UK rap

UK rap, also known as British hip-hop or UK hip-hop or British rap, is a music genre and culture that covers a variety of styles of hip-hop made in the United Kingdom. The development of UK rap was shaped by a distinct set of regional influences, slang, and grassroots movements that differentiated it from American hip-hop. It is generally classified as one of a number of styles of R&B/hip-hop. British hip-hop can also be referred to as Brit-hop, a term coined and popularised mainly by British Vogue magazine and the BBC. British hip-hop was originally influenced by the dub/toasting introduced to the United Kingdom by Jamaican migrants in the 1950s–70s, who eventually developed uniquely influenced rapping (or speed-toasting) to match the rhythm of the ever-increasing pace and aggression of Jamaican-influenced dub in the UK. Toasting and soundsystem cultures were also influential in genres outside of hip-hop that still included rapping – such as grime, jungle, and UK garage. In 2003, The Times described British hip-hop's broad-ranging approach:¶

..."UK hip-hop" is a broad sonic church, encompassing anything made in Britain by musicians informed or inspired by hip-hop's possibilities, whose music is a response to the same stimuli that gave birth to rap in New York in the mid-Seventies.Although the underground scene was well established by the late 1980s, UK rap music saw little commercial success for several decades.¶

Origins

As in the US, British hip-hop emerged as a scene from graffiti and breakdancing, and then through to DJing and rapping live at parties and club nights, with its supporters predominantly listening to and influenced by US hip-hop. Unlike in the US, the British hip-hop scene was cross-racial from the beginning, as diverse ethnic groups in Britain tend not to live in segregated areas, even in areas with a high percentage of non-white individuals. Such places allow youth to share culture with one another, including musical genres such as hip-hop. Cross pollination through migrating West Indians helped develop a community interested in the music. The integration of sound systems represent a distinct British Caribbean influence. Sound systems allowed for powerful syncopated bass runs and the ability to bring this sound to other venues creating a club culture. There were, however, British tunes starting to appear. There are an abundance of records that are often credited with being the first British hip-hop release, "Christmas Rapping" by Dizzy Heights (Polydor, 1982), is often credited as such, as well as the slightly later released "London Bridge" by Newtrament (Jive Records, 1983). Dizzy Heights was the first MC to be signed to a major label. Two singles from 1980 precede both of these however, namely Allen & Blewitt's novelty record "Chip Shop Wrapping", released in 1980, a parody of The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight", and Bo Kool's "Money (No Love)".¶

Development: Late 1980s–early 1990s

The first record label devoted to releasing UK hip-hop acts was founded in 1986. Simon Harris' Music of Life label was home to rapper Derek B, the first UK rapper to achieve chart success. He even collaborated with Public Enemy on his album Bullet from a Gun and was the first British rapper to appear on Top of the Pops.¶

Building on Derek B's success, Music of Life went on to sign groups such as Hijack, the Demon Boyz, Hardnoise (later Son of Noise) and MC Duke. Their Hard as Hell series mixed homegrown talent like Thrashpack and the She Rockers with US artists such as Professor Griff. Music of Life was swiftly followed by other labels such as Mango Records and Kold Sweat. Another successful British hip-hop artist that emerged from Music of Life was Asher D, whose Jamaican origins showed through in his vocal style. In 1988, in collaboration with Daddy Freddy, Asher D released one of the first hip-hop dancehall fusion albums, Ragamuffin Hip-Hop. Moving away from its US roots, British hip-hop started to develop its own sounds: acts like Hijack, II Tone Committee, Eastborm, Killa Instinct, Hardnoise, and Silver Bullet developed a fast and hardcore style (often referred to as Britcore), while many other acts took influences from elsewhere. Britcore acts were amongst the first to receive wide-spread attention across continental Europe. Caveman and Outlaw Posse developed a jazz influenced style, whilst MC Mell'O' mixed jazz and hardcore. London Posse, Black Radical Mk II and DJ Ruf Cut And Tuf C were more influenced by reggae and disco whilst the Wee Papa Girl Rappers, Cookie Crew and Monie Love achieved chart success with more radio-friendly hip-hop.¶

New generation: Late 1990s–early 2000s

Following an initial flurry of interest from major record labels in the 1980s, by the early 1990s the scene had moved underground after record companies pulled back. In the mid-1990s hip-hop in the UK started to experiment and diversify – often mutating into diverse genres entirely, such as trip hop and began making inroads into the US market. As the old rappers left the scene, a new generation, raised on hip-hop and electronica, was coming of age: The Herbaliser released Remedies (Ninja Tune, 1995), Mr. Scruff released the "Frolic EP Pt 1" (Pleasure Music, 1995), Mark B released "Any More Questions?" (Jazz Fudge, 1995) and DJ Skitz released "Where My Mind Is At/Blessed Be The Manor" (Ronin Records, 1996) featuring a young rapper called Roots Manuva on guest vocals who had previously released the single "Next Type of Motion" (Sound of Money, 1995). Record labels that attempted to merge British hip-hop style and sensibilities with modern dance music began to emerge, like Mark Rae's Grand Central (home to Aim, Rae & Christian, and Fingathing, among others) or DJ Vadim's Jazz Fudge. Increasingly, these artists managed to avoid the issues surrounding sampling by making music themselves (bands such as the Stereo MCs began playing instruments and sampling their own tunes) or searching out more obscure records where a most cost effective licensing deal could be arranged. British hip-hop began to go through a renaissance, its style shifting from the hardcore template of its youth and moving into more melodic territory. The Brotherhood managed to broker a major deal with Virgin Records in 1995. Continuing their relationship with Trevor Jackson as their producer, they released 3 singles 'Alphabetical Response', 'One Shot', 'Punk Funk' and their album Elementalz, all in 1996.¶

Rise to mainstream: 2000s to 2010s

A new generation of artists emerged following the turn of the century, including Jehst, Skinnyman, Nicky Spesh, Foreign Beggars and Usmaan. At the same time, a new style of electronic music emerged in the early 2000s, derivative of UK garage and jungle, with influences from dancehall, drum and bass and hip-hop; this new genre was dubbed "grime" (sometimes called eskibeat or sublow) and effectively superseded UK hip-hop in both popularity and the mainstream conscious. Grime is generally considered to be distinct from hip-hop due to its roots primarily being genres such as UK garage and jungle.¶

Early 2010s: Afroswing and grime

The early 2010s saw t…¶

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “UK rap”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence.¶

UK rap is music genre or scene, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition.¹¶

The source record links this tradition to 6 external registers, which can be verified through the citation.¹¶