million streams since dropping in March 2025.
The track opens with an announcement: “Blacked out like a phantom / Me telephone retains having a tantrum.”
Easy bars, however delivered with that Liverpool twang that transforms commonplace lure boasting into one thing that sounds concurrently tougher and extra lived-in.
When EsDeeKid says his telephone gained’t cease ringing, you imagine it as a result of you’ll be able to hear the streets in his voice.
Produced by Wraith9, the beat sits someplace between drill’s chilly minimalism and cloud rap’s hazy textures.
It’s 140 BPM however by no means feels rushed, giving EsDeeKid and Rico Ace room to let their flows breathe.
The manufacturing’s lo-fi distortion isn’t price range limitation, it’s an aesthetic alternative that works.
These stuttering drums and haunting synth strains create the proper backdrop for 2 MCs who clearly perceive that vibe issues as a lot as bars.
The observe’s brevity is its power. At 1:49, Phantom delivers all the things it must say and will get out.
No bloated verses attempting to show technical capacity, no pointless bridge stretching runtime for streaming payouts.
That is TikTok-era effectivity that truly serves the track moderately than compromising it.
You’ll be able to take heed to the entire thing 3 times within the time it takes most rappers to clear their throat on an intro.
Rico Ace is available in midway by means of along with his personal perspective on the life-style: “She jealous of the fiends like, ‘Why you at all times on the telephone for?’”
The connection drama sits alongside drug references with out contradiction as a result of that’s simply how life works while you’re transferring otherwise.
His woman’s upset he’s at all times on his cellular, in the meantime she’s the one doing strains within the toilet.
The hypocrisy lands as a result of it’s noticed plainly, not dressed up for impact.
That line in regards to the “hypocrite” turned “coke whore” hits tougher than it ought to. It’s not intelligent wordplay or complicated metaphor, simply road commentary delivered with conviction.
Rico Ace isn’t moralising or celebrating, he’s documenting. The “Kate Moss fame” reference provides texture with out overexplaining itself. If you recognize, you recognize. When you don’t, the vibe nonetheless carries you thru.
EsDeeKid’s vocal supply transforms primary bars into one thing memorable. When he says “I’m younger, lit and I’m good-looking,” that Scouse accent makes “good-looking” sound like a menace moderately than a boast.
The consonants hit completely different once they’re coming from somebody who feels like they grew up inside earshot of Anfield. Each phrase carries regional weight that London MCs can’t replicate irrespective of how arduous they fight.
The refrain construction is designed for virality however doesn’t sacrifice substance for it.
“This track your nationwide anthem” is the form of audacious declare that ought to really feel ridiculous however in some way doesn’t.
Possibly it’s the supply, possibly it’s the boldness, possibly it’s simply that the beat slaps arduous sufficient to make you imagine it. The repetition of “phantom” and “tantrum” creates an earworm impact with out feeling juvenile.
What separates Phantom from generic lure flexing is the self-awareness buried within the bars.
“Medication and women come later / Ultimately, it’s all a distraction / Bitch, I’m all about me ardour / Music, cash, and trend.”
That’s not hedonism, that’s profession focus dressed up in road language. The acknowledgment that substances and relationships are distractions exhibits extra maturity than most rappers twice his age handle to convey.
The video aesthetic matches the sound completely. Rooftop photographs with the town as backdrop, faces obscured, the entire thing shot in that barely grainy high quality that makes it really feel extra genuine than overproduced.
EsDeeKid maintains the balaclava throughout all appearances, feeding into drill’s anonymity custom whereas creating distinction by means of consistency.
Whether or not that’s sensible advertising or real paranoia about staying nameless doesn’t actually matter. Both approach, it really works.
UK rap has lengthy been formed by London infrastructure. Drill emerged from South London estates, grime from East Finish tower blocks, and the business adopted the postcodes that already had studios, media entry, and A&R consideration connected.
Exterior the M25, expertise traditionally needed to shout louder simply to be heard. What Phantom proves is that these dynamics don’t disappear, they only get overridden as soon as the numbers change into unattainable to disregard.
And the numbers did their job. Phantom debuted at 81 on the Sizzling 100, marking EsDeeKid’s second look and Rico Ace’s first.
By January 2026, it had climbed to quantity 15 on the UK charts after 112 days, peaking at eight.
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That form of chart run isn’t fluke virality. It’s the results of a observe that discovered its viewers, held it, and stored pulling new listeners in after the fifteen-second clips stopped circulating.
Rico Ace deserves credit score for his contribution. His verse offers tonal variation with out disrupting the observe’s temper.
The chemistry between the 2 rappers is obvious, suggesting this collaboration got here from real connection moderately than A&R matchmaking.
When he raps about being “the largest inexperienced man since Unimaginable Hulk / Purple Runtz, man’s get it in bulk,” the Marvel reference lands with out feeling compelled. It’s simply one other day, one other greenback, one other pressure.
The manufacturing selections matter as a lot because the vocals. Wraith9 understood the project: create house for these accents to breathe whereas sustaining sufficient vitality to maintain heads nodding.
The beat by no means overwhelms the vocals however by no means disappears into background noise both.
That stability is tougher to realize than it sounds, particularly with lo-fi aesthetics that may simply tip into muddy or skinny territory.
Critics may argue the lyrical content material stays surface-level. Designer gear, medication, ladies, telephones ringing continuously. Truthful sufficient.
However demanding that each rapper function on Kendrick Lamar’s thematic depth ignores the worth of documenting particular experiences with specificity and conviction.
Not each observe must unpack generational trauma or political methods. Generally capturing a temper, a second, a mentality is sufficient.
EsDeeKid’s refusal to melt his accent for wider enchantment isn’t nostalgia or stubbornness. It’s readability.
The Scouse accent reshapes how acquainted bars land, turning peculiar phrasing into one thing textural and unmistakable.
In a style the place distinctiveness issues as a lot as talent, that id turns into an asset moderately than a limitation.
Wanting again from 2026, Phantom stands much less as a second of innovation than as proof. Proof that regional artists don’t want permission to sound regional. Proof that numbers can power consideration with out compromise.
And proof that generally the simplest transfer isn’t chasing the centre, however doubling down on the place you’re from and letting everybody else catch as much as your frequency.
