London MC Not3s Explains The True Story Behind His Viral Hit, “Addison Lee”

“Peng ting called Maddison, I tell her come and jump in my Addison Lee” goes the opening line of London MC Not3s’s irresistible hit "Addison Lee." (Addison Lee, to the uninitiated, is a taxi firm based in the English capital). Tapping into the diasporic sounds of afropop, dancehall, grime, hip-hop, and R&B, Not3s’s single is a cheeky anthem for anyone who’s ever unexpectedly found themselves home alone and wanted to invite someone else over — even if they have to order the cab themselves.

Since its release in November 2016, the song has been slowly racking up millions of plays on YouTube, and dominating Instagram Stories in London. This summer the track has gained a second wind. It's played regularly on Radio 1 and London station Capital Xtra, and has re-entered the charts and become a low-key festival favorite. Even documentary maker Louis Theroux is intrigued by the song, according to a recent tweet.

When did you write “Addison Lee”?

October 2016. I was in a studio in [east London’s] Stratford, right next to the shopping center. That day I took an Addison Lee to the studio with [producer] Maly On The Track. We were going through instrumentals and vibing off them. As always, we were just talking complete rubbish over the music trying to make something out of it. Within the first 10 seconds of hearing that beat [“Addison Lee”], I was saying "Peng ting called Maddison, come jump in my Addison Lee." [My friends] were laughing but I was serious about making this into a song. After that I took it to another studio in [north London] Green Lanes, and to a producer called N2theA. I was just winging it, I never structured it or nothing. Just saying what I wanted to say.

From there I started putting clips on my Instagram and Snapchat and people would message me like, “Yo, when is this coming out?.” There's an account on Instagram called @imjustbait, sort of like a U.K. WorldStar. [The song was] posted on there and that's when it went mad.

 

thefader.com

Addison Lee
feat. Not3s
licence
Artist: Malv On The Track
Song Name: Addison Lee