Hip Hop in the UK

[hectikx]

I used to be really into UK Hip Hop but since ive stopped smoking Skunk it just annoys the hell out of me. Ive got all the Task Force stuff but i can't stand the whining "cod politics" anymore. The whole get on stage and bash Bush/Brown anti capitalist stuff just seems so silly when they all wear Nike.
You know non of them really care about what they preach, they just do it to sound cool to students.

I don't know maybe im being cynical or im getting old but it all seems a bit immature.
If anyone can point me towards any UK Hip Hop with real talent and less politics id be happy.

I really hope Scorzayzee makes a comeback. One of the only MC's that seemed to have any conviction in his preaching. Plus he had some serious skills, seen him rip so many people apart in Notts. Out Da Ville where the best crew ever.
Broke 'n' English are good keep meaning to buy the album.

In comparison to what? What are they supposed to be spitting about? It's better than the shit I hear some grime MC's chatting, and most mainstream hip hop accross the water - guns, gold, girls, constantly bigging themselves up and producing the same old generic lyrics. When I hear Braintax, Lowkey, Task Force etc. I'm hearing emcees put across a message they want to put across; you never see these guys selling out because their words don't appeal to mainstream industry.

I don't think its up to you to decide who raps with "conviction" in their "preaching". Why is it immature to talk about politics? It's more immature to remain ignorant to politics in my opinion.

[fused_forces]

Sonny Jim- Trading Standards.
YnR- Feeding Time At The Zoo.
Dubble Edge- Richest Man In Babylon.

Are sum of my fav uk hip hop albums over the past year or so.

[djmoocha]

there are loads of good ukhh artists that don't seem to have been mentioned

what about Rodney P for a start, Lowkey is fukkin wicked, also Manage and CLG, Dark Circle, oh yeah and Mystro (havent heard much from him recently tho)

(i have only flicked thru this topic so big up any1 who already mentioned any of these)

also i agree with the point that grime is like the true UK hiphop, and i think this also applies to the jungle/dnb scene as when it comes down to it that is true uk music regardless of whether its sourced from mainly american music originally and is more representative of the streets as hiphop originally was in the states

[rupert]

London used to have a decent live scene but that kind of dried up. I've got a feeling the same thing happened in other cities. A lot of the top boys from the 90's just stopped doing stuff, understandably in most cases, due to a lack of money or problems with labels, people like Rodney P still get a lot of rave bookings though and are still making p from music, just not from releases.

I think the grime scene came along and did something that UKHH wasn't really doing, which was high energy, rave and radio based music, much more UK in its influences, although with a large dose of US hip-hop there, it was definitely a different scene with a different crowd at the start as well. Most of my mates hated grime but I was well into it, probably due to being a teenage UK Garage head.

Nowadays there is less of a seperation, I think most teenagers today would group Dizzee, Chipmunk, Roots Manuva, Tynchy, Giggs, Sway and The Streets as the same kind of music.

[rupert]

Nowadays there is less of a seperation, I think most teenagers today would group Dizzee, Chipmunk, Roots Manuva, Tynchy, Giggs, Sway and The Streets as the same kind of music.

there's only roots manuva with a hiphop backrgound of that list. and he's done a few tracks like buff nuff to crossover, i can't stand that track.

Giggs and Sway are both from the hip-hop scene, I used to see Sway down at Kung Fu and loads of other nights, he used to battle a lot as well. Giggs comes from a scene that's been bubbling under the surface in London for years and it's not the grime scene, guys like SN1 and PDC have been shotting CD's in the bits for ages.

Roots' biggest tune is still Witness which is pretty uncompromising. Buff Nuff is a BIG tune.

[Pallms]

Professor Green

[BaronVon]

I used to be really into UK Hip Hop but since ive stopped smoking Skunk it just annoys the hell out of me. Ive got all the Task Force stuff but i can't stand the whining "cod politics" anymore. The whole get on stage and bash Bush/Brown anti capitalist stuff just seems so silly when they all wear Nike.
You know non of them really care about what they preach, they just do it to sound cool to students.

I don't know maybe im being cynical or im getting old but it all seems a bit immature.
If anyone can point me towards any UK Hip Hop with real talent and less politics id be happy.

I really hope Scorzayzee makes a comeback. One of the only MC's that seemed to have any conviction in his preaching. Plus he had some serious skills, seen him rip so many people apart in Notts. Out Da Ville where the best crew ever.
Broke 'n' English are good keep meaning to buy the album.

In comparison to what? What are they supposed to be spitting about? It's better than the shit I hear some grime MC's chatting, and most mainstream hip hop accross the water - guns, gold, girls, constantly bigging themselves up and producing the same old generic lyrics. When I hear Braintax, Lowkey, Task Force etc. I'm hearing emcees put across a message they want to put across; you never see these guys selling out because their words don't appeal to mainstream industry.

I don't think its up to you to decide who raps with "conviction" in their "preaching". Why is it immature to talk about politics? It's more immature to remain ignorant to politics in my opinion.

Of course it's up to me, it's what's called an opinion.
If you read my post you will notice that i said "cod politics" as in people moaning on a real base level and failing to offer any solutions to the worlds problems, for example "Bush is Satan and capitalism sucks" to which everyone in the crowd claps and feels better about themselves. It's boring and inane. If i wanted to hear politics i would listen to somebody who has an educated grasp on the facts not some stoner who lives with his Mum. Listening to Task Force whine on is not going to educate anyone other than those that read The Sun and watch Channel 5 news.

[BaronVon]

^ so don't listen to chester, or more accurately lowkey who is terrible for that imo

however your generalisation that this is the mainstay of uk emcees lyrics is inaccurate/ill informed. ironic i guess.

Ok, then inform me of a good UK MC who goes beyond teenage angst level politics. I'm all ears.

[Coppola]

^ so don't listen to chester, or more accurately lowkey who is terrible for that imo

however your generalisation that this is the mainstay of uk emcees lyrics is inaccurate/ill informed. ironic i guess.

Ok, then inform me of a good UK MC who goes beyond teenage angst level politics. I'm all ears.

Ffs.
Why should an MC be so deep into politics in his music? you don't get much of that level in US hip hop so why be so pedantic in the UK scene?
Theres some really good UK rappers, nuff said.

[BaronVon]

^ so don't listen to chester, or more accurately lowkey who is terrible for that imo

however your generalisation that this is the mainstay of uk emcees lyrics is inaccurate/ill informed. ironic i guess.

Ok, then inform me of a good UK MC who goes beyond teenage angst level politics. I'm all ears.

Ffs.
Why should an MC be so deep into politics in his music? you don't get much of that level in US hip hop so why be so pedantic in the UK scene?
Theres some really good UK rappers, nuff said.

They shouldn't thats my point. However if your going to talk politics talk proper.
If you read my original post i was looking for good MC's who don't talk political breeze.
Can somebody actually make some recommendations instead of misinterpreting my posts.

[hamual]

I used to be really into the UK stuff around 2000/2001 when roots manuva was just establishing, the Skitz - Countryman album was & still is one of the best rap albums about. Rodney P & Phi Life were doing a lot and of course you've got anything on Lowlife but after a couple of years the 'wow' of hearing a Brittish voice on a hiphop beat was defiantly lost. I still check quite a bit of stuff, we have 'Rapsploitation Sessions' here in Ipswich and have had names like Jehst, Taskforce, Verb T, Kashmire, Mystro pass through over the last year or so. I do feel the humour just ain't there in a lot of what I've heard recently (apart from Mys). ahhh fuck it think Ill just listen to midnight marauders

[drift]

hip hop wont die, its a way of life

[godflesh fiend]

Roots' biggest tune is still Witness which is pretty uncompromising.

"Let The Spirit" is pretty amazing stuff.

[soroka]

<3 Jehst

& Lewis Parker, Terra Firma crew, Klashnekoff, Braintax, Harry Love . . . etc.

plus "what you know about cribs" is always good for a laugh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inKF9zp3hxE
they got pretty good flow as well

...didn't MF DOOM grow up in the UK?

[subindex]

uk hiphop = 1st jehst
2nd chester p - mftc is wank though
3rd foreign beggars

grime its all about - dutty goods
also fealin - devlin