I’m here to bring you some of the latest tracks and news from the world of UK Rap from the past two weeks. There has been a lot going down musically and more beef has unraveled too.
Yungen & Chip
Let’s kick things off with the Yungen and Chip beef that I touched on briefly in my last column with Yungen’s track ‘Comfy’ where Chip thought he was indirecting him. Things have moved on progressively with Chip dropping his ‘One Take’ freestyle, firing direct shots straight at Yungen.
Now it’s been said there is rat in the Chip camp, due to the fact Yungen already knew Chip was planning to send for him, even though he had told Krept & Konan that he wouldn’t.
Krept tweeted on 20th Feb: “No we will not get involved it’s just Chip gave man his word that he wont diss Yungs and then did smh.”
Naturally Yungen pre-recorded his send, watching and waiting for Chip’s ‘One Take’ to drop and asking him on Twitter to remove it giving him hours. Chip refused to budge and Yungen released his diss track ‘Punk (Shitmunk Diss)’.
It didn’t take Chip long to respond. Less than 24 hours later the video to ‘Michelle Riddim (Lil Clive Diss)’ dropped, showing a laid-back Chip on his own in a smoky booth. His portrayed his calmness, showing Yungen didn’t worry him. The video opens with some cuts from an interview of Yungen bigging Chip up.
It seems Sneakbo is possibly taking Chip’s side, aiming tweets at Konan, which is worrying as Sneakbo and Yungen are meant to be friends… I guess we’ll find out more about what’s going on over the next few days.
Sneakbo: “These rappers get signed & become gangster…Go back to uni mate.”
“You don’t want drama pleaseeeeeeeee @konanplaydirty.”
24 hours later… Yungen is back at it with another response titled ‘Oopsy Daisy Riddim’ and he completely controls the track with bars laced with fire and cleverness.
Chip has responded less than 24 hours later now with another diss track ‘L (Lil Clive Diss 2)’. Things are definitely getting very heated now, as the replies are being made rapidly, and there are no signs of either backing down.
Rax
South London rapper Rax took a hiatus from the music game for a while, but now he is back stronger than ever. Gearing up to drop his mixtape Just 4 You on Friday (26th Feb), he has dropped two tracks over the past two weeks; ‘Money Bee’ feat. Zino Brown, Bonkaz and Dee Pee (Section Boyz) and ‘Four Seasons’ feat. Josh Osho. ‘Money Bee’ opened the doors to the full project and showed an energetic track, full of power and bass that’s lyrically tough. ‘Four Seasons’ revealed a different side to Rax with its relaxed, cool and calm vibe, infiltrated with the rapper’s witty bars. It’s infused with warmth, with the soulful vocals of Josh Osho and a sunny Sax. Watch out for the ‘Four Season’ video this week too.
MoStack – Gangsters With Banter
MoStack is a rising rapper from North London who has been creating a nice buzz over the past year, with a bunch of videos being released and collaborations with high profile artists such as Tinie Tempah on his album Junk Food. Last week saw the release of his brand new, highly anticipated mixtape Gangster With Banter with features from Yungen, Sneakbo, J Hus and Stormzy to name a few. Its 21-tracks are packed full of clever bars and a hard, Afrobeat sound combined with UK Rap.
Listen and download here.
He also released an accompanying video from the tape ‘Fuck This Generation (Outro)’. He talks about women, and his life in general, thanking God for another year lived with his family. It showcases his lyrical ability well, and his depth by being able to speak about issues in his generation.
Along with the releases, MoStack also announced his first headline show at the 02 Islington Academy on Thurs 14th April. It will be a night to remember for UK rap fans and will see some very special guests joining him on the stage. Buy your tickets here.
Konan – Last Night In LA
Konan the South London rapper and one half of the rap duo Krept & Konan dropped one of the hottest freestyles ‘Last Night In LA’ as a follow up to Krept’s ‘Last Night In Lagos’. Konan hits us with pure passion and aggression, and of course it’s packed full of wordplay and punchlines. It’s great to see Konan really rip into the track, in one of his coldest to date. To take it all in you may have to rewind the video a few times.
Ocean Wisdom
Out this week is Ocean Wisdom’s debut album Chaos 93 on High Focus Records. It’s produced completely by Dirty Dike, and features from some of UK hip-hop’s finest; Foreign Beggars, Klashnekoff, The Four Owls, Lunar C, Edward Scissortongue & Remus. It’s due to cause some serious damage and be a turning point for hip-hop in the UK. Head over to iTunes now to buy it.
Skrapz
Another show that was announced and one to put in the diary is Skrapz’s ‘The Beginning Of The End’ secret show on Thurs 7th April with support from Nafe Smallz, Mist, Trapstar Toxic and hosted by A Squeezy. See you there!
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