“He did, that's true,” confirmed Datkid, when asked if Baileys truly encouraged him to rap more over hip-hop. “I used to like hip-hop, I've always loved hip-hop. But to rap on, I used to prefer grime just because of rapping a bit faster. That was the thing at the time as well, UK hip-hop had died out a lot then. So them times - probably around 2008/9 - UK hip-hop had died out a lot really for a couple years, I wanted to do grime tunes. But yeah, Baileys loved hip-hop and made hip-hop as well as loads of other shit. He's a producer, he'll make anything so he won't get bored. So yeah, I just kept up doing hip-hop with him as well. Then eventually... Yeah.”

In 2011, Datkid dropped his rough and raw solo debut, Dkay and Gramma on Baileys Brown’s bandcamp. The project was created between 2009-2011, lyrically reflecting on the illicit lifestyle and extroverted perspectives which raised him. By the date of it’s release, the 11 track album was released during a period where UK hip-hop was seeing a revival. More and more rough and raw releases were dropping, from all corners of the country. “Some of those tracks on that whole thing are like…” Datkid paused, remembering the creation process of Dkay and Gramma. “We recorded bare of that on a SM58 and that's why it's bare fucked, the sound of it. We were using like Reason or real basic Cubase or something. I was young and this was my first shit really that I'd done. So I wasn't really thinking about what everyone else was putting out, I just wanted to record some shit, make some CD's and make some money. Know what I'm saying? I was like, 17 or 18 when I started writing it. Shit was pretty peak, a lot of it was down to my own dong. My mum moved away, I lived at my nans for a bit. But I got her house raided and obviously I couldn't live there no more, so I was in hostels for a couple years back and forth. Shit like that, in and out of trouble. So that's what was going on at the time, and that was going on for a long time, until I come out of prison really.”

As Datkid’s local notoriety increased, he soon became acquainted with another rising Bristol rapper at the time - Res One. It was through this affiliation that Datkid and Baileys became involved with Split Prophets, an eight man collective of up-and-coming rhymers. A few months following the release of Dkay and Gramma, Split Prophets unleashed their debut Scribbled Thoughts unto the world. “I met Res, Bill and Bewbonik,” reminisced Datkid, remembering when he first met Res One. “I met them all pretty much at the same time, other than BadHabitZ. I was with a couple boys, we've always had mutual friends anyway but I'd just never met them really. Maybe I had but I didn't even realise or whatever. I met them through a mutual friend of theirs, we were just walking through somewhere and they were sat on some bench, bunning zoots or whatever. My friend seen them, noticed them so he walked over. Then we ended up jamming with them for the night, spitting bars and getting drunk. That was it, that was where it all started. That was when we were like, 18 I think. Baileys met them through me - obviously because Baileys got the ill beats, so we were working together.”

Following the consequences of choices which led to madness, Datkid ended up on tag which inevitably prohibited his movements and ability to function normally. Using the inner frustration pent up inside his mind, Datkid made use of the time by writing the project which would forever solidify him as a Bristol hip-hop icon - Home By 8. Receiving huge acclaim from hip-hop blogs and fans alike, the project’s standout, self-titled single Home By 8 became an anthem for people caught up in chaotic times. “Not at all,” Datkid replied humbly, agreeing that even he hadn’t foreseen the Home By 8 single becoming as successful as it became. “Do you know what, even the day I put out the video, I think it got over 10,000 views in the first 24 hours. I was like, what the fuck? You know what it was, I put in a lot of work with that video. I didn't know what the fuck I was doing, I didn't have a clue back then what I was doing. But the day before I put out the video, I thought on the day I put it up to send it to loads of people and went in like that. With Home By 8, me and Baileys just got a proper mic and I think Baileys just got his first MPC - maybe just before that. We fucked up, uploaded it raggo and just put up the wrong mix on the Bandcamp. I'm pretty sure that's what happened, then we just left it there. I think the computer which had all the shit on it got broke or lost, think it broke init. Baileys has been a victim to that a lot, which means by proxy I've been a victim of it as well. Broken computers man, we lost so much shit. That's why we never put Home By 8 on vinyl, because back then we didn't have the money to do that. Now we're trying to do it, we're figuring it out how to do it. But all we've got is WAV's, so we're going to try figure it out and shit.”