>aRRO is a veteran of the UK Hip-Hop scene, hailing from Gateshead in the North of England. Eschewing the typical aesthetic of many contemporary UK rappers, he prioritizes heart-led, original music that samples broadly from rock, world music, and pop. A member of the group Miniature Heroes and a skilled beatboxer, >aRRO focuses on the love of the craft over commercial fame. His latest track, “Get to Funk,” sees him reuniting with West Yorkshire producer Mr. Boswell Thomas following their successful 2025 collaborations and support from BBC Introducing.
“Get to Funk” isn’t just a catchy hook; it is a direct confrontation with music that lacks a pulse. By targeting verses that lack soul and those who actively block the “groove,” >aRRO is performing an act of joy as resistance. In a world that often feels heavy and disconnected, choosing to center a track around the “restoration of the groove” is a radical move. It’s a refusal to let the foundational energy of the genre be neglected or erased.
The track operates as a decree. There is a disruptive energy in the way >aRRO approaches the BoomBap and Lo-Fi Rap landscape. He isn’t asking for permission to be heard; he is demanding that we return to the source. The collaboration with Boswell Thomas creates a space where the “funk” is the law, and any attempt to bypass it is treated as a creative offense.
Ultimately, this record serves as a reminder that the most potent way to fight cultural erasure is to create something so undeniably soulful that it cannot be ignored. By making music “solely for the love and enjoyment,” >aRRO bypasses the gatekeepers and speaks directly to the listener’s instinct to move. It is a poetic, loud, and necessary reminder to simply get back to the heart of the matter.
