Photo via publicist
In the week that the U.K. music scene is mourning the loss of producer Terror Danjah, it is perhaps fitting that a new song mining the R&G genre he helped pioneer would emerge. That sound, which softened the chaotic and steely sound of grime with an emotive streak of R&B, suits both AJ Tracey and Jorja Smith, who come together on “Crush.” Check out the video for their latest collaboration below.
The song samples U.K. rapper Wretch 32’s 2006 grime track “Used to Be” featuring Scorcher, Mercston and Ghetts, itself a flip of Brandy‘s “Love Wouldn’t Count Me Out.” It is a testament to whatever was in the water on both side of the Atlantic in the early 2000s that this nostalgia sandwich still sounds futuristic when updated for 2025.
AJ Tracey hits his verses with a crisp delivery, dropping references to Comme des Garçons and London’s Mayfair as he flexes his luxury credentials. Jorja Smith, meanwhile, takes a rare but rewarding detour out of ballad territory as the other half of the couple, sounding fed up with her man’s failure to stand up when it matters the most.
In a statement, AJ Tracey echoed the throwback sentiment of the track, saying: “This song sounds like the feeling I used to get in secondary school when I fancied a girl, rushing home to call them on my old Nokia, sharing MP3s we think each other would like, and talking all night on MSN. It’s a UK ting!”
AJ Tracey’s last album, Flu Game, was released in 2021. Jorja Smith’s most recent project was 2023’s falling or flying.
