Dutchavelli

Dutchavelli was born in Birmingham. He is of Jamaican descent.[5] He has six siblings and is the fifth born of the seven. When he was a year old, his family moved to Rotterdam, Netherlands, (hence Allen's stage name); around a decade later on they moved back to Clapton, London. He cites that instead of sitting around the dinner table to eat they would play each other music ranging from Bob Marley to Aretha Franklin.[3] After first recording in his teens, although he was spurred on by those around him, at age 17 he was handed a six-year prison sentence for an unspecified offence which delayed the start of his music career.[6]

Dutchavelli begun his career as Dutch in 2016 releasing songs such as 'New Jack City' whilst making appearances on Rinse FM.[6] Further legal trouble involving a firearm charge in 2018 curtailed his career for another two years while imprisoned on remand (he was later acquitted of the main charge but convicted of an offence relating to witnesses in the case). After being released on licence he began to gain recognition in 2020 with a series of hits which began with 'Only If You Knew' which racked up 20 million views in eight months.[3] Further hits such as 'Surely'[7] alongside collaborations with artists such as Stormzy and M Huncho began to cement his name as one of the leading emerging talents within the drill scene.
Dutchavelli was named on the BBC Sound of... 2021 longlist. 10 artists were nominated by industry experts and artists such as Stormzy, AJ Tracey and Billie Eilish.[8]

Dutchavelli has gained a reputation for being seen as a tough individual. This, paired with his large stature – he is 6ft 6in (2.0m) in height[9] – has led to a proliferation of memes relating to this within popular culture.[10]