Stanisland Magazine

UK rapper pens life experiences on a heartfelt hip-hop track

Last updated: 4th June 2025

Now this is cold. The UK hip-hop scene is getting caffeinated and is grafting fruits to eat.

East London rapper Nicki Knightz summons cool-headedness and flexes fluid deliveries on a demonstrable output of a fierce workflow. Her fresh vibe, Cold Nights in East, is another one climbing the rap league table.

What Cold Nights in East Sounds Like

Forged by the hands of Swedish producer MarkMyWords, it tints ears with a deep-rooted segment of bullish music. Add Knightz to the mix and we’re ready for war as both artists reorient a sentiment for musical taste.

It journals the rapper’s experiences growing up in difficult circumstances. The track itself is a loaded account of London living, especially in the East. In a statement Nicki explains: “Not no seaside – just blocks, silence, and the weight we carry young”…“This one’s for the ones who made it through, and the ones still in it.”

These hardships are augmented by the lyricist through a descriptive delivery. Quite simply, it opens with the hook before the first verse chimes: “95 I’m alive.” Autobiographical details flow through her pen, relating to past events: “Pops was on the road, making money that we didn’t see, I was about three.”

Recounting her patience in learning to piece the track together in GarageBand, she said of the process: “…there’s power in doing it on your own terms.” However, she also admitted there’s plenty of “trial and error.”

The Verdict

Boom-bap rarely misses, and Nicki Knightz proves this herself with firefly skills that are a beacon.

The poignancy of such a explorative song—yet filled with anguish and sorrow—is laid bare. The focus and cadence of a work that is deeply personal reverberate through every breath, and the track’s conduit as a flue for joyful abandon is stark: “Mummy cried tears, she dealing with the grief.”

This is a single I truly appreciate, filled with layers we’re still peeling back. It’s not easy pouring your heart onto paper — let alone sharing it with the world.

How to Hear it

The new single is available to stream on Apple Music and Spotify.