Joe Grind is back with some heat in 2014 as he releases the video for Speaking English, the first track to be heard off his forthcoming EPisode 3: Better Late Than Never EP. This is a great track and I’m looking forward to hearing the rest of EP!
January 28, 2014
MTV The Wrap Up: UK Rap Rundown [News]
Fire In The Booth has really been on fire last week where we heard two epic freestyles. First up was from OGz representative P Money who is set to clash Big H in the forthcoming clash series Lord Of The Mics, who he aimed some exclusive, fresh war bars at. The beats were courtesy of Swifta Beater and Preditah.
One of the UK’s most famed rappers Tinie Tempah was the second one this week to go on the show showing why he climbed to the top and that he can really spit flames silencing a lot of people and getting some stuff off of his chest. He used a few instrumentals including Pusha T’s ‘Numbers On The Boards’, Drake’s ‘Pound Cake’ and Krept & Konan’s ‘Don’t Waste My Time’. Make sure you check both of these out.
It was good to hear a new track from Manchester lyricist Rio who collaborated with producer Rymez who is behind a few of Wiley’s hit records and talented singer/songwriter L Marshall who always does justice to a track. I’m really feeling this on so make sure you go and have a listen to ‘Hideout’.
An East London rising rapper Shockers is joined by two heavyweights in the scene Ghetts and Joe Black who collaborate with him on ‘Bally On’ a track off his recently released mixtape ‘Shocktown’ which featured other respected names such as Squeeks and Young Marv. With these co-signs it will help strengthen his name in the scene.
D Dark has been around for a little while now and this year I think he’s really going to turn a lot of heads as I can see him experimenting more and a lot more hunger. Take note of his new one ‘F*** About’ which will lead him into his forthcoming big single due to drop soon.
For me Mynature is one of the most honest and best lyricists in the UK at present. His first track of the year ‘Spin Em’ cements this as he shows off his incredible flow, switching it up midway to an old skool jungle one effortlessly and back again. His content is very real and thought provoking, with a confidence on this tune that one that no other rapper can touch him.
January 27, 2014
Cashtastic (@cashtasticmusic) – Red Handed [Music Video]
Gearing up towards his highly anticipated Alarm Clock EP, Cashtastic hits us with the visuals for his first release from there, Red Handed. This will really make people look forward to the project.
January 26, 2014
Rascals – Tell Em ft. Big Swingz, Goldie1 & Squeeks [@RascalsOfficial) (@BigSwingz) (@goldie1official) (@squeeksTP)
This is a big track from the Rascals album Class 90 with the video being released through Link Up TV. Big Shizz and Kay Wills are joined by Big Swingz, Goldie 1 and Squeeks for a collaborative track that works and blends so nicely together.
January 26, 2014
Mynature – Spin Em [Music Video]
South London rapper Mynature returns this year with some hard bars and a confidence that no one else in the game will be able to go up against him, proving this on the track as he fluently switches up to a jungle flow . His flow is second to none on this track, and his content as always strong with valued opinions not full of bragging about a lifestyle. Spin Em….
January 23, 2014
MTV The Wrap Up: Fekky (@FekkyOfficial) [Interview]
Fekky could be called a newcomer in the game, having only started out around two years ago. A newcomer he may be, but he is one a lot of people are talking about, and I’m not the only one who is excited to see his moves this year. He has toured the country doing a vast amount of shows with no manager or booking agent – impressive! I heard talk of an upcoming collaboration with Fekky and a very big artist, so The Wrap Up had to talk to him and get the lowdown on this, along with a deeper look into Fekky himself.
The Wrap Up: Can you tell The Wrap Up readers where you started and where you are now?
Fekky: I started about two and a half years ago; I was having a little fun with it with a couple of friends. I did a track and after that I did a video, then I took a little break and came back with ‘Ring Ring Trap’. When I dropped that it went crazy on the streets; it did about 100,000 views in a couple of days. After doing my ‘Fire In The Booth’ people knew I meant business. Since then, I’ve done a lot of shows which is my strong point; I think I’ve done the most out of everyone in the rap scene. Every weekend I’m everywhere; Birmingham, Wales, Manchester, Liverpool. I did the Wiley and Skepta tour aswell which was crazy.
TWU: G FrSH told you not to rap when you turned to him for advice. Do you feel like you’ve proved him wrong from what you’ve achieved already?
Fekky: I wouldn’t say I proved him wrong… when he said it, he was genuinely honest. What I’ve learnt in the game is that everyone has their own journey. I couldn’t give advice to a next man because everyone is different. G FrSH was coming from where he was coming from. He meant the music game is not easy; you can’t easily catch a buzz, it’s expensive and it’s a gamble. He was saying if I want to do it I have to be prepared, because it’s going to be hard.
TWU: You’ve got a couple of adlibs that you’re well known for. How did they came around?
Fekky: [Laughs] I’ve got ‘Bu Bu Bang!’ I was recording ‘Shine On’ and the engineer stopped the track and we were talking, I was just standing there and it came out randomly. When I said it the whole room started laughing, so I was like ‘that’s alright’ and kept it.
TWU: UK rap is doing really well at the moment, especially in South London where you’re from. How do you think it could progress further?
Fekky: A lot of artists need to start thinking of their careers as business models and how they’re going to make a living out of what they’re doing. When you become an artist you gain fans so it’s hard to think ‘Oh, I’m going to work in Tescos now,’ because you don’t want your fans to see you working there. When money is in a scene, people grow and it will become better. I think my strong point is that you can play most of my songs in a club. A lot of the songs that are played in clubs are by Drake and Rick Ross… we don’t really get played in clubs; it’s a market that we’ve not really tapped into.
TWU: You previously said you’d release a mixtape called ‘My Name Is Fekky You Div’. What’s happening with it?
Fekky: The mixtape is almost finished, [laughs] but I’m not sure if I’m going to keep the title. I think it was just a thing in the moment! I’m in the studio this week working on the mixtape and it’s almost done, it will be coming out soon.
TWU: You’ve previously said people need to work together more in the UK scene for it to benefit. Who else in the UK would you collaborate with?
Fekky: I believe in ‘moments’ – I don’t like forcing things. A lot of the stuff I’ve done is natural. If I worked with someone it wouldn’t be what people would expect from me. I’d like to work with The Streets.
TWU: You’ve got an exciting track dropping soon with Dizzee Rascal. How did this come around and what was it like working with him?
Fekky: I made a track and I hollered at him on Twitter; we weren’t even following each other. At first he wasn’t quite sure… he was going through what he was going through. I managed to get the track to him somehow. I was sitting down with my family and I looked at my email and he’d sent me the verse. We linked up and chilled; he’s cool and he’s got a passion for the music. It’s good to be around people that have done it and I’m always asking him questions and trying to learn from him. The track is dropping real soon and you’re going to love it. I feel like it’s going to be a moment! It’s crazy, it’s got energy.
January 23, 2014
DDark (@ddarkonline) – F*** About [Music Video]
D Dark drops a new video entitled F*** About getting people to take note of his name before he leads them into his next single All Day Every Day which is set to look like a big track.
January 21, 2014
MTV The Wrap Up: UK Rap Rundown [News]
This duo are an unstoppable force and 2014 begun with a whole host of artists remixing their hit track ‘Don’t Waste My Time’ including Lady Leshurr, Shystie and A.Dot, Dru Blu, Youngs Teflon, Bonkaz, Stormzy, Swift and many more.
Krept & Konan made another power move last week, flying to New York to visit the Bad Boy head office where they became the first UK rappers to film for Diddy’s Revolt TV. I can’t wait to see the footage, and we can only expect bigger and better things from them this year.
Giggs released the video to ‘Mr Kool’ featuring soul legend Anthony Hamilton; it’s my favourite track from his ‘When Will It Stop’ album. I guess he’s really not stopping for anybody, as him and Lolo also released the video to their track ‘Gangsters’. Lolo, who hails from Memphis, enlisted the South London rapper to feature on her soulful track to give it that Bonnie & Clyde edge with his bars.
After the success of his first track ‘What You Got’ to be heard off his ‘The African Dream’ EP that is slated for a release date of February 17, Negash Ali returns with his lead single ‘Fire In The Sky’ produced by Focus and featuring a hook from Siff.
The 23-year-old has already worked with Chris Brown and Jadakiss and opened for Ne-Yo, Nas, Damian Marley and Wiz Khalifa. Expect to hear more from him this year.
South East London rapper Snap Capone released his 24-track mixtape ‘The Memoir’ last month and last week dropped the video to ‘Gangster’s Tale’ from there. Snap Capone is rated highly in the scene and this year I’m looking forward to seeing his progress and what is to come from him.
Two members of USG last week released music. The first was Exo who gave fans a free mixtape of 18 tracks which saw features from DVS, Scorcher, Ard Adz, Sho Shallow and more. You can get ‘The Best Of Exo Vo.1 from Hood Tapes for free now.
Manchester based Geko and youngest in charge got influenced by Mic Righteous for his track ‘Mind Games’ – instead of a pen, he talked about headphones and a bed… you’ll have to listen to it to understand.
Until next time!
January 20, 2014
Shockers (@ItsShockers) ft Ghetts (@JCLARKE_GHETTS) & Joe Black (@JoeBlackUk)– Bally On [Music Video]
Rising East London rapper Shockers released his mixtape Shocktown last month featuring Squeeks, Mula, Fugative, Young Marvand more. It was only right to drop the video to Bally On featuring two of the UK’s finest Ghetts and Joe Black. Check it out below.
January 20, 2014
RIO (@RIOMUSIC10) Feat. L.Marshall (@lmarshallmusic) & Rymez (@Rymez ) – Hideout [Music Video]
Manchester based lyricist Rio is joined by singer/songwriter L Marshall for his new track Hideout produced by Rymez who is behind a few hit records. These three combined make an interesting but good track.
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