Ready for the third instalment of Hustlers Don’t Die from Youngs Teflon? Well press play on the video below and listen to Tefs rap over the laid back beat with his smooth flow.
July 9, 2014
MTV The Wrap Up: UK Rap Rundown [News]
We’ve been hearing a lot from the Disturbing LDN and Parlophone rapper G Frsh as of late, as he gets us ready for his forthcoming EP ‘Alfie’; slated for an August release. He gave fans a present in the form of a free download for new track ‘The Hardest Part’ which of course sees G hitting us with some hard bars, and Sonny Reeves (also signed to Disturbing LDN) providing him with the vocals over a laid back beat.
Fresh from his ‘Lost Soul’ mixtape release, North London’s Coops keeps the work rate levels high and drops another visual from the tape ‘Rap Masterclass’ which seems to be set in Amsterdam. Produced by Talos, this is another banger with an old school hip hop vibe from a very talented and rising lyricist that a lot of people are calling one to watch. Coops matches laid back flows and beats to deliver us something special.
Now if you haven’t heard of Potter Payper, honestly I don’t know where you have been. Fresh from his incarceration, he is back to tear the streets apart as he shows why he is one is one of the most respected MC’s as he takes to Charlie Sloth’s studio to give him a Fire In The Booth. His wordplay and flow is exceptional, and this is the standard other rappers need to be looking too. From Drake’s‘0-100’ to Robin Shulz remix of ‘Waves’ instrumentals, he keeps the levels high.
Blue Borough’s (Lewisham) Dru Blu takes a totally British phrase ‘Let’s Avit’ which is commonly used at football matches or by people to mean ‘let’s have a good time’ in excitement as the name for his new track. Great to see UK artists capturing their British roots and essence, and Dru entertains too with the visuals for the track. Nice work!
Big congratulations are also in order for Krept & Konan who flew out to LA for the BET Awards 2014and bagged the award for Best International Act: UK. They beat Dizzee Rascal, Ghetts, Tinie Tempah, Rita Ora and Laura Mvula.
April 29, 2014
MTV The Wrap Up: UK Rap Rundown [News]
I’m back after a short hiatus and the bank holiday weekend to bring you guys what’s been going on in the world of UK rap every week. I’m going to kick things off with talking about G Frsh’s new video ‘Falling High’. Now you have probably heard the song as it was heard on Radio 1 tastemaker shows such as Zane Lowe and Mistajam. Shot in black and white in an East London undertakers bodes well with the whole feel and lyrics of the track, while helping us understand G Frsh and his journey. The track features his fellow Disturbing London label mateSonny Reeves, who provides the hook.
These boys are really something special when it comes to music, and they are called the Rascals. Made up of four lads Kay Willz, Big Shizz, Tempz and Merkz, all in their teens and who gained their first successes at the ages of 12 and 13. They recently released their ‘Class 90’ album, which was an absolute smash and featured some of the best UK talent such as Big Narstie, Squeeks, Dru Blu, Double S and more. They return after not long with a brand-new single called ‘So High’ which was given it’s first spin by Zane Lowe and is due for release on June 15.
Brixton’s Peak is one hardworking man, and the grind doesn’t stop when it comes to releasing EP’s, mixtapes, and videos. As well as his consistency, his tracks are quality too, which means he is a super-talented dude! This new track is the first I believe to be heard from his forthcoming tape ‘Brixton State Of Mind’, giving us a glimpse of what to expect. Google Peak ‘Say About Me’ to listen to this new one.
Original Triple Darkness founding member Melanin 9 is due to re-release his 2007 mixtape ‘High Fidelity’ strictly on vinyl on his own ‘Red Snow’ label. He will also add the instrumentals to the tracks, with new artwork and a bonus cut ‘Colours’ produced by Loopholes. As well as adding the bonus track he also shot a video to ‘Colours’, adding some new freshness to the whole project.
Clothing brand Supply & Demand launched a competition a few months back where they asked the public to vote for a song for five British artists which they would then go on to shoot a music video for. They decided on ‘See Me Now’ for Benny Banks featuring Ryan Keen. The video was released last week and for me really showed Banks development as an artist and lyricist; his real life raps seemed more knowledgeable and the sound matured.
Until next time…
March 25, 2014
MTV The Wrap Up: UK Rap Rundown [News]
SN1’s Kyze was released from prison 4 weeks ago after being away for 5 years, he was one of the biggest prospects in the UK rap game, and many thought he was going to be something special. We welcome him back and hope to hear some great new music from him soon, he’s already released some bars which you can check out here…
Disturbing London’s G Frsh premiered a new track last week with his fellow DL artist, singer Sonny Reeves previously known as Dot JR who provides a smooth hook. ‘Falling High’ will be on G Frsh’s forthcoming ‘Alfie’ EP, make sure you check it out.
Stormzy set the Internet ablaze last week as he went to Link Up TV for his Behind Barz after 3 years. This year is set to be a big year for him, I can see him being one of the next to blow, he has it all delivery, flow, content and versatility, plus co-signs from Krept and Youngs Teflon.
Maxsta dropped the video to his first single ‘Got Gassed’ taken from his highly anticipated ‘The Maxtape 1.5’. The lively grime tune see’s Maxsta’s return after parting ways with Sony and stepping into his own lane, creating music from a more adult viewpoint. ‘The Maxtape 1.5’ will see collaborations with Ard Adz, Sho Shallow, Big Shizz, Dot Rotten, Ny and more.
Frenchy Le Boss is (as you probably guess by the name) a French rapper who has lived most of his life in the UK, which gives him a uniqueness. Last week his ‘C’est La Vie’ mixtape was released, 16-track and strong features from some of the UK’s hardest including Young Spray, DVS, Colours, Sneakbo and Squeeks.
I think the video/track of the week has to go to Skepta and JME for ‘That’s Not Me’ for their creativity when it came to shooting the video, giving it a nostalgic and raw feel including cuts of Skepta talking about his forthcoming album ‘Konichiwa’.
March 19, 2014
MTV The Wrap Up: UK Rap Rundown [News]
There has been an influx of good videos and tracks out over the past week that are of a high standard of quality, which is great to see.
Ghetts’ name was everywhere last week after his ‘Rebel With A Cause’ album dropped and he made his official chart debut. The east London MC has been causing a stir with his campaign, with a pop up free gig in Barbican and his headline show at the 02 in London on Friday. Congratulations to Ghetts on this achievement; it’s been brilliant to see an independent artist who doesn’t have to compromise his music.
Political Peak’s EP ‘Life’s Peak’ was released on iTunes on March 4, which featured seven strong tracks from the Brixton bred rapper. ‘Walk Alone’ was the newest visual to be seen from it since it was released, where Peak asks you to take in the story before he begins the track, talking us some real life situations.
As we know Giggs is one of the most rated rappers in the UK who made a name for himself with his unique style of rap and raw, authentic lyrics. His album ‘When Will It Stop’ was released last year, and last week saw the release of his track ‘Tick Tock’ taken from there produced by Bayoz Muzik.
Colours Miyagi is regarded as one of the pioneers in the UK rap scene, releasing tracks that will stay classics for many. The Peckham rappers previously released mixtape ‘Where’s My Money Reloaded’ which was released last summer was well received. He keeps thing flowing with a new track ‘Through My Lens’, a street banger showcasing his effortless flow and storytelling ability.
Youngs Teflon is another one that is up there with the best of them and he is due to release his 20-track project at the end of the month titled ‘Renaissance’. He gives us a taster of what to expect from the forthcoming tape by releasing a video taken from there called ‘Throwback’.
March 5, 2014
MTV The Wrap Up: UK Rap Rundown [News]
Friday night some of The Wrap Up team headed down to Plan B in Brixton for Grime veteran’s Footsie’s launch party for his ‘King Original 3’ project. The night saw P Money, Big Narstie, Jammer, Big Shizz, and D Double E all touch the mic for a brilliant night. If you missed it, you certainly missed out.
Talking of Newham Generals, D Double E went to the 1Xtra studio for his Fire In The Booth. He shows his versatility in content and flow, going for a laid-back beat talking relationship and break ups to a darker beat for some war talk. Make sure you check it out and understand why he is one of the best.
Political Peak gave us a little bit more of a teaser of what to expect from his ‘Life’s Peak’ EP. The highly-rated Brixton rapper gets us on his vibe and wanting to be ‘Living Life’ more on his wavy track, mixing in some classic DJ Luck and MC Neat’s ‘A Little Bit Of Luck’ at the end.
This video caused a stir last week when it was released, and for a reason too. The official remix video to ‘Don’t Waste My Time’ from unstoppable duo Krept & Konan featuring Chip, French Montana, Wretch 32, Chinx Drugz and Fekky dropped, which saw the two in New York and Thornton Heath in South London. This is going to be a classic for years to come.
Lastly English Frank is keeping his run of videos going by releasing another video from his forthcoming project ‘Frankenstein’, out March 24. ‘Defining Moment’ sees the South London MC team up with Aydoe Soul for this hard-hitting, thought provoking and candid track.
February 26, 2014
MTV The Wrap Up: UK Rap Rundown [News]
Last week was a bit quieter than usual as many people were working quietly behind the scenes for new forthcoming projects for example Peak’s new EP ‘Life’s Peak’ and Colours Miyagi ‘Sunshine & Rain’.
We saw a few video’s drop from the USG team last week and they also announced a new EP ‘Untouchable Street Generals’ will be being released on 31st March, a warm up before their full album.
Geko released his mixtape two weeks ago ‘Thoro In The South. The Manchester MC kept the buzz of this release going by dropping a video taken from the project of the same name. With no features from USG apart from one with Lefty, Geko shows his presence as an artist in his own right.
Squingy put out the video to ‘Like Me’ featuring Sky which looks like it was shot on a nice summer’s day in London. The content of the track helps you understand his and USG’s journey in music a bit better as he talks you through some of it, especially the struggle.
Part 2 of Essex rapper Potter Payper’s freestyle studio video was released to the public last week. He is very highly rated in the game right now, and will be a problem once he is released from prison. He released his first mixtape in Summer 2013 ‘Training Day’ which really caused a stir, check that out if you haven’t heard of him yet.
Brotherhood took to Link Up TV for their first Behind Barz freestyle and what a deep one it was. The sibling duo from Ipswich get serious as they discuss racism, enlightening people on their views. The pair are due to release their mixtape ‘Love Life Hate The World’ on March 9th, and from their impressive lyrics here it’s set to be a good one.
Lastly the list of the 2014 BOTB list was released last week and instead of gathering a panel to give the final list of the ten, the public were asked to vote on Twitter and the numbers were counted. The list should be revealed this week and I’m looking forward to seeing the shortlist and the discussions that come with it.
February 18, 2014
MTV The Wrap Up: UK Rap Rundown [News]
There was loads of new music in from the world of UK rap and grime this week. Let’s kick it off with some Valentine’s specials, as there were a quite a few people in the romantic mood. First up was a special Valentines treat on Feb 14 from Dru Blu as he showed his gentler side for his three track EP release ‘Bad Romance’ which is available to buy on iTunes now.
Peckham’s Snap Capone keeps things rolling in 2014 after his much talked about mixtape ‘The Memoir’ which was released in Dec 2013. I was very interested to hear his Valentine’s track, where he used Ashanti’s ‘Foolish’ instrumental to spit some love/lust influenced bars.
Stormyz is one to really keep an eye on, and I loved his video he dropped on Valentine’s day for the ladies. ‘All That Matterz’ uses Justin Bieber’s instrumental and his flow is so fluid and effortless, with his content showing maturity. This is such a big track and one to definitely add to the playlist.
Off the Valentines subject now and moving on to some other great releases this week which saw Shak Corleone record some bars over the ‘Pound Cake’ instrumental. He was asked by his friend R.A who is currently incarcerated to record it, even though many others have done it already. He did do it proper, it’s one of the hardest ones I’ve heard.
This is a massive collaborative track that dropped last week which saw the band Sir Apollo record with producer/rapper Ayo Beatz and lyricists Sho Shallow, Ard Adz and Maxsta. Lead singer Khuddus takes care of the hook for ‘Appreciated’ with Ayo Beatz coming in with the first verse with all the artists talking through what it means to be valued and understood.
Lil Nasty reps East London for his second single off his EP ‘Nasty Piece Of Work’. ‘My Town’ is produced by Teddy and features Griminal. He talks about making ‘that music money’ which he should as he has been putting in a lot of work recently, along with starting his new label Bassheads and more.
DJ Cameo and the Future Grime Music crew are back with the visual for ‘Moonwalker’ which sees Kozzie, Scrufizzer, Saskilla, Jamkay, Brotherhood, Drifer, Dusky and Bookie all spit some solid grime bars, each with their signature flows and gritty lyrics for a fresh new take on grime that’s commercially viable.
February 11, 2014
MTV The Wrap Up: UK Rap Rundown [News]
DVS has taken over this week again releasing two videos from his mixtape ‘London Boy American Dreaming’ which went to No.1 in the iTunes hip-hop charts and No.4 in the overall iTunes charts. DVS is one of the UK’s most acclaimed UK rappers, and this mixtape is set to become a classic.
‘The Intro’ was the first video released last week where he tells stories of his life, thoughts and dreams. For the second video release of last week he turned it up and dropped a more upbeat track featuring king of the clubs Sneakbo and Disturbing London’s G FrSH for a motivational talking track with all of them providing a solid verse each.
I’m really looking forward to the release of Peak’s EP ‘Life’s Peak’, which is out on March 4 via iTunes. He shows us what we are due to expect from it as he put out the video to ‘About That Life’ which is the first track to be heard from the project and sees Peak at his finest, doing what he does best, hitting us with some truthful, hard-hitting bars.
The Triple Darkness collective showcase UK hip-hop at its best with intense verses from Black Prophet, Tesia’a Ghost, Ray Vendetta, Ringz of Saturn, Iron Braydz, Cyrus Malachi and Solar Black for their new cut ‘Reanimation’ with perfect visuals to match the dark track. Triple Darkness aim to encourage the youth of today with their lyrics, so listen and learn.
Negash Ali is really one to watch out for this year, with Capital Xtra naming him their ‘New Breakthrough Act’. He has opened for Nas, Damian Marley, Wiz Khalifa and more. He’s due to release his EP ‘The African Dream’ this month on February 17 and recently hit us with the visuals for his lead single ‘Fire In The Sky’.
Cashtastic’s highly-anticipated EP ‘Alarm Clock’ was released yesterday on iTunes and ahead of that to keep people looking forward to it, he released the video to the remix of ‘In The Party’ where he is joined by Stylo G to give it that dancehall feel. Make sure you get ‘Alarm Clock’ now!
Bigz is bringing the sunshine to winter as he lifts us up with new track ‘The Ride Continues’ filled with soul as J Warner sings the hook giving his own version of ‘Gin And Juice’ and Giggs hits us with a nice, laid-back verse with effortless swag. Loving this track.
February 6, 2014
MTV The Wrap Up: UK Rap Rundown [News]
Cashtastic is one of the hardest working rappers in the UK, never releasing track upon track for the sake of it – he seems to have a plan. He recorded his first song at the age of 10 and now is only in his early 20’s. I have a feeling the ‘Alarm Clock’ EP (released Feb 9) is just going to warm us up for the release of his debut album. ‘Red Handed’ is the first release to be heard from the EP and really shows off Cash’s skills as a lyricist and artist.
Yungen turned 22 on February 1 and to celebrate he released a video for his fans, reversing roles and giving them a present! ’22 (Cake)’ produced by ADP is a fun track which sees Yungen partying with his boys in a flat and just enjoying life. I hope he got what he wished for on his birthday. ‘All I want for my birthday is some cake, cake, cake…’
South-East London rapper Benjamin A.D is one that I was surprised at myself for not paying enough attention to, as he definitely deserves it. ‘No More Drama’ is the opening track off his ‘Acknowledgments’ EP, which hears him talk about wanting a stress free life. The C-Major produced track is different; not a straight hip-hop beat, but flits into dubstep.
Another South London rapper is also back with his first track of the year. Joe Grind released a lyric video for song ‘Speaking English’ – this track will be on his forthcoming EP ‘Episode 3: Better Late Than Never’.
One of my favourite tracks off the ‘Class 90’ album is ‘Tell Em’ which sees Big Shizz and Kay Wills from the Rascals being joined by one of North London’s finest, Squeeks, along with vocals from Goldie 1 and Big Swingz. This collaboration has really worked so well together and for me will remain a classic – check out the video HERE.
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