A little piece I did for Time Out on Fats Shariff aka Fatsarazzi. The issue is celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the magazine and the theme running throughout this week's publication is that of 'Heroes'. You'll notice Dizzee on the cover, he was one of London's 40 Heroes who makes the city what it is today! It was a pleasure to be involved with such a legendary publication both going there with Diz and then getting the chance to write for them was also great, Time Out is an internationally recognized publication, covering 23 individual cities!!
Shystie is a sick female MC, I'm feeling this. I quite like her bars over the Bassline track at the very beginning as well. UK Female MC's always give the guys a run for their money, big up Estelle, Ny & Mz Bratt.
So The Notorious B.I.G bio-pic is soon to be upon us. Now I do hold reservations with regard to this film, however, with the success of '8 Mile', this could be just as important a film for Hip Hop. Yet, one must remember the awful Fiddy bio-pic, I've got a feeling 'Notorious' will fall somewhere in between the two movies. I hope not, as Biggie's debut album 'Ready To Die' is my favorite rap record of all time. His depiction of those early years before rap are so vivid, providing its own unique cinematic experience for the listener. I know a lot of people have questioned Biggie's integrity as a "real" hustler, especially in the wake of Nick Broomfield's documentary, and those questions are going to duly arise once again. This could be a great film, not of 'Goodfellas' or 'Casino' proportions, but in terms of Rap Cinema it could be epic. I do have my doubts and will view with a smash of salt and the most sincere of skepticism. Lets hope it does both Biggie and his music the justice they deserve.
UK Rap is in a great place at the moment, better than it has been in a long time. Back in the day when I was at school, I used to live and breathe UK Hip Hop from like 2000 onwards I've been all about it. Clearing out my old room yesterday I had to take down the posters and flyers off the wall, some classic UK promo up on there; it made me reminisce. I used to want to break into the UK media and music game so badly and I have since accomplished some of my dreams (no homo) not all of them I must admit but I have worked on classic UK rap records, put on heavyweight nights, and been schooled by pioneers in the scene. I'm not gonna lie, my love has somewhat diminished in recent times, but now the scene is as healthy as its ever been in my opinion. Although, those of the "Kung Fu" era and before will doubt this, I truly do believe its as good now as when Task Force, Jehst, Skinny, Braintax et all were leading the way making their own classic records with a uniquely British take on Hip Hop. I understand that their sound is distinctly different from the sounds of today, the influences and parameters have certainly changed, but London is doing a lot right now.
While many have fallen away, new talents have emerged and the stalwarts are as strong as ever. Here are a few of those doing it right now, alongside what I think of them, some have been featured here before, others haven't - I'll keep it brief:
Roots Manuva Performed tonight on Jools Holland and his latest record 'Slime & Reason' is as good as anything he has done before, the most consistent recording artist in UK Hip Hop. Newham Generals Soon to take Grime and Street Dance Music (for love of a better phrase) to a new plateau. Wretch The most talented wordsmith in the country, steadily building a strong following, with unique videos and style to boot, his album 'Wretchrospective' released October 6th is about to break new ground for Hip Hop in this country. Dizzee Rascal He's had a No.1 record, pioneered music on an independent level, and simply taken UK Rap to new ground, places, hemispheres, and defined what a British rap is to a whole new generation of kids across the country. Whatever you think of him, he is the greatest rapper to ever come out of the UK, I for one must admit he has done more for UK rap than any other artist, and I still rate him higher than Rodney P, Skinny, Roots Manuva and all the early pioneers just for the simple reasons that he's achieved more than any other rap artist in this country, ever. However you grade that; money, exposure, awards, RECORD SALES. Sway He changed how the UK Hip Hop and Grime scenes function, he was the King of the Mixtape. Taking that work ethic and independent ethos to full releases, his second album is set to be bigger and better than anything he's done before, Lil Derek is certainly doing more than O.K. Sincere He's been around for a long time, features with Wan-Cee, killed the Itch FM mixtapes back in the day and definitely put in his ground. Now doing it independently he's one to watch, built up a wealth of industry contacts, making moves on MTV Base etc and all on his own label, Y.E is gonna be pushing boundaries, hooked up with Natty on a heavy track he is one to watch.
I could go on and on, about several other artists, but this is a quick blog post and I haven't really thought too much about it, so here are a couple of videos of those less known above, I've missed so many artists out, but thats whats good about our scene right now, its flourishing. Whether grime or rap, it doesn't matter... as long as the swagger is there and the beats and rhymes are on point, I'll continue to support, and will always hold hip hop in this country in high regard... eeerrrrmmm maybe a classic UK Hip Hop post could be on its way... for now enjoy the vids, and hopefully you've enjoyed the rambling rant.
Sincere feat. Natty - 'Once Upon A Time'
Newham Generals - 'Westwood Freestyle'
Wretch 32 - 'Punctuation'
DISCLAIMER: THIS BLOG WAS INSPIRED BY MARK HENRY'S HEAVY TRACK AT THE TOP OF THE POST.
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