I’ve been away for 9 days, so this is my first post back from my holidays and seeing as it’s Monday it might as well be my tracks of the week! We have some good UK rap and Grime tunes, especially the JME surprise videos and album announcement!
Frenchy Le Boss ft Giggs – Flexing
Frenchy Le Boss & Giggs team up for this absolute banger. This track is one from for the clubs. Expect to hear some bilingual rap from Frenchy Le Boss and some hard bars and naughty lyrics from Giggs.
Swift & Sleeks – Let My Squad Up
Swift & Sleeks from one of the most talked about UK rap crews around at the moment; Section Boyz, come together as a duo for this one titled ‘Let My Squad Up’. They showcase their lyrics over a dark trap beat.
Genesis Elijah – Spin Em Round
Wiley dropped some instrumentals on Soundcloud and Genesis Elijah decided to bless one of them with some bars. Complementing the Godfather of Grime’s skills as a producer, Genesis Elijah a well-respected rapper comes with some hot bars and a catch chorus.
Milli Major ft Scrufizzer & Lil Nasty – Stable
Bloodline’s Milli Major drops the second visual from his highly anticipated ‘Bloods Thicker Than Water’ EP due for release in April. This track features Scrufizzer and Lil Nasty who each add some of their own Grime flavour to the track. The EP will feature some of Grime’s finest artists including D Double E, Flirta D, Chronik and more.
JME – Integrity, Taking Over (It Ain’t Working) & Work
This is exciting me as much as the release of Skepta’s album to be as honest, as JME announced the release of his album ‘Integrity’ slated for a May 4th release. To celebrate the news, JME dropped three videos unannounced! Only JME would do that and we all love him for it! Check out the videos for ‘Integrity’, ‘Taking Over’ and ‘Work’ which will all be on the album.
Genesis Elijah kicks off 2015 with some striking visuals and deep issues in his bars for track This Year off his Private Moments In Public album. His delivery is fierce as ever, driven by his lyrical content and you can hear and see the realness in this brand new video.
It’s been a good year, especially for UK rap – we have seen it grow and reach some great heights. I have only been writing The Wrap Up’s UK Rap Rundown for six months, starting in July when I reported for you from L.A for the BET Awards. Now that it’s the last UK Rap Rundown of 2012, I guess I should do what everyone else is doing and give you guys a wrap up of the year. But I’m not going to do that; I’m going to give you some of my personal highlights – you may or may not agree, but this is what is what caught my attention and went down for me…
A female that has really impressed me this year is Shystie; from working with Azealia Banks to her videos and mixtape ‘Gold Dust 2’. This lady has really been putting in the work, proving even though she’s been in it for a while she’s still strong and here to stay.
South London’s windy music duo Ard Adz and Sho Shallow really caught my eye this year. Releasing their ‘P.U.S.H’ mixtape, putting out many videos and also being nominated for MTV’s Unsigned for 2013, these two are destined for big things.
Genesis Elijah has also had an outstanding year. Being a more established name in the game and one many look up to, he just keeps evolving and getting better. He released a few mixtapes such as ‘I Ain’t Even Charging Bruv 2’ and ‘An Emcees Worst Enemy’ – a standout track for me was ‘Underground King’.
Let’s look at some other mixtapes that deserve a mention. K. Koke’s ‘Pure Koke 3’ is the last in the ‘Pure Koke’ series which started with Vol 1 in 2010. Vol 3 saw a mixture of new and old tracks, with a standout track for me being ‘I’m Nice’. We also have the ‘I Ain’t Perfect’ album to look forward to from Koke next year.
Political Peak’s ‘Dreams 2 Reality’ caused quite a stir when it was released. He also put out many visuals to some of the tracks, including ‘Times Have Changed’, ‘Tables Have Turnt’ and ‘Tears In The Rain’.
Dru Blu has had a good year, releasing his street album ‘ This Is Don Strapzy’ and recently releasing a mixtape ‘Best Of Dru Blu’ – along with a flurry of videos and tracks to keep us entertained throughout the year.
Margate rapper Mic Righteous is definitely destined for big things in 2013. At the beginning of the year he released his second mixtape ‘Kampain’ which thoroughly impressed me. He also had the infamous beef with Tim Westwood, releasing a diss track to him called ‘Sack City’. Look out for the ‘Open Mic’ EP, coming early next year.
‘Wretchercise’ was definitely a big one this year, with Wretch 32 being many people’s favourite rapper. He definitely showed us why he was worthy of this title, as he gave us a first class 17-track deep tape.
Ratlin’s ‘Crown Me’ mixtape which was released in December and had a heavy buzz; with a solid two years in the game, Ratlin has quickly cemented his position in the UK rap game. Squeeks ‘Call Me Squeeko’ caught my attention from the beginning till the end, with ‘I Got You’ being my favourite track refixing The Weeknd’s ‘Rolling Stone’.
Melanin 9 aka M9’s album ‘Magna Carta’ is one we can’t miss; the album is a firm favourite for UK hip-hop heads. Mystro’s ‘Mystrogen’ was a cleverly crafted, witty debut album from the emcee that reflected his full range of skills, including wordplay and social commentary.
Blade Brown’s ‘Bags & Boxes 2’ made it high in the iTunes charts, as an independent artist this showed Blade’s progression and for me, he became the king of UK trap. Skepta’s ‘Blacklisted’ is another one we can’t miss out, with standout tracks ‘Ace Hood Flow’ and ‘Castles’.
There we go guys – my personal highlights of the year. Unfortunately I couldn’t mention all of them, but regardless I hope you have enjoyed my updates in UK rap for the past six months. Happy New Year – I’ll see you on the other side!
Yesterday Clement Marfo took to Twitter to explain to what a straggler was, making myself and others laugh as he described Caroline Flack as the perfect example of one. Take note! “#stragglers a woman who remains at a bar long after the more attractive women have left/been taken home by men. Considered to be last resort…
“#stragglers a woman who has slept/dated with 3 or more men in the industry… and if this is you; I’m sorry luv, but you are a straggler!
“#stragglers a woman who expects a lift home just because you live in the same area… ‘You see that night bus, it’s got your name on it!’”
On to the music; there were a few free mixtapes released last week. Firstly, one of the finest MC’s in the UK Genesis Elijah released ‘I Ain’t Even Charging Bruv 2’. With seven tracks, the tape includes one of my personal favourites ‘Underground King’ and features come from Context, Loudmouth Melvin, Pyro Barz, Dream Mclean and Sibling Jointz.
He also dropped the visuals to one of the tracks, entitled ‘What I’m On’. The video was shot at the ‘Hip Hop Isn’t Dead’ night held a few weeks ago at Brixton Jamm and features English Frank, Mic Righteous, Skinnyman and more in the video.
Gekodropped his first official mixtape ‘Voice Of The Future’ last week. The 15-year-old from Manchester and the youngest USG member has impressed many with this release, showcasing his solid flow and content way above his years, which many can relate to. This should cement Geko as one to watch in the UK rap scene.
Show N Prove has produced for some of UK rap’s heavyweights including Wretch 32, K Koke, Benny Banks, Lowkey and more. Last week saw him release the free download ‘Show N Prove Instrumentals Vol 2’. He reportedly already has tracks lined up in 2013 with Tinie Tempah, Professor Green, Dot Rotten, Roll Deep and Giggs.
Micall Parknsun gave us another video last week; ‘Grade & Liquor’ comes from his forthcoming ‘Me Myself & Akai’ album which is to be released in January 2013.
UK hip-hop MC Big Cakes dropped the video to ‘4 Elephants’ where he talks us through his grievances about the rap game now and how many artists are fake. This track is taken from the ‘CCC’ album.
This combination of artists is beautiful on this one; Squeeks was joined by singer Tom Prior and MckNasty on the drums for their live session of ‘I Ain’t Gonna Beg’. The levels were high from all three artists in this acoustic version. MckNasty also released his first mixtape 12.12.12 last week.
Respected Brixton-bred rappers DVS and Jaja Soze went to Westwood’s Crib recently to lay down a freestyle. PDC’s Jaja Soze was first up and laid down some deep bars over a mellow beat, with him passing the mic to DVS who goes in deep too. They then go in over Juicy J’s ‘Bandz A Make Her Dance’.
Genesis Elijah brings us some brand new visuals for track What I’m On shot at Hip Hop Isn’t Dead an event held a few weeks ago at Brixton Jamm and shows English Frank, Mic Righteous, Logic, Skinnyman and more in the video. This is taken from his recently released mixtape I Ain’t Even Charging Bruv 2.
This week was an extremely busy one for me as I headed to Norway courtesy of HTC, who took myself along with other journalists from all around the world on an audio tour. We met Norwegian rappers who performed just for us and went to the Jaeger club where DJ Abstract taught us how to mix. We met some fantastic people and artists who all made us feel at home…
On Friday night I went down to Vibe Bar in Brick Lane to check out Melanin 9’s album launch ‘Magna Carta’. It was a pretty heavy line up with performances from himself, Genesis Elijah, Joker Starr, Iron Braydz, Logic and more. I spotted a few familiar faces showing support including Blak Twang and Micall Parknsun.
Speaking of Micall Parknsun, he dropped the visuals to his first single last week entitled ‘Me’, ahead of his forthcoming album ‘Me Myself and Akai’ which Jehst directed.
There was some tension last week on Twitter as K Koke went on the roads for a radio tour to promote his first official single ‘Turn Back’. Dappy has always been a fan of Koke as we can see from his lyrics in ‘Tarzan’, (the only mixtape I believe is K Koke’s), and it looked like a collaboration may have been on the cards.
Dappy tweeted, “Just come off the phone to @KokeUSG He had a bone to pick with me!!! Don’t worry we will make a Monsta together #BadIntentions out Now”.
Koke quickly shut that down, writing: “NAH BRO I SAID WE WILLL TALK ABOUT IT#kokewillnotholla“.
Lucky for us, Koke will definitely holla on Wednesday night, (28) as he is set to perform at The Forum in London as part of MTV Brand New‘s launch; feel free to join us.
Giggs continued his comeback, dropping a visual freestyle over Juicy J’s ‘Bands A Make Her Dance’, to me it was a good choice and in the style of the Giggs we know and love.
Mic Righteous was righteously chosen to feature on the official remix to Naughty Boy’s track ‘Wonder’ featuring Emeli Sande. He has come a long way since dropping ‘Yob Culture’ in 2011, and is set to drop an EP ‘Open Mic’ in February. His socially aware lyrics and fantastic flow make him destined for big things.
Ratlin got some amazing UK talent involved on his first video from his ‘Crown Me’ mixtape. No Lay, Scrufizzer, Youngs Teflon and Rebler all joined him for ‘L’s Up’ and the diversity of the artists really makes this track a banger.
I hit Electric in Brixton on Wednesday night for the 2 Chainz show. Not really being into his music, I was pleasantly surprised to see him put on a good show to a packed crowd – but I was more interested in the supporting acts from the UK; J Spades and Mic Righteous. The long queue meant it was half full when J Spades was on, but by the time Mic got on the room was full and he was bursting with energy. He really won people over with ‘Sack City’…
Yesterday (Sunday) I went down to K Koke’s video shoot for his new track from his ‘I Ain’t Perfect’ album, which features fellow Roc Nation signee Rita Ora. The whole USG team were there and South London’s Ard Adz had a special role to play.
I talked to K Koke about the track and the video as he explained, “the single is called ‘Lay Down’, I’ve been working on this feature with Rita Ora. The video is based in prison and it’s just about prison life, talking to the youth and letting them know the roadside is not the way to go. It’s like a remix to ‘Listen Little Man.’”
We talk briefly about the chemistry between the two in the studio, with Koke saying, “Rita’s proper. She’s good stuff; she’s bubbly and easy going so we get along well.”
With the album out next spring, the lyricist talks about how he has progressed: “’I Ain’t Perfect’ is going to show growth, from ‘Pure Koke 1’ to ‘Pure Koke Vol 3’ there have been steps. ‘I Ain’t Perfect’ is going to be that big step that cements me in history.”
One of UK hip-hop’s rawest and realest MC’s released a video last week. We saw Genesis Elijah tell us why he is the ‘Underground King’ in his new track, explaining his views about the industry: “They don’t wanna put Elijah on lists that’s fine, I ain’t p***ed, but don’t act like the UK hip-hop scene ain’t mine when it is…”
Last week radio 1Xtra’s DJ Target premiered one of the leading tracks off Ratlin’s new ‘Crown Me’ EP, which is set to drop on December 10. The track entitled ‘Roley’ has a nice electronic, upbeat vibe and it’s going to be exciting to see what other tracks Ratlin has in store for us on the EP.
Bayoz Muzik dropped a street track ‘Soldiers’ featuring an impressive line up of J Spades,Blade Brown and Youngs Teflon. The track will be on his forthcoming ‘Death Of A Beatmaker’ EP.
Shireen from Flavour talks hip hop with Ohio’s Copywrite, an rapper who has brought together artists from the UK and US for his brand new album ‘God Save The King’ (Proper English Version)’, released 13th June. We talk about the hip hop scene in Colombus, Ohio, his reputation as a battle MC, and working with the UK’s finest MC’s.
How did your journey as a hip hop MC begin?
I actually started off by accidentally freestyling, spur of the moment in my friend’s basement, while he banged on the table and recorded it into a boom box. This was in 1990/1991 I was about 13/14; people in the neighborhood heard it and told me to keep going. They said it was good which we knew it wasn’t, but at the time and for people that we knew thought it sounded decent. After that we thought lets try and write something.
Tell me about your early days with Megahertz?
Basically we started in Columbus, Ohio, Megahertz went through a few different phases with different members, but we were just a group of kids who really wanted to make a career out of it and go worldwide with it. We got a good response locally in Ohio and in Columbus, and we hoped the rest of the world would feel the same way the people locally did. We took it a little bit further every year.
You come from Ohio, what is the hip hop scene like out there?
It’s cool you’ve got a lot of people from out here who made a name for themselves. We’ve got Blueprint, Illogic; we have ten worldwide acts from Ohio, Columbus from the same area who just did their own thing on their own merit without help. It’s quite a hip hop scene out here, the only downfall is we don’t have that many venues to perform at, so most of us go out of state to do our shows. Artistically it’s an incredible place, its birthed a whole lot of great artists and it continues to do so. There are a lot of people on the come up, new artists that are just getting their names known.
As an MC what do you think is the most important to have; content, delivery, wordplay or flow’?
Flow. You can have the best lyrics in the world, but if you don’t have flow who would want to listen. I’ve heard some MC’s that don’t have the greatest lyrics in the world, but their flow is nice, so they’re listenable. Personally I cant listen to an MC if he doesn’t have timing.
You’ve got a reputation as a battle MC. How do you prepare yourself mentally?
I’ve never really prepared myself; I just go out there. In my earlier days I was just so hungry, and so angry, angry that other people were rapping so good. This was coming from when I was like an arrogant little 19/20 year old, and I would just have an arsenal of my legitimate thoughts. It was already there, these were the thoughts I had trapped in my head, and I was ready to direct them to whoever I thought was in the way or a lesser opponent. I’ve been doing it for so long, but there’s a time and a place for the cockiness and arrogance, which is important to but you learn that along the way. The studio and the stage is the only place for it.
What proportion of your battles is pre prepared and what is off the top of your head on the day?
When I battle it all it is off the top of my head. I wouldn’t go in there with any pre-written or pre-thought out stuff. I would throw all my thoughts in right then and then.
Can you remember a punchline that destroyed your opponent?
There was a 50 Cent show I did and Jay Z was there, Just Blaze was the judge and there was a kid named Skyscraper and I said, “This aint event fair game, if you’re a skyscraper I’m the Taliban in an airplane.” It was like a crowd of 10,000 they all went crazy.
Which international battlers really stand out to you and why?
There’s a dude names Dirtbag Dan from San Jose, he does a lot of Grind Time battles, I like him because he has a different approach. He has all the basics an MC should have, but he has random stuff and will sometimes come off like a stand up comedian. He’s really good and really funny.
You’ve worked with various UK MC’s in the past. What initially led you to work with MC’s from across the Atlantic?
Early on in my career I got the chance to work with different cats. We went on our first tour in 1998, and Creative from Denmark was one of the first people we worked with. A kid named Formula 1 from Sweden we worked with. I learned early on that everyone has skill. Slick Rick was always one of my favourite MC’s, and to me he’s one of the top MC’s and he hasn’t fallen off. That always blew my mind, and people don’t really stop and think where Slick Rick’s from. As far as me being an Italian, a white dude or whatever, in the same manner I didn’t want people to discriminate against me for being white, I never discriminated against other MC’s for being from different countries. Music’s very transcending and I’ve always seen that.
On your forthcoming album you work with UK MC’s such as Genesis Elijah, Context, SAS, Bigz, Dru Blu and Akala. Why have you continued to develop this relationship with MC’s from the UK?
I think it’s just something different and I feel like with the Internet we have a real bridge. We speak the same language the only thing different is the slang and the accents. This border between us (the US) and the UK is real silly at this point. There’s a lot of politics in music, but I’m just really trying to show people there are a lot of talented people out there, and it doesn’t matter where they’re from. What I like about Context is his flow is real smooth and he has lyrics and he’ll rhyme in particular parts that you don’t expect to hear. Genesis Elijah is real raw and energetic and I always like that. SAS is real street with it. I like the kid Bigz a lot because he has a lot of punchlines and energy and bounces all over the meat. He’s really really dope, I get a really live visual when I hear him. Akala, just forget it that dude’s crazy.
You also feature a lot of US heavyweights. Why the decision to have so many features?
A lot of people I’m really cool with in the industry, and it was a strategy of mine to get people to pay attention to the MC’s that they may not otherwise pay attention to. I’ve been doing this long enough to know the games that people play. I’m not really into the whole names thing, I base it on talent. I figure if I throw me and Royce and Genesis on a song, people are going to hear it. People are going to listen to it and it might open up their eyes to an artist they otherwise wouldn’t have paid attention to.
Do you think by having such a mixture of UK and US artists that your album becomes fully trans Atlantic or will one side still favor it?
I honestly think it will be trans Atlantic, I think both people will dig it. A lot of people out here really like the song I did with SAS and they’re not pressured into the fact their from the UK, there is no negative feedback. I don’t see how an accent can get in the way of people enjoying the music.
After the album, do you still intend to work with artists from all over the world?
Yes. It’s pretty much an ongoing thing. I get a kick out of putting people onto new artists. My biggest dream would be to do a song with Radiohead.
What is next for Copywrite?
Were working on the Megahertz record with RJD2 and the rest of the group. Our brother passed away from cancer, we’re doing it in honour of him, a tribute to him. We never got the chance to make a proper full length so that what were trying to do.
Hey guys. It looks like winter is back; hopefully my news will cheer you up on this gloomy day! On Saturday night (22nd) I went to the East Ender Festival in Shoreditch where newbies such as the Bakery Boys, XO Man and Joel Culpepper joined some old-school heads like Blak Twang, Mystro and TY. I had a chat with TY about why events like these are important to the scene… He said: “Hip-hop events like this are important because in a time when mainstream pop-rap is so readily accessible in the charts, you need somewhere where the real lovers of all forms of hip-hop music can see artists from all over the world on the same stage.”
Saturday’s co-hosts Supa Dupa Fly said: “It’s important to put out quality hip-hop from the UK. Having legends TY and Blak Twang on the line-up made it really special for us. We plan to do more events like this – watch out for the Jazzy Jeff show at Jazz Cafe on October 15!
The booking of Doom had nothing to do with us, but its big shame and let down for the audience that he did a no-show. This just makes us want to support British music even more – TY, Blak Twang, Big Ted and Emily Rawson saved the day!”
I also picked up Mystro’s debut album ‘Mystrogen’ from him on Saturday night. The album reflects the set of skills he is renowned for; it is witty, humorous and has a great mix of wordplay, punch lines and social commentary – I think it is set to be a classic. It’s now available from all good digital outlets and includes features and production from Si Spex, Show N Prove, Mr Thing, Big Al and Homeboy Sandman.
Let’s take a look at tracks and videos of the week now. Genesis Elijah released ‘Underground King’, an honest and hard-hitting track where he spits his views on the music industry. Klashnekoff alsoreleased his highly-anticipated album ‘F**k The Long Talk’ last month and last week he gave us one of the tracks ‘Got To Be Right’ produced by Show N Prove to stream.
Ard Adz and Sho Shallow were due to open up for the Maybach Music Tour earlier this month; sadly, it was postponed. However, the pair covered their track ‘Actin Up’ with a version of their own in true Windy Music style. The duo also visited Link-Up TV for a session, giving us some deep and honest bars.
Melanin 9 released a video to his second track ‘Organized Democracy’, which is also a trailer for his ‘Magna Carta’ album which will be out on December 3.
Lastly, USG’s boss Squingy released the video to ‘Deeper’ from his ‘Wrighty’s 1st Son Part 2’ mixtape. I was a part of the video shoot so see if you can spot me in the visuals…
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