Queen Millz has never been particularly interested in sticking to one sound, and her new mixtape Outside The Box gives her 12 tracks to prove exactly why.
The Leicester artist moves between rap, grime, R&B, dance and drum and bass across the project, pulling together the different sounds that have become part of her music rather than choosing between them.
She introduced Outside The Box properly on Saturday night with a launch at London’s Old Street Gallery, where music sat alongside art, fashion and visuals – all things that have found their way into the mixtape itself.
“Outside The Box is about showing all the different sides of me and not feeling like I have to fit into one sound, one image or one audience,” Millz explains.
“Growing up between cultures, finding my own way through the UK music scene and always doing things a little differently has shaped so much of this project.”
That freedom makes Outside The Box a lot of fun to work through.
Real/Fake takes aim at some of the less genuine people Millz has encountered in the music industry over an R&B groove, while Haters Calling turns rejection into motivation and Me? doubles down on knowing exactly who she is.
Then there’s Pretty Loco, which brings a much lighter, bouncing energy, while recent single LINK pushes grime and dance together.
There’s a pretty impressive guest list too.
Scorcher joins Millz on Of Course, while Mi Bad grew from some words of encouragement from Ashley Walters. Nines, Manga and Big Narstie also appear across the mixtape.
But Outside The Box isn’t all bravado. Decline moves into drum and bass while showing a more vulnerable side of Millz, before Turn Me Up heads straight back towards the dancefloor.
For Millz, putting all of those sounds together is the whole point.
“I wanted the tape to feel bigger than just the music too, it’s a whole world of storytelling, fashion, visuals, humour, nostalgia and community,” she says. “More than anything, it’s about being myself and not letting anyone put me in a box.”
It’s an attitude that’s served her pretty well so far.
Millz has taken her music well beyond Leicester, supporting Central Cee and Nemzzz and performing at SXSW, while remaining fiercely independent throughout.
Outside The Box is out now.
