Before I was into grime, funky, dubstep etc I was a UK Hip Hop fan…when I was 16 me & my boys would head up to Camden for nights like Kung Fu @ Underworld where I’d see & hear the likes of Skinnyman, Estelle, Big P, Skeme, Jehst, Klashnekoff, Kyza, Mystro, Rodney P & loads more!
There was a large sense of community, Street wear clothing store Dark N Cold used to put out their videos (that’s right VHS!) with all the most popular artists’ videos and freestyles, much like the format of Grime daily & SBtv now.
Nights like The Jump Off also did alot for London & The Uk’s hip hop community, offering aspiring rappers, producers, dancers & fans a place to not only showcase their talents in the battles, also network with the established heads in attendance & promote their stuff to a receptive audience.
But Since Klashnekoff’s ‘The Sagas’ & Skinnyman’s ‘Council Estate of Mind’ in 2004, I don’t feel like there’s been much for UK Hip Hop to shout about. Since then, every big artist from the UK has either been from the Grime scene or they sit on the fence musically (ex- Sway,Wretch 32, Kano, Ghetto) & the masses don’t seem to take any interest in the underground & sometimes over intelligent traditional Hip Hop sound of the UK, so who flies the flag for UK Hip Hop now?
Is it the ‘Road’ Rappers like Giggs, Blade, Joe Black, Mashtown, North Star, Cream Cartel, PDC & Eurogang? I don’t feel they want to be associated with the backpacker esque crowd that is mostly familiarised with UKHH, they’d rather call themselves UK Rap as far as I can tell and to be honest…fans of Rodney P, Jehst, Taskforce & Blak Twang etc need more lyrical content than the aforementioned tend to offer.
Not to knock anyone, but there’s been a steady stream of good Hip Hop from the UK for years, I know artists like LowKey, Stylah, Doc Brown & a long list of others have been putting in work for years but its largely going unnoticed…the community there used to be has gone, with events like the Jump Off & Kung Fu awol.
But in the last few days Ive had my faith restored…I mean after all, Giggs has got a deal & an album in the works, as does Professor Green (who’s been touring with Lily Allen the last few months & after seeing the show for myself in Brixton, is getting a great response from the ‘pop’ crowd), Klashnekoff has announced recently that he’s got a follow up to 2004’s ‘Saga’s’ in the works & I heard through the grapevine that Jump Off is back in january, so good times on the horizon?!
I hope so! UK Hip Hop or UK Rap has a lot of good music to offer us, the artists need to focus on staying consistent & there’s no reason why a community that exposes the public to all styles of UK HH cant be rebuilt!
Check out Mystro’s UK Rap 2009 below!
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