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U.K. rapper RV first made a name for himself under his previous guise, Young RV, with the release of the 2010's straight-talking Cruddy on the Streets with K-Man.

The Tottenham-based MC originally took his name from a friend who had passed away in 2010, to help keep his memory alive, but after a slew of online videos -- including his collaboration with K-Man -- RV was incarcerated for a number of years. He returned to music in 2017 with the release of The Jugg, a collaboration with fellow Tottenham MC Headie One. The mixtape Drillers x Trappers appeared that same year and saw him once again working with Headie. The following year, RV dropped the U.K. drill EP I'm a Savage before teaming up once again with Headie One for the follow-up mixtape, Drillers x Trappers II in 2019. ~ Rich Wilson

Informally founded in the mid-2010s, drill collective Original Farm Boys (shortened to OFB) took their name from Broadwater Farm Estate, a Tottenham housing complex where many of the group's members grew up. OFB's first real success came with founders Headie One and RV, who became one of drill's staple duos after they released classic 2017 mixtape Drillers & Trappers. When Headie became a mainstream figure toward the end of the decade, the collective's younger members pushed the group's sound forward: SJ, BandoKay, and DoubleLz, branding themselves simply OFB, swiftly became some of the genre's most promising talents.

Born from the ashes of infamous North London gang Tottenham Mandem, rap group Star Gang quickly became the proving ground for many of Tottenham's rising rap talents, most notably Headie One (formerly known as Headz) and RV. Working under the Star Gang banner through the early 2010s, the duo quickly found a creative synergy on singles like "Youngers from Farm," gradually making their inroads into London's road rap scene. As the sounds of London shifted, so did the duo's: their 2016 collaborative mixtape, Sticks & Stones, saw the pair delve into U.S.-style trap, while 2017's follow-up, Drillers & Trappers, took to the city's burgeoning drill scene. It was here that the pair truly made their mark: working with producers from MKThePlug to M1OnTheBeat, the duo quickly built a following with their punchy flows and artistic synergy. Marking their singles with the tag #OFB, the duo founded drill collective Original Farm Boys, an homage to the Broadwater Farm Estate, where they grew up. Though the collective's early roster was expansive, it was Headie and RV who championed OFB in the eyes of the mainstream, landing spots on freestyle series like Behind Barz and Hardest Out with their staccato delivery and choice wordplay.

When Headie secured a place in the U.K. mainstream (landing his first Top 10 hit with 2019's "18HUNNA"), and OFB's original members had developed solo careers of their own, the group's next generation of rappers had already found their footing. Tottenham-born BandoKay, SJ and DoubleLz, known as the group's "youngers," had honed their skills by rapping alongside OFB veterans, and by 2018 were ready to carry the torch for Tottenham. After releasing the single "Reality" (2018) and racking up millions of views together on freestyle series Next Up, the trio decided to move as a unit: under the OFB banner, they dropped the explosive 2019 single "Ambush," quickly becoming some of drill's most recognizable voices. While SJ found himself in legal trouble toward the later half of 2019, the trio still found time to record and release their debut mixtape, Frontstreet, which was released on Halloween that year. ~ David Crone

At the core of the second "generation" of OFB talent, Tottenham rapper BandoKay worked in synergy with fellow OFB youngers DoubleLz and SJ to become one of the most anticipated drill acts in late-2010s London. After SJ was incarcerated in January 2020, Bando and Lz continued to dominate the city's drill scene; Bando's charged-up flows and brash energy offered the perfect counterpart to Lz's frosty delivery.

The son of the late Mark Duggan, Tottenham rapper BandoKay grew up on the same Broadwater Farm Estate as his father, home to burgeoning rap collective OFB (Original Farm Boys). Working with close friends DoubleLz and SJ to develop his rap talents, Bando and his collaborators soon formed Y.OFB (Young OFB), building a city-wide buzz with frantic drill tracks like "GMs in the Cut," "Bad B on the Nizz," "Already," and "Purge." Though hotly tipped figures by U.K. drill's aficionados, it was a showstopping performance on freestyle platform "Next Up?" that established Y.OFB as nationwide talents; soon becoming a classic of the genre, the trio's "Next Up?" appearance offered a perfect demonstration of their back-to-back synergy, rapid-paced flows, and strong individual deliveries. Among his steelier compatriots, Bando provided energy and flair, capturing his street stories with a high-octane delivery.

On the back of "Next Up?," OFB's youngers enjoyed a dominant run at the forefront of U.K. drill: March offered a bold showing on freestyle show "Hardest Bars," May produced the multi-million-stream single "Ambush," and June saw the trio appear for Tim Westwood's biggest "Crib Session" yet. With SJ embroiled in legal issues, Bando and Lz released the group's debut mixtape, Frontstreet, in October 2019, a clattering collection of anthems including hits like "Ambush" and "Youngest in Charge." In SJ's absence, Bando made his move into solo work with "Yoo" as well as appearing on Tim Westwood's freestyle show and Morrisson's "Shots (Remix)" alongside Lz.

With SJ incarcerated on significant charges in January 2020, Bando and Lz continued their career as a duo: tracks like "OT Boppin" continued OFB's fast-paced and anthemic sound, bolstered by collaborations with Abra Cadabra ("Let Man Know," "BLM") and feature spots alongside Deno, Loski, and Frosty. Bando continued to use 2020 to develop his solo career, too, releasing "Full Flick" and "Patient" alongside feature work with Swarmz, Mastermind, and Krept & Konan. The second OFB mixtape, Drill Commandments, arrived in February 2021. Alongside more traditional drill cuts with the wider OFB roster, the project offered new ventures into trap and more introspective avenues. ~ David Crone