It’s low-hanging fruit to say that EsDeeKid’s rise has been meteoric. In less than a year since the release of his debut album, the Liverpool rapper has gone from underground curiosity to streaming juggernaut, powered by a refreshingly gritty sound and — most of all — the commanding vocal presence of his distinctive Scouse inflections. Balaclava-clad and largely faceless, EsDeeKid arrived shrouded in mystique: Who is this shadowy figure with millions of streams? At one point, online speculation even floated Timothée Chalamet as a possible identity — a rumor that culminated in the actor’s surprise appearance on a remix of “4 Raws.” Now on a sold-out tour, EsDeeKid returns with his first single of the year.

“Omens” is EsDeeKid’s second and most recent release after the breakthrough of his debut album “Rebel,” which peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard 200. “Omens” exudes the confidence of someone who knows the numbers are behind him. “I be the boy, I’m the one that is chosen,” he declares, before flexing, “’25 I did a milli’, boy / ’26 I need a billi’, boy.” One could read it as a victory lap, but he has always rapped as though he has already won; now, he simply has the metrics to justify it.

Sonically, “Omens” doubles down on the formula seen in “Rebel.” The beat is hard but narrow: A dark, claustrophobic trap loop built around a pulsing, stepwise synth figure. The melodic fragment looping throughout the song mirrors the monotone, rhythmic chant of his verses. When he repeats on the chorus, “I’m rockin’, I’m rockin’ and rockin’, I’m rollin’,” we’re brought along with the momentum.

For all its aggression, “Omens” can feel slightly regressive. On the first few listens, it lacks the instant stickiness of tracks on “Rebel,” and the beat and rhymes don’t push beyond what he’s done before. Part of it may simply be that the formula no longer feels novel. And yet, novelty has never been the sole engine of EsDeeKid’s appeal. The percussive brashness of his delivery gives even the most straightforward couplet a blunt-force impact — what Pitchfork’s Olivier Lafontant aptly described as “knock[ing] you over the head.” His voice does the heavy lifting; there’s a physicality to the way he leans into syllables that brings full force into every song. Even when the beats verge on interchangeability, that relentlessness becomes part of the draw.

Reliance on force and repetition alone raises the question of the track’s longevity. Trap’s minimalism can be brutally effective, but it is also unforgiving. When the harmonic palette is this narrow and the melodic development this restrained, what does artistic evolution look like? Maybe “Omens” doesn’t offer the answer, but his previous single, “Century,” might. Rapping over menacing horror movie-esque instrumentals and gritty overdriven 808 beats, EsDeeKid pushes further into atmosphere, carving a path toward sharpened darkness and heightened theatricality — a risk-taking impulse that “Omens” ultimately sidesteps.

The cutting edge of underground rap has a short memory. “This is the ‘Rebel’ economy,” EsDeeKid raps on “Omens,” but whether it will last has yet to be determined. For now, the British rapper occupies a compelling space. “Omens” may not expand his sound, but it reinforces the qualities that propelled him upward: brute-force beats, a distinctive regional flow, and an unwavering self-mythology. If “Century” gestures toward experimentation and “Omens” toward consolidation, the next move will be an omen — not just for what’s to come for EsDeeKid, but for the era of underground trap that he’s poised to define.

—Staff writer Ee Jenn Lee can be reached at [email protected].