Where to start? Well, I could start at the beginning, but I got into hip-hop in 1990 so the Old School of UK hip-hop is something I had to learn about retrospectively. There are already a lot of articles (on-line) about the history of the scene which is fairly well documented so instead of going into that, I’ll give an overview of my personal experience, and introduce the readers to a few things they are less likely to know about.

The first UK hip-hop artists (rap that is) I became aware of were London Posse and Blak Twang, who are still considered some of the most important after doing this for more than 20 years. In my opinion, they were never given the props they deserved, and there’s a good reason why; the UK has always had a cutting edge music scene which has innovated new genres and styles and this has meant hip-hop has had to share its evolution with the junglists, the ravers, the garage artists and so on. In terms of musical creativity this has been a positive thing, allowing artists like Massive Attack and Roni Size to gain mainstream success, while for the traditionalist hip-hoppers it has made it more difficult to gain that kind of exposure. That is why an artist who comes from the garage scene like Dizzy Rascal is well known, while the people representing ‘the real hip-hop,’ for example Taskforce, are still relatively unknown to the average person in the UK.

UK hip-hoppers are famously critical of their own scene, always comparing themselves to the yanks, (especially in terms of production quality) and rightfully so. The reality is that there are a lot of substandard producers and emcees out there putting out wack product. I’ve witnessed a succession of unfit records that were released to a disinterested public. Having said that, it’s not all bad, there’s a few legends out there, and hopefully it’s getting better.

One of the producers getting serious accolades right now is Beat Butcha (interview coming soon). In the few years that he has been making beats while living in London, he has already managed to work with almost every emcee worth mentioning in the UK scene (Terra Firma, Kashmere, Jehst, Braintax,Verb T, Rodney P, Roots Manuva, Manage, Mikall Parknsun… the list goes on). Butcha’s music should not necessarily be considered as just “UK hip-hop” because he has a much more international outlook and is also makes sick beats for artists from the Netherlands, Australia and the States. Look out for his forthcoming album on Lowlife records which is set to smash it with the same production standards you would expect from people like DITC in Amerca. If you’re a newcomer to the UK scene, he’s probably the best place to start.

Check out some of his stuff here:

Another producer to look out for is Kwakes. This is another young guy with heavy skills. He is better known as a superb drummer and one quarter of The Speaker’s Corner Quartet (drums, double bass, cello and flute), all talented musicians in their own right. The flautist Biscuit has been in the hip-hop game for a minute and did an album with producer LG called Smoke Rings which is dopeness.

The Kraftsmen are from Brixton and represent a different, younger approach to hip-hop which uses less sample-based production and is more about lyrical skills and delivery. The group comprises emcees Frantic Frank, Manic, Prodigal and newest recruit Mic Righteous who is only 18. They have been through some serious trials and tribulations, which I wont go into here, but if you listen to the lyrics you’ll get a get a glimpse into their lives.
Kraftsmen are part of a larger collective called The Peoples Army. This is surely the largest and most significant group in UK hip-hop at the moment and is led by Logic and Lowkey, both serious emcees. This pair is also a group in themselves called New World Order. The Peoples Army is an organization with a message of unity that reaches out to the UK hip-hop (and beyond) underground to try and bring the scene together.

10 minute Peoples Army freestyle session here:

Watch Mic Righteous kill it ridiculously for 43 seconds:

Wurdz by Esh