HOME

TheInfoList

Click Here for Items Related To - Road Rap

OR:

Road Rap on: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Amazon]

British hip hop, also known as UK hip hop or UK rap, is a

genre of music A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from '' musical form'' and musical style, although in practice these terms are som ...

, and a culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It is generally classified as one of a number of styles of R&B/Hip-Hop. British hip hop can also be referred to as Brit-hop, a term coined and popularised mainly by ''

British Vogue British ''Vogue'' is a British fashion magazine published based in London since autumn 1916. It is the British edition of the American magazine ''Vogue'' and is owned and distributed by Condé Montrose Nast. British ''Vogue'' editor in 2012 c ...

'' magazine and the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

. British hip hop was originally influenced by the dub/toasting introduced to the United Kingdom by Jamaican migrants in the 1950s–70s, who eventually developed uniquely influenced rapping (or speed-toasting) in order to match the rhythm of the ever-increasing pace and aggression of Jamaican-influenced dub in the UK. Toasting and soundsystem cultures were also influential in genres outside of hip hop that still included

rapping Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

– such as

grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust * Grime (music genre), a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * ''Grime'' (video game), a 2021 Metroidvania video game * "Grime", a 2022 song by Dallas Woo ...

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...

, and

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. It ...

. In 2003, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' described British hip hop's broad-ranging approach:

..."UK rap" is a broad sonic church, encompassing anything made in Britain by musicians informed or inspired by hip-hop's possibilities, whose music is a response to the same stimuli that gave birth to rap in New York in the mid-Seventies.

History

Origins

As in the US, British hip hop emerged as a scene from

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

and

breakdancing Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in ...

, and then through to DJing and

live at parties and club nights, with its supporters predominantly listening to and influenced by US hip hop. Unlike in the US, the British hip hop scene was cross-racial from the beginning, as diverse ethnic groups in Britain tend not to live in segregated areas, even in areas with a high percentage of non-white individuals. Such places allow youth to share culture with one another, including musical genres such as hip hop. Cross pollination through migrating

West Indians A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

helped develop a community interested in the music. The integration of

sound systems In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

represent a distinct British Caribbean influence. Sound systems allowed for powerful syncopated bass runs and the ability to bring this sound to other venues creating a club culture. There were, however, British tunes starting to appear. There are an abundance of records that are often credited with being the first British hip hop release, "Christmas Rapping" by Dizzy Heights (Polydor, 1982), is often credited as such, as well as the slightly later released "London Bridge" by

Newtrament Newtrament is a musician, MC and DJ known for releasing an early UK electro/ hip hop record - "London Bridge is Falling Down" - on Jive Records. It was based on the nursery rhyme (previously adapted by the reggae group Culture) with a poli ...

(Jive Records, 1983). Dizzy Heights was the first MC to be signed to a major label. Two singles from 1980 precede both of these however, namely Allen & Blewitt's novelty record "Chip Shop Wrapping", released in 1980, a parody of The Sugarhill Gang's "

Rapper's Delight "Rapper's Delight" is a 1979 hip-hop track by the Sugarhill Gang, produced by Sylvia Robinson. Although it was shortly preceded by the Fatback Band's "King Tim III (Personality Jock)", "Rapper's Delight" is credited for introducing hip-hop mus ...

", and Bo Kool's "Money (No Love)". The instrumental for "Money (No Love)" was produced by Funk Masters member Tony Williams, and would turn out to be an influential release in its own right, going on to inspire DJ's from New York to employ influences from

dub music Dub is an electronic musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style.Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican re ...

. In Scotland, actor and stand-up comedian

Johnny Beattie John Gerard Beattie MBE (9 November 1926 – 9 July 2020) was a Scottish actor and stand-up comedian whose career spanned over six decades. He appeared on shows including the sketch show '' Scotch & Wry'' and the sitcom '' Rab C. Nesbitt'', a ...

released "The Glasgow Rap" in 1983, receiving some chart success at the time. He later claimed to be "Scotland's first rap star". There were also early pop records which dabbled with rap – such as

Adam and the Ants Adam and the Ants were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. The group existed in two incarnations, both fronted by Adam Ant, over the period 1977 to 1982. The first, founded in May 1977 and known simply as The Ants until November of t ...

' " Ant Rap" (CBS, 1981) and

Wham! Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling more ...

's "

Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" is the debut single by English pop duo Wham! on Innervision Records, released in June 1982. It was written by Wham! members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. History Wham Rap! was the first song written by Michae ...

" (Inner Vision, 1982) — but these are often considered pop appropriations of US rap. Punk band

the Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

had earlier dabbled with rap on the single "

The Magnificent Seven ''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay by William Roberts is a remake – in an Old West–style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film '' Seven Samurai'' (itself initially relea ...

" from their album ''

Sandinista! ''Sandinista!'' is the fourth studio album by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was released on 12 December 1980 as a triple album containing 36 tracks, with 6 songs on each side. It crosses various genres including funk, reggae, jazz, g ...

'' (CBS, 1980), and a later single "

This Is Radio Clash "This Is Radio Clash" is a song by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was released as a single in 1981 on various formats. The song was performed months before its release, beginning with the Impossible Mission Tour of April and May 1981. ...

" (1981). Even earlier than this, in 1979,

Ian Dury and the Blockheads Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

released " Reasons to Be Cheerful (Part 3)", another record with influences from hip hop. Then

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

manager Malcolm McLaren's "

Buffalo Gals "Buffalo Gals" is a traditional American song, written and published as "Lubly Fan" in 1844 by the blackface minstrel John Hodges, who performed as "Cool White". The song was widely popular throughout the United States, where minstrels often ...

" (Charisma, 1982), featuring the New York hip hop group

World's Famous Supreme Team The World's Famous Supreme Team was an American hip hop radio show duo and recording group active from 1979. The original members were Sedivine the Mastermind (Larry Price) and Just Allah the Superstar (Ronald Larkins Jr.). Career The group's ...

, was the breakthrough hit that introduced the genre to the United Kingdom — McLaren's ''

Duck Rock ''Duck Rock'' is an album released by British impresario Malcolm McLaren. It was originally issued in 1983 by Charisma Records, Virgin Records, and Chrysalis Records, and later re-released on CD in 1987. The album mixes up styles from South Afric ...

'' album as a whole experimented with many musical styles from around the world. "Buffalo Gals" and another track from the album, "World's Famous" which also featured the group, used techniques which have been established in hip hop in the United States, such as sampling and

scratching Scratching, sometimes referred to as scrubbing, is a DJ and turntablist technique of moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable to produce percussive or rhythmic sounds. A crossfader on a DJ mixer may be used to fade between two record ...

. McLaren even included a song referencing the ' Double Dutch' dance that was popular among breakdancing crews in New York at the time. Over the next few years, more UK hip hop and

electro music Electro (or electro- funk)Rap meets ...

was released: ''Street Sounds Electro UK'' (Street Sounds, 1984), which was produced by Greg Wilson and featured an early appearance from MC Kermit, who later went on to form the Wilson produced Ruthless Rap Assassins; The Rapologists' "Kids Rap/Party Rap" (Billy Boy, 1984) and Grandmaster Richie Rich's "Don't Be Flash" (Spin Offs, 1985). Releases were still few and far between, and the scene remained predominantly underground. Tim Westwood 2012

Although record labels began to take note of the underground scene throughout the 1980s and 1990s, radio play and publicity were still a difficulty in helping the fledgling scene to grow, and the scene only managed to survive through word of mouth and the patronage of

pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially w ...

stations around the country. Mainstream radio did play British hip hop on occasion, supported by such well-known DJs as

Dave Pearce David Alistair Pearce (born 14 June 1963) is an English dance DJ, EDM producer and broadcaster, who has performed across the United Kingdom and the world. He previously presented ''Dance Anthems'' on BBC Radio 1 for ten years. He is renowned f ...

Tim Westwood Timothy Westwood (born 3 October 1957) is a British DJ and presenter. He is often referred to by other DJs and artists appearing on his shows simply as Westwood. He was described by ''The Guardian'' in 2022 as "a veteran of the hip-hop scene ...

, Steve Barker and

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

. British hip hop in the 1980s was not just confined to music and break-dancing, but also involved the spread of New York City-style graffiti – another integral element of US hip hop culture — to London and other UK inner-city areas, both on walls and trains. The most direct influence was, however, on graffiti painted in

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

trains. Teenagers from inner London and other European cities who were into electro-hip hop and had family and other links to New York City had by the mid-1980s taken up some of the traditions of subway graffiti and exported them home, although legendary New York writers like Brim, Bio, and Futura had themselves played a significant role in establishing such links when they visited London in the early-to-mid-1980s and 'put up pieces' on or near the west London end of the Metropolitan Line. Almost as significantly, just when subway graffiti was on the decline in New York City, some British teenagers who had spent time with family in Queens and the Bronx returned to London with a "mission" to Americanise the London Underground through painting New York City-style graffiti on trains. These small groups of London 'train writers' adopted many of the styles and lifestyles of their New York City forebears, painting graffiti train pieces and in general 'bombing' the system, but favouring only a few selected underground lines seen as most suitable for train graffiti. Although on a substantially smaller scale than what had existed in New York City, graffiti on London Underground trains became seen as enough of a problem by the mid-1980s to provoke the British Transport Police to establish its own graffiti squad modelled directly on and in consultation with that of the New York City MTA. At the same time, graffiti art on London Underground trains generated some interest in the media and arts, leading to several art galleries putting on exhibitions of some of the art work (on canvas) of a few London train writers as well as TV documentaries on London hip hop culture like the BBC's ''Bad Meaning Good'', which included a section featuring interviews with London train writers and a few examples of their pieces. While many early rappers from the UK, such as

Derek B Derek Boland (15 January 1965 – 15 November 2009), better known by his stage name Derek B, was a British rapper. His most commercially successful releases were "Goodgroove" and "Bad Young Brother" in 1988. Biography Born in Hammersmith, Lon ...

, imitated the styles and accents of their US heroes, there were many who realised that to merely transpose US forms would rob UK hip-hop of the ability to speak for a disenfranchised British constituency in the way that US hip-hop so successfully spoke to, and for, its audience. Attempts were made by UK rappers to develop styles more obviously rooted in British linguistic practices —

Rodney P Rodney Panton, also known as Rodney P (born in Balham, London, 12 December 1969) is an English MC, as well as a radio and television personality who first gained attention via the UK hip hop scene in the 1980s. A former member of UK hip-hop gro ...

of the

London Posse London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

deliberately chose a London accent – although many succeeded only in adopting a slurred hybrid that located the rap "somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean".

Development: Late 1980s–early 1990s

The first record label devoted to releasing UK hip hop acts was founded in 1986.

Simon Harris Simon Harris (born 17 October 1986) is an Irish politician who has served as Taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael since 2024. A TD for the Wicklow constituency since 2011, he has served as a minister in the government of Ireland since 2016 and f ...

Music of Life Music of Life is a British independent hip hop and dance music label formed in 1986 by two influential DJ remixers Froggy and Simon Harris, managed by Chris France. Following several successful productions, one of which reached No. 3 in the U ...

label was home to rapper

, the first UK rapper to achieve chart success. He even collaborated with

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

on his album '' Bullet from a Gun'' and was the first British rapper to appear on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

''. Building on Derek B's success,

went on to sign groups such as

Hijack Hijack may refer to: Films * ''Hijack'' (1973 film), an American made-for-television film * ''Hijack!'', a 1975 British film sponsored by the Children's Film Foundation - see Children's Film Foundation filmography * ''Hijack'' (2008 film), a Bol ...

, the Demon Boyz, Hardnoise (later Son of Noise) and MC Duke. Their ''Hard as Hell'' series mixed homegrown talent like Thrashpack and the

She Rockers The She Rockers were a female hip hop group from London, featuring Donna 'She Roc' McConnell, Antonia 'MC Aurra' Jolly, Dupe Fagbesa and Alison Clarkson (who later found fame as Betty Boo). Career She Rockers' first release - as a trio of McConne ...

with US artists such as

Professor Griff Richard Griffin (born August 1, 1960), better known by his stage name Professor Griff, is an American rapper, spoken word artist, and lecturer currently residing in Atlanta. He was a member of the hip hop group Public Enemy, serving as the gro ...

. Music of Life was swiftly followed by other labels such as

Mango Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

and Kold Sweat. Another successful British hip-hop artist that emerged from Music of Life was Asher D, whose Jamaican origins showed through in his vocal style. Slick Rick - The Ruler

Moving away from its US roots, British hip hop started to develop its own sounds: acts like

, II Tone Committee, Hardnoise, and

Silver Bullet In folklore, a bullet cast from silver is often one of the few weapons that are effective against a werewolf or witch. The term ''silver bullet'' is also a metaphor for a simple, seemingly magical, solution to a difficult problem: for example, pe ...

developed a fast and

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

style, while many other acts took influences from elsewhere.

Caveman The caveman is a stock character representative of primitive humans in the Paleolithic. The popularization of the type dates to the early 20th century, when Neanderthals were influentially described as " simian" or "ape-like" by Marcellin ...

and

Outlaw Posse Outlaw Posse was a British hip hop group formed by Bello B (real name Isaac Bello) and K-Gee (real name Karl Gordon). They also recorded together as Outlaw and Brothers Like Outlaw, before the group finally split in 1992. Biography K-Gee started o ...

developed a jazz influenced style, whilst MC Mell'O' mixed

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and hardcore.

, Black Radical Mk II and DJ Ruf Cut And Tuf C were more influenced by

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

whilst the

Wee Papa Girl Rappers Wee Papa Girl Rappers were a British female rap duo, that found chart success in the late 1980s. They were twin sisters Sandra and Samantha Lawrence. Overview Before being signed to Jive Records, the two sisters were backing singers for Fear ...

Cookie Crew Cookie Crew were a rap music duo formed in Clapham, South London in 1983. Career Their career took off after winning a national rap championship and recording two sessions for the John Peel BBC Radio 1 show. They gained a recording contract fr ...

and

Monie Love Simone Johnson or Simone Gooden (born 2 July 1970), better known by her stage name Monie Love, is a British rapper, actress and radio personality from London. Best known for her singles during the late–1980s through the 1990s, Monie Love curre ...

achieved chart success with more radio-friendly hip hop. However, despite the chart success of some British-born hip hop artists – for example

Slick Rick Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence with Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. Their songs " The Show" and " ...

Young MC Marvin Young (born May 10, 1967), better known by his stage name Young M.C., is a British-born American rapper, singer and actor. He is best known for his 1989 hit " Bust a Move". His debut album ''Stone Cold Rhymin found international accla ...

and

MF Doom Daniel Dumile ( ; July 13, 1971October 31, 2020), best known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom (both stylized in all caps), was a British-American rapper and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and ...

, who all moved to the US – the majority of the scene was still underground and small scale. Kinetic Effect joined the scene in the early 1980s and was part of rap outfit 2 the Top as D-Koy; later, in 1991, he teamed with Insane Macbeth to record "Borderin' Insanity" (released in 1993) and in 1995, he recorded "Man Bites Dog"/"The Effect of Fear"
Their song "The Rhythm I Give 'Em" made the UK Top 10 Hip Hop chart. In 1987, Positive Beat Records came out of the hotbed of early UK hip hop,

Ladbroke Grove Ladbroke Grove () is an area and a road in West London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, passing through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also a name given to ...

in London with two releases. The label followed up the single "It's Getting Rough" by Rocky X and D-D Dance with the Various Artists' ''Known 2 Be Down'' album. This featured Sir Drew (of KREW and

), MC Flex,

, Rapski and more of West London's finest rap talents. Other notable labels at the time included Liberty Grooves in Tooting, South London. The label itself started in late 1989 with the first release in 1990 by Whirlwind D & Johnny F of Solid n Mind. Other artists included Gutter Snypes, True Style and DJ Noize. Liberty Grooves was also a shop and many notable artists such as MC Mell O and

Braintax Joe Christie, better known as Braintax, is a British hip hop artist and producer. Christie had also recorded or appeared under the pseudonyms Brando Flux and Joey Brains. All of his releases were on his own record label, Low Life Records. Origi ...

would perform there. In 1988, Rapski released "The Connection" on 12". The track was taken from ''Known 2 Be Down'' and was an early example of mixing hip hop and

in a (London) style. More was to come in the early 1990s in the form of MC Reason (a.k.a. Voice of Reason) with "Symbolise"/"HouseQuake" and Jonie D with "Which Base"/"Ride On" which was performed live on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

in 1991. A mindset began to develop – typified by the

Gunshot A gunshot is a single discharge of a gun, typically a man-portable firearm, producing a visible flash, a powerful and loud shockwave and often chemical gunshot residue. The term can also refer to a ballistic wound caused by such a discharg ...

tune "No Sell Out" (1991), or Son of Noise's "Poor But Hardcore" (1992) — that distrusted successful artists who did not utilise the hardcore style most associated with the scene.

's chart success was applauded due to an uncompromisingly rapid delivery, whereas Derek B and

Rebel MC Michael Alec Anthony West (born 27 August 1964 in Islington, London, England), better known as Rebel MC and Congo Natty, is a British jungle producer and toaster. He has also gone by aliases including Conquering Lion, Blackstar, Tribe of Issach ...

were scorned when their more pop influenced styles earned them success. Such artists were often branded "sell outs". As the scene grew, it became less common for British rappers to imitate US accents (those who did were often ridiculed) and British rap became more assured of its identity. ''

Hip Hop Connection ''Hip Hop Connection'' (''HHC'') was the longest running monthly periodical devoted entirely to hip hop culture. It was described by rapper Chuck D as "the best magazine in the world". History Under the editorship of Chris Hunt, the magazine p ...

'' — the first major British hip hop magazine – was founded in 1989 and by the early 1990s the British hip hop scene seemed to be thriving. Not only was there a firm base of rappers in London such as Blade, Black Radical Mk II,

Overlord X Overlord X (born Benjamin Balogun, in Hackney) was one of the earliest British hip hop artists to receive national acclaim in the UK, with his most well known song still being his second single release, "14 Days in May" (Westside Records, 1988) ...

and Bushkiller (including Sirus) — but many distinct scenes developed nationally. Birmingham and the West Midlands gave rise to

Credit to the Nation Credit to the Nation are a British hip hop group, who had chart success in the 1990s and are best known for their Nirvana-sampling single "Call It What You Want". The band is fronted by Matty Hanson (a.k.a. MC Fusion) and was initially noted fo ...

, whose MC Fusion would espouse conscious anti-racist, sexist and homophobic lyrics. The band would also find some brief mainstream success with their

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

crossover sound. Leeds spawned

and Breaking the Illusion (who together founded

Low Life Records Joe Christie, better known as Braintax, is a British hip hop artist and producer. Christie had also recorded or appeared under the pseudonyms Brando Flux and Joey Brains. All of his releases were on his own record label, Low Life Records. Origi ...

) as well as

Nightmares on Wax George Evelyn (born 15 January 1970), better known by his stage name Nightmares on Wax or DJ E.A.S.E., is an English DJ and record producer from Leeds. His music has been released by Warp Records. He is based in Ibiza. Nightmares on Wax were or ...

. Greater Manchester gave birth to the Ruthless Rap Assassins, Krispy 3 (later Krispy), the

Kaliphz Kaliphz were a British hip hop group, formed in Rochdale by 2-Phaan (real name Mush Khan) and Jabba da Hype (real name Jabbar Khan). They began as part of the breakdance, breakdancing scene in the early 1980s before branching out into spoken wor ...

, Jeep Beat Collective and

MC Tunes Nicholas William Dennis Hodgson (born 28 March 1970), also known as MC Tunes, is an English rapper from the Moss Side area in Manchester. His name was legally changed to Lockett in 1981, and he also goes by the name Nicky Lockett. Tunes played ...

. Bristol's scene has a long history going right back to the early 1980s where links were made with outfits from New York. The Fearless Four came over in 1984 along with graffiti legends the Tats Cru and

Rock Steady Crew Rock Steady Crew is an American breaking and hip hop group which has become a franchise name for multiple groups in other locations. The group's 1983 international hit song " (Hey You) The Rock Steady Crew" (from the group's first studio album ...

. Bristol (specifically the St. Pauls area) produced The Wild Bunch (later better known as

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The debut Massive Attack album ''Blue Lines'' was release ...

Nellee Hooper Nellee Hooper (born Paul Andrew Hooper on 15 March 1963) is a British record producer, remixer and songwriter known for his work with many major recording artists beginning in the late 1980s. He also debuted as a motion picture music composer w ...

who went on to produce for

Soul II Soul Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...

. The city later became the home of

trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop ...

with artists like Tricky and Portishead.

signed to a major label —

Profile Records Profile Records was one of the earliest hip hop labels. As well as hip-hop they released disco, dance, and electro records. History In 1980, Cory Robbins, who was 23 at the time and had worked briefly for MCA, wanted to start a record label. ...

, the label home of Run–D.M.C. — and Kold Sweat came into their own, discovering groups like SL Troopers, Dynametrix, Unanimous Decision and Katch 22, whose "Diary of a Blackman" was banned by

Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...

for using a sound clip from the National Front. In 1991,

released ''The Horns of Jericho'' (Rhyme Syndicate Records, 1991) on Ice-T's recently formed Rhyme Syndicate label. The first single, "The Badman Is Robbin'", was a top 40 hit and they went on sell more than 30,000 albums. British hip hop was affected by the record industry clamping down on sampling, beginning to charge for the use of samples and prosecuting those who used them without permission. Larger US acts could afford to license samples and still turn a profit for their labels, a luxury not available to many smaller UK artists. One such victim of this was

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

group

the Criminal Minds The Criminal Minds are a British hip hop group first formed in Milton Keynes, UK in 1985, who would later have success with breakbeat hardcore music during the peak of the early-mid 1990s UK rave scene. History The Criminal Minds were first for ...

. Their first two releases, the 1990 mini-album ''Guilty as Charged'' and a 1991 EP ''Tales from the Wasteland'' were bogged down by potential sample clearance problems and thus were only ever made available in small numbers. As

breakbeat hardcore Breakbeat hardcore (also referred to as hardcore rave or oldskool hardcore) is a music genre of the very early 1990s that spawned from the UK rave scene. It combines four-on-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats usually sampled from hip hop. In ...

music started to become very popular in the UK in the early 1990s, the Criminal Minds turned their attention to making this type of music instead. The UK hip hop boom never achieved its predicted commercial success. Hijack's ''The Horns of Jericho'' was never released in the US, while record companies dropped artists, citing poor sales and lack of interest.

closed down, and the British public began to turn their affections to

, a fusion of breakbeat hardcore, hip hop and reggae. Other acts and styles developed from the hip hop scene, resulting in new genres to describe them – for example

with

, or Galliano, Us3 and Urban Species with acid jazz. In the period between 1992 and 1995, the only groups to make much impact were Gunshot and the Brotherhood. Gunshot's 1992 album ''Patriot Games'' was a landmark with tracks such as "Mind of a Razor" and "World War 3" becoming British hardcore classics. Formed in the '80s, the Brotherhood released their first record, simply called ''Brotherhood EP'', as a white label in 1991. They went on to release ''Wayz of the Wize'' in 1992, then ''Untitled 93'' and ''XXIII'' in 1993, and ''Hip Hop N' Rap'' in 1994, all on the Bite It! label. None of the records sold in huge numbers but they managed to gain airplay on the

show and DJ 279's show on

Choice FM Capital XTRA (formerly Choice FM) is a Global-owned radio station that broadcasts on 96.9 FM and 107.1 FM in Greater London. Nationally, it is heard on DAB Digital Radio, Freesat, Sky, Virgin Media and Global Player. It specialises in ...

, gaining them a solid following across the UK. Bite It! also released tracks from artists such as Pauly Ryan and the Scientists of Sound.

New generation: Late 1990s–early 2000s

Following an initial flurry of interest from major record labels in the 1980s, by the early 1990s the scene had moved underground after record companies pulled back. In the mid-1990s hip hop in the UK started to experiment and diversify – often mutating into diverse genres entirely, such as

and began making inroads into the US market. As the old rappers left the scene, a new generation, raised on hip hop and

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

, was coming of age:

The Herbaliser The Herbaliser is an English jazz hip hop group formed by Jake Wherry and Ollie Teeba in London, England during the early 1990s. Although currently releasing on their own label and having previously been signed to !K7 Records, they were one o ...

released ''Remedies'' (

Ninja Tune Ninja Tune is an English independent record label based in London. It has a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded by Matt Black and Jonathan More (better known as Coldcut) and managed by Peter Quicke and others. Inspired by a visit ...

, 1995),

Mr. Scruff Andrew Carthy (born 10 February 1972), better known by his stage name Mr. Scruff, is an English record producer and DJ. He lives in Stretford, Greater Manchester and studied fine art at the Psalter Lane campus of Sheffield Hallam University. ...

released the "Frolic EP Pt 1" (Pleasure Music, 1995),

Mark B Mark Barnes (1970 – 1 January 2016), known professionally as Mark B, was a British hip hop record producer. He was most active in the 1990s and early 2000s, associating with Task Force and Blade on many of his records. He was a DJ for Jazz Fu ...

released "Any More Questions?" (Jazz Fudge, 1995) and

DJ Skitz DJ Skitz or Skitz is a British DJ and music producer. He was born in 1970 in Cambridgeshire and started DJing in 1991. He has compiled a number of British Hip Hop compilations and other Hip Hop compilations. Along with Rodney P he produced the ...

released "Where My Mind Is At/Blessed Be The Manor" (Ronin Records, 1996) featuring a young rapper called

Roots Manuva Rodney Hylton Smith, better known by his stage name Roots Manuva (born 9 September 1972), is a British rapper and producer. Since his debut in 1994, he has produced numerous albums and singles on the label Big Dada, achieving commercial succes ...

on guest vocals who had previously released the single "Next Type of Motion" (Sound of Money, 1995). Record labels that attempted to merge British hip hop style and sensibilities with modern dance music began to emerge, like Mark Rae's Grand Central (home to Aim, Rae & Christian, and Fingathing, among others) or

DJ Vadim Vadim Alexandrovich Peare (russian: Вадим Александрович Пир, Vadim Aleksandrovich Pir ...

's Jazz Fudge. Increasingly, these artists managed to avoid the issues surrounding sampling by making music themselves (bands such as the Stereo MCs began playing instruments and sampling their own tunes) or searching out more obscure records where a most cost effective licensing deal could be arranged. British hip hop began to go through a renaissance, its style shifting from the hardcore template of its youth and moving into more melodic territory. The Brotherhood managed to broker a major deal with Virgin Records in 1995. Continuing their relationship with Trevor Jackson as their producer, they released 3 singles 'Alphabetical Response', 'One Shot', 'Punk Funk' and their album '' Elementalz'', all in 1996. Their work was met with critical acclaim and they toured solidly with American artists including Cypress Hill, The Roots and WuTang, but big record sales seemed to be very elusive and they parted ways with Virgin in 1998. MF Doom The Arches 2

In late 1996,

Will Ashon Will Ashon (born 1969) is an English writer and novelist, former music journalist and founder of the Big Dada imprint of Ninja Tune records. Ashon was educated at Countesthorpe Community College and Balliol College, Oxford. In the mid-1990s he w ...

started up his new

backed label

Big Dada Big Dada is a British independent record label imprint distributed by Ninja Tune. It was started by reputed hip hop journalist Will Ashon in 1997. It is best known for marketing of prominent British hip hop artist Roots Manuva, poet and play ...

and planned a roster of performers. Bandit of Birmingham's MSI/Asylum crew informed Will of

Juice Aleem Juice Aleem is a rapper born in Birmingham, in ceremonial counties West Midlands, England. Biography After putting years of energy into the Birmingham hip hop scene, Juice's "Ghetto Grammer" freestyle rap sessions started featuring such other f ...

that he was contemplating who could truly represent the ethos of the new label. Ashon was impressed with the demo and agreed to have Aleem on board. The results of this were the first release of the now famous record label: in 1997 Juice featured on Big Dada record label's first ever release "Misanthropic", under the pseudonym "Alpha Prhyme", a collaboration between himself and

Luke Vibert Luke Vibert (born 26 January 1973) is a British electronic musician and producer, also known for his work under several aliases such as Plug and Wagon Christ. Raised in Cornwall, Vibert began releasing projects in the 1990s across varied genre ...

. In 1998,

and Blade released "Hitmen for Hire EP", which featured guest appearances from Lewis Parker and

Mr Thing Mr Thing is a British hip hop producer. He is a former member of the Scratch Perverts.Cordor, CyrilMr. Thing Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 2011-06-19 He has worked with such artists as Yungun, Doc Brown and Devise. Mr Thing was also the winne ...

(of the

Scratch Perverts The Scratch Perverts are a collective of turntablist DJs from London, formed in 1996 by Tony Vegas, Prime Cuts and DJ Renegade. World DMC team champions in both 1999 and 2001. Additionally Prime Cuts won 2 consecutive ITF World Scratching tit ...

). The EP was a success, and led to the successful 2001 album ''The Unknown'', which despite never charting in the UK top 75, was still a top 100 success and an even bigger success within its genre. Also, the album spawned the 2001 top 40 single "Ya Don't See the Signs", which was a remix by Feeder frontman

Grant Nicholas Grantley Jonathan "Grant" Nicholas (born 12 November 1967) is a Welsh musician, and lead singer and guitarist of the rock band Feeder. Early years Nicholas was born in Newport, South Wales, but grew up in Pwllmeyric, near Chepstow. He was educa ...

, after the title track was a top 75 hit and Blade with Mark B supported Feeder. The same year, Bristol's Hombré label released the "2012 EP" from Aspects, a benchmark release within the movement.

Blak Twang Blak Twang (born Tony Olabode in England), who also uses the pseudonyms Taipanic and Tony Rotton, is a British rapper who grew up in Deptford, Lewisham, South-East London. Blak Twang is world-renowned for his live performances, and is also resp ...

, Mud Family,

Ti2bs Maka Agu, (born 12 January 1982), better known by his stage name Ti2bs or Mr Ti2bs, is an English rapper. He released his first mixtape ''North Stars Rising'' in 2002; and his first album, ''Nobody's Perfect'', in 2007 on Kemet Entertainment Reco ...

, Task Force,

Phi Life Cypher Phi Life Cypher were a British hip hop group based in Luton, composed of two MCs, Si Phili and Life MC, and DJ Nappa. The trio started making music together around 1996, and since have had much success on the UK underground circuit. Phi-Life C ...

, MSI & Asylum, Jeep Beat Collective and Ty all came to the public's attention, while veteran acts

Mike J Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

, and MC Mell'O' returned to the scene. In 1999, MF Doom released his debut studio album '' Operation: Doomsday'' which has since been ranked as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time.

Underground to mainstream: 2000s to 2010s

A new generation of artists emerged following the turn of the century, including

Jehst William G. Shields (born 1979), better known by his stage name Jehst, is an English rapper and co-founder of hip hop label YNR Productions. Biography Born in Kent in 1979, Jehst spent his early childhood in Crowborough in Sussex before moving ...

Skinnyman Skinnyman (born Alexander Graham Holland, 9 November 1974) is a British rapper who was born in Chapeltown Leeds, Yorkshire and moved to Finsbury Park, London at a young age. He grew up on the Six Acres Estate next to Andover Estate. Among his ...

, Nicky Spesh,

Foreign Beggars Foreign Beggars were an English hip hop and dubstep group. Since their formation in 2002, the group's trajectory had seen them evolve from an underground hip hop group to an electronic crossover act. The group consisted of four artists individ ...

and Usmaan. At the same time, a new style of

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

emerged in the early 2000s, derivative of

and

, with influences from

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

and hip hop; this new genre was dubbed "

" (sometimes called eskibeat or sublow) and effectively superseded UK hip hop in both popularity and the mainstream conscious. Grime is generally considered to be distinct from hip-hop due to its roots primarily being genres such as UK garage and jungle. In 2001,

claimed that British hip hop "is more healthy" than American hip-hop, and is more about making the music than is it about exploiting wealth or hitting it rich. Flo-dan, Wiley (34882237)

Success followed

The Streets The Streets are an English music project led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner. The project has released six studio albums: ''Original Pirate Material'' (2002), ''A Grand Don't Come for Free'' (2004), ''The Hardest Way to M ...

' 2002 album ''

Original Pirate Material ''Original Pirate Material'' is the debut studio album by English hip hop project the Streets, released on 25 March 2002. Recorded mostly in a south London house rented at the time by principal member Mike Skinner, the album is musically influ ...

'', and he became one of the first of the new breed of British hip hop artists to gain respectable sales, though his verbal style resulted in him being shunned by many artists in the scene. Such success has caused a surge in media exposure of other British hip hop acts. Welsh rap group

Goldie Lookin Chain Goldie Lookin Chain are a Welsh comedy hip hop group from Newport, south-east Wales. The group produces humorous, controversial and often explicit songs that satirise hip hop, today's consumer society, the "chav" culture and life in Newpo ...

also achieved chart success with their tongue-in-cheek take on hip-hop. Key records such as

's ''

Council Estate of Mind ''Council Estate of Mind'' is the debut studio album by English rapper Skinnyman, released on 9 August 2004 by Low Life Records. It was produced by DJ Flip, Stoned Soldiers, Adam M, and others. The album makes use of samples from ''Made in Br ...

'', and Klashnekoff's '' The Sagas Of...'' were released, cementing the reputations of the artists and opening up the floor for new artists to emerge. Labels

, run by prominent political rapper

, and Young N' Restless started and became the starting point for many. At the same time, just as

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

was losing momentum,

was creating interest. Wiley's ''

Treddin' on Thin Ice ''Treddin' on Thin Ice'' is the debut album by UK grime artist Wiley released on XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russel ...

'' was a cornerstone of the genre, and one-time friend Dizzee Rascal won a Mercury Music Prize for his debut ''

Boy in da Corner ''Boy in da Corner'' is the debut studio album by English rapper and producer Dizzee Rascal. It was first released on 21 July 2003 by XL Recordings in the United Kingdom before being released the following year in the United States. A widesprea ...

''. From then on, grime artists were the only MC's for interested record labels, and UK Hip-Hop's momentum dried up. Skepta & P Diddy (& Chipmunk) Backstage at orange rock corps

Skepta & P Diddy (& Chipmunk) Backstage at orange rock corps

A new generation of young socially

conscious hip-hop Political hip hop is a subgenre of hip hop music that was developed in the 1980s as a way of turning hip hop into a call for political and/or social action and a form of social and/or political activism. Inspired by 1970s political artists su ...

musicians emerged as a counter to the grime scene that many in the UK Hip Hop scene perceived as commercial. These rappers strived to bring attention to both positivity and lyricism as well as the injustices of war, gentrification and racism, following in the tradition of conscious rappers such as

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

and

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

. Amongst this new generation included artists such as

Klashnekoff Darren Kandler, better known by his Stage name Klashnekoff ''(pronounced K-Lash-Nek-Off)'' or Ricochet Klashnekoff, is a Jamaican-English Rapper from Stoke Newington, London. Klashnekoff was born in Hornsey, but then moved to Hackney in Lond ...

, Akala,

Lowkey Kareem Dennis (born 23 May 1986), better known by his stage name Lowkey, is a British rapper and activist from London. He first became known through a series of mixtapes he released before he was 18, before taking a hiatus from the music bus ...

and the Poisonous Poets. The mid-2000s saw the emergence of

road rap British hip hop, also known as UK hip hop or UK rap, is a genre of music, and a culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. It is generally classified as one of a number of styles of R&B/Hip-Hop. Britis ...

, a genre that took influences from American gangsta rap and focused on crime, gang, or violent themes. Road rap was pioneered by artists and groups such as PDC and Giggs' SN1 crew. By the late 2000s,

grime music Grime is a genre of electronic music that emerged in London in the early 2000s. It developed out of the earlier UK dance style UK garage, and draws influences from jungle, dancehall, and hip hop. The style is typified by rapid, syncopated brea ...

had entered into a period of stagnation. This led to an emergence of acts that, while influenced by or initially started out making grime, were moving into a more commercialised, hip-hop influenced form of music. Artists from this new wave included

N-Dubz N-Dubz are an English hip hop trio from Camden Town, London, consisting of cousins Dappy and Tulisa, and Fazer. After winning a MOBO Award for Best Newcomer in 2007, N-Dubz briefly signed to Polydor Records before joining All Around the Wor ...

Tinchy Stryder Kwasi Esono Danquah III ( ; born 14 September 1986), known by the stage name Tinchy Stryder, is a Ghanaian British, Ghanaian-British rapper, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and investor. Stryder has released three solo (music), solo studio al ...

Tinie Tempah Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu (born 7 November 1988), better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is a British rapper. He has been signed to Parlophone Records since 2009, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. He created his own entertainment compa ...

, and

Chipmunk Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of the family Sciuridae. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Chipmunks may be classified either as ...

(later known as Chip) who emerged in the late 2000s to great commercial success. Tinchy Stryder scored two number ones with songs " Number 1" and "

Never Leave You "Never Leave You" is a song by Tinchy Stryder, released as the fourth single from his second studio album, '' Catch 22'' as a digital download on 2 August 2009 and then as a CD single on 3 August 2009. The song was written by Stryder with lyric ...

" and became the best-selling British solo artist of 2009. The following year continued the success of the previous, with acts like

Professor Green Stephen Paul Manderson (born 27 November 1983), better known by his stage name Professor Green or simply Pro Green, is an English rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, television personality and mental health activist from London. Growing up on ...

and

breaking through to even bigger commercial success and also critical appreciation. The debut album from

called ''

Disc-Overy ''Disc-Overy'' is the debut studio album by the British rapper Tinie Tempah, released in Ireland on 1 October 2010 and in the United Kingdom on 4 October, by Parlophone Records. The original album track list includes Kelly Rowland, Ellie Goul ...

'' went to number one in the UK Albums Chart and was certified platinum on 1 March 2011. He also won a

Brit Award The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

for his number one single " Pass Out". Rapper

Plan B Plan B typically refers to a contingency plan, a plan devised for an outcome other than in the expected plan. Plan B may also refer to: * Plan B, a brand name of levonorgestrel, an emergency contraception drug Film and television * Plan B En ...

found success with his 2010 Hip Hop and Soul fusion album ''

The Defamation of Strickland Banks ''The Defamation of Strickland Banks'' is the second studio album from English singer and rapper Plan B. It was released on 12 April 2010 by 679 Recordings. The album is a departure from the sound heard on Plan B's debut album '' Who Needs Acti ...

'', followed by the soundtrack album ''

Ill Manors ''Ill Manors'' (stylised as ''ill Manors'') is a British crime drama film written, co-scored and directed by Ben Drew AKA musician Plan B. The film revolves around the lives of eight main characters, played by Riz Ahmed, Ed Skrein, Keef Cog ...

'' in 2012, both of which peaked at number 1 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. In 2014, Scottish alternative hip-hop trio

Young Fathers Young Fathers are a Scottish band based in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 2014, they won the Mercury Prize for their album ''Dead''. History Formed in Edinburgh in 2008 by Alloysious Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole and Graham 'G' Hastings, the group starte ...

won the Mercury Music Prize for their album

Dead Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

. The album entered the UK chart at 35 after they won the award.

Riz Ahmed Rizwan Ahmed (; ; born ) is a British actor and rapper. As an actor, he has won an Emmy Award and has received nominations for a Golden Globe and three British Independent Film Awards, and as a rapper he has won an Academy Award for the short ...

, also known as Riz MC, was featured in the song " Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)" in '' The Hamilton Mixtape'', which topped the ''Billboard'' 200 chart in 2016. At the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), "Immigrants" won the award for Best Fight Against the System.

2010 and onwards

The early 2010s saw the emergence of UK

afrobeats Afrobeats (not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing), or Afro-pop or Afro-fusion (or Afropop or Afrofusion), is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Nigeria, Ghana, and ...

, led by artists such as

Mista Silva Papa Kwame Amponsa, known by his stage name Mista Silva, is a British-Ghanaian musician from Brockley, London. Mista Silva released his debut EP, ''Full Vim'', in 2012. Its success led to a record deal with Polydor in 2014. He was the first unsi ...

, Kwamz,

Fuse ODG Nana Richard Abiona (born 2 December 1988), better known by his stage name Fuse ODG, is a British singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known for his singles "Antenna" and " Dangerous Love", and for featuring on Major Lazer's " Light It Up ...

, and Timbo. Around the same time, artists such as

Sneakbo Agassi Babatunde Odusina (born 25 July 1992), better known by his stage name Sneakbo, is a British rapper. His first song, " The Wave", peaked at number 48 on the UK Singles Chart and he has since released a number of top 40 hits, such as " Zi ...

and Timbo were incorporating melodic rap and Caribbean influences into their music. The foundation set by these artists would later be a major influence on

Afroswing Afroswing, also known as Afrobashment, or less commonly Afrobbean or Afro-trap (not to be confused with the French genre), is a genre of music that developed in the UK during the mid-2010s, derivative of dancehall and afrobeats, with influence ...

, a genre that emerged around 2014 derivative of UK afrobeats while carrying influences from

, hip hop, and R&B.

UK drill UK drill is a subgenre of drill music and road rap that originated in the South London district of Brixton from 2012 onwards. Initially borrowing heavily from the style of Chicago drill music before creating its own unique sound, UK drill artist ...

is a subgenre of

drill music Drill is a subgenre of hip hop music that originated in Chicago streets in the early 2010s. It is sonically similar to the trap music subgenre and lyrically similar to the gangsta rap subgenre. Drill music progressed into the American mainstre ...

and

that originated in the South London district of

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

from 2012 onwards. Borrowing heavily from the style of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, UK drill artists often rap about violent and hedonistic criminal lifestyles. Typically, those who create this style of music are affiliated with gangs or come from socioeconomically-deprived neighbourhoods where crime is a way of life for many. UK drill music is closely related to road rap, a British style of gangsta rap that became popular in the years prior to the existence of drill. Musically, UK drill often exhibits violent language and provocative lyrics. The early 2010s also saw the emergence of an underground UK hip hop scene emulating the earlier wave of 2000s rappers such as Jehst, Task Force, King Kashmere, MysDiggi and Skinnyman. With complex lyrics and rhyme schemes and '90s New York

boom bap Boom bap is a subgenre and music production style that was prominent in the East Coast during the golden age of hip hop from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The term "boom bap" is an onomatopoeia that represents the sounds used for the b ...

influenced production,

High Focus Records High Focus Records is an independent British hip-hop record label founded by rapper Fliptrix in 2010, following the collapse of Low Life Records. History In 2008, Fliptrix was in the process of releasing his first album on Low Life Records t ...

was instrumental in bringing this sound to a wider audience. The label was founded in 2010 by London rapper Fliptrix and key members of the larger High Focus crew have included The Four Owls, Dirty Dike,

Ocean Wisdom Ocean Alexander Alouwishas Wisdom (born 17 May 1993), known professionally as Ocean Wisdom, is an English rapper from Camden Town, London. His largest claim to fame is his debut single "Walkin'", in which he delivered lyrics faster than Eminem's ...

, Jam Baxter and Dabbla. Artists from the label have managed to build a sizeable following despite remaining underground, having performed to crowds of 25,000+ across Europe, played the famous

Reading and Leeds festivals The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...

in the UK and seen many tracks reaching multiple millions of views on YouTube. In 2015, The Four Owls collaborated with highly respected US producer

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop duo ...

for their track ''Think Twice'' .

BRIT Award The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

winning singer-songwriter

Rag'n'Bone Man Rory Charles Graham (born 29 January 1985), better known as Rag'n'Bone Man, is an English singer and songwriter. He is known for his deep baritone voice. His first hit single, "Human", was released in 2016, and his debut album of the same nam ...

also released two albums on the label in 2011 and 2014 – "Put That Soul on Me" (a collaboration with Dirty Dike) and "Dog n Bone" with Four Owls member and rapper/producer Leaf Dog. These albums are what eventually led to his signing with major label

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, however Rag'n'Bone Man has continued to feature on High Focus records releases such as the track "Mask" from Jam Baxter's album Touching Scenes in 2019.

Blah Records Blah Records is a British hip hop and alternative hip hop record label owned and managed by Lee Scott (rapper), Lee Scott and Salar Saajedi. It was founded by Lee Scott and producer Molotov (now part of the management of High Focus Records) in 2 ...

is also highly influential. The label was founded by

Lee Scott (rapper) Lee Scott is an English rapper, author, producer, and co-founder of record label Blah Records. He has been making hip hop since 2003, and started Blah in 2006. As well as Blah artists, Lee has worked with veteran rapper Jehst on his label YNR ...

and Molotov in 2006 and currently managed and owned by Lee Scott (rapper), Lee Scott and Salar. Key members of the Blah family include Lee Scott, Salar, Black Josh, Milkavelli, Jam Baxter and Cult of the Damned, Cult of The Damned. The mid-2010s saw the emergence of Abstract Orchestra, a British hip hop Orchestra that "explore the shared territory between jazz and hip hop by taking modern classics such as Madvillain and J Dilla’s back catalogue and filtering them through classic arrangement techniques." The group is influenced by the style of hip hip associated with Detroit in the US and have recorded with Illa J and Slum Village. They perform with UK MC's Micall Parknsun, Joker Starr and Yungun. By 2014, grime music was also experiencing a resurgence. While hip hop did not immediately benefit from this, the rise of grime has been credited for re-opening the doors for competing genres such as hip hop and afroswing that were also on the rise. Acts that would rise within the hip hop scene within the following years include Dave (rapper), Dave, Kojey Radical, Slowthai, Little Simz, and Loyle Carner. Dave released a "Blackbox freestyle" in 2015 which helped him rise to prominence. The following year, Dave was noticed by Canadian rapper Drake, who later featured on a remix of his song "Wanna Know". Skepta 2 F

Stormzy, an artist that came up out of the grime scene, released his debut album, ''Gang Signs & Prayer'', on 24 February 2017. The album was a mixture of grime, hip-hop, and R&B, and was the first 'grime' album to reach number one on the

. In February 2018, ''Gang Signs & Prayer'' won Brit Award for British Album of the Year, British Album of the Year at the 2018 Brit Awards. He has reached number one on the UK Singles Chart a total of two times; firstly as part of "Artists for Grenfell" on 23 June 2017 with song "Bridge over Troubled Water (song)#Artists for Grenfell Tower charity single, Bridge Over Troubled Water", and secondly with his own solo single "Vossi Bop", which debuted at number-one upon its entry, ahead of "Me!" by Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie by some 500 combined sales. Skepta, who also emerged from the grime scene, began collaborating with American hip hop group ASAP Mob. He featured with ASAP Rocky on the song "Praise the Lord (Da Shine)", the second single from his third studio album ''Testing (album), Testing'' on 26 June 2018. It was the third collaboration between both artists, following Skepta's appearance on ''Cozy Tapes Vol. 1: Friends'' and ASAP Rocky's appearance on Skepta's ''Vicious EP'' in 2017, which also featured ASAP Nast, Lil B, and Smoke Boys, Section Boys. The song was successful in a number of countries, peaking at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 18 on the UK Singles Chart. It was later certified RIAA certification, Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Skepta also collaborated with American rapper Playboi Carti on the single "Lean 4 Real" from his debut studio album Die Lit, also released in 2018. In 2017, Dave did a freestyle on American radio station KPWR, Power 106 Los Angeles which has accumulated over 1,000,000 views on YouTube. In 2018, Dave achieved his first UK number-one hit with "Funky Friday" which featured British rapper Fredo (British rapper), Fredo. Dave's debut album, ''Psychodrama (album), Psychodrama'' (2019), debuted at number one on the

and became the most-streamed first-week British rap album in the UK with a total of 23.6 million streams. The album was highly acclaimed and won Dave a Mercury Prize. Slowthai released his debut studio album, ''Nothing Great About Britain,'' in 2019. The album was nominated for the Mercury Prize. He performed at the 2019 Mercury Prize ceremony, where he controversially held a fake severed head of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on stage. Little Simz also released ''Grey Area (album), Grey Area'' in 2019 to much acclaim.

Road rap

Road rap (also known as British gangsta rap or simply UK rap) is a genre of music pioneered in South London, primarily in

and Peckham. The genre was pioneered by groups such as PDC rap group, PDC, SMS, SN1, North Star, MashTown and U.S.G. and artists such as Giggs and K Koke and later Nines (rapper), Nines and

. The genre came to the fore as a backlash against the perceived commercialisation of

in the mid-late 2000s in London. The genre came to prominence around 2007 with the rise of Giggs. Road rap retained the explicit depictions of violence and British gang culture found in some early grime music and combines it with a musical style more similar to American gangsta rap than the Sound system (DJ), sound system influenced music of grime, dubstep, UK garage, jungle, reggae and dub. Gangs played a large part in the genre, with gangs such as the Peckham Boys (with its various sets such as SN1, PYG, and OPB), based in Peckham and GAS Gang, based in Brixton, with members becoming notable in the road rap scene during the 2000s. The road rap scene centres around mixtape releases and YouTube videos with some of the genres more popular acts getting mainstream recognition. The genre has been criticised for the relentless nihilism and violence in its lyrics as well as its links to gangs and gun crime with many rappers serving prison sentences. In keeping with grime, road rap has suffered from pre-emptive policing with Giggs claiming that the Metropolitan Police have set out to deny him the opportunity to make a living from music having banned him from touring. In 2011, Stigs was served the first ever gang injunction that banned him from rapping about anything that may encourage violence. In the early 2010s, the American genre Drill music, drill began to emerge in the UK, pushed by groups such as 150, 67 (rap group), 67, and Section Boyz.

has been referred to as subgenre of road rap due to the influence it's had on the genre. Road rap also went on to influence afroswing, which emerged in the mid-2010s.

Trap scene

In several interviews, M Huncho has described his more tone-down, melodic style and moderately humbler approach when it comes to lyrics as his own derivative take on UK trap music, in a genre he has personally dubbed as "Trap Wave". Wolverhampton artist Scarlxrd implements an energetic aesthetic and tone with explosively brazen screaming vocals, and dark yet reflectively intense and meaningful lyricism in an essentially self-pioneered style known as "Rap metal#Trap metal, trap-metal" or "ragecore"; a fusion of trap music and screaming vocals. Scarlxrd has cited some of his main inspirations and influences as including the likes of Eminem, Bring Me the Horizon, Limp Bizkit, DMX (rapper), DMX, Slipknot (band), Slipknot, Travis Scott and Linkin Park, among others.

Backlash against commercialisation

Since grime's post-millennial boom period coincided with UK hip-hop's, the eagerly anticipated commercial breakout of the latter did not happen. Instead, acts such as

and Chip (rapper), Chip were signed to major labels and their traditional sound tweaked to fit a pop sensibility. However the lineage of these, and many UK rappers, is unquestionably grime rather than UK hip-hop. There is a common belief within the underground hip hop community that true hip hop is music relevant primarily to the disenfranchised listeners, rather than the mass market. Because of the belief that mainstream acts are paid large sums of money by the major labels to make music tailored to the current mass market, these artists often face a backlash and accusations of 'selling out' from the underground community.

Media

The growth of British hip hop was given a boost when in 2002, the BBC launched a digital radio station BBC Radio 1Xtra, 1Xtra devoted to "new black music" including hip hop, R&B, Soul music, soul,

, Grime music, grime and drum and bass, however 1Xtra does not play exclusively British hip hop. The cable and satellite channel, Channel AKA (formerly Channel U, now known as Now 70s) also had the profile of British hip hop and grime. YouTube was also a very important outlet for upcoming and significant artists. Channels include Link Up TV, GRM Daily, SB.TV, Pressplay Media and Mixtape Madness.

Women

Women have contributed to hip hop's evolution in Britain from the beginning. Female British rappers include Alesha Dixon, Baby Blue (rapper), Baby Blue, Estelle (musician), Estelle, Lady Leshurr, Lady Sovereign, Little Simz, M.I.A. (rapper), M.I.A.,

, Nadia Rose, Shystie, NoLay, Stefflon Don, Mercury prize winners Ms. Dynamite and Speech Debelle and music producer Mizz Beats. Other British female rappers have included

, C-Mone and Envy (English rapper), Envy. Neneh Cherry, born in Stockholm, moved to England when she was 14 years old, and contributed to early British hip hop. ''Raw Like Sushi'' (1989) was solely produced by British producers and was a massive hit in both the UK and US. Cherry continues to produce and release music today. Women in hip hop often confront a large amount of sexist stereotyping; however some female British rappers such as Lady Sovereign and M.I.A. have achieved success both in the UK and US. Artists such as Ms Dynamite, M.I.A. and Speech Debelle have also become known for political and social commentary in their music. Singer, songwriter and rapper Estelle said of the difficult position of female rappers: "I think they get a tough ride because some of them don't see themselves above and beyond the bullshit and no one's really given them that break."

References

External links

Source for UK hip hop artists
{{DEFAULTSORT:British Hip Hop British hip hop genres, English styles of music British hip hop, Black British music, Hip-hop British styles of music