Kanye west Brits Performance (2015)
I have to begin with the iconic Kanye West Brits 2015 performance. In 2015, Kanye debuted his anticipated track ‘All Day’ and appeared on stage with a crew of London’s MCs and rappers. The performance received mixed reviews, with some saying it was a huge cultural moment where UK Hip Hop was celebrated and boosted. However the performance itself sparked 126 Ofcom complaints due to the use of the N word 39 times. In the crew of British performers, all dressed in black surrounding Kanye, rappers like Stormzy, Krept and Konan, Skepta and Jammer were all spotted. You could argue that this is reflective of the odd hierarchy between UK and US Hip Hop. Whilst US Hip Hop is often praised, the impact of UK Hip Hop is swept under the carpet. People argued the performance was patronising to the genre of UK Hip Hop, how they are almost like a backup dancer for US artists. However, many said that this was a moment that praised and celebrated UK grime, with Kanye giving it its deserved attention. Wiley commented on this moment saying ‘Kanye Knows The Brits Ain’t letting dons in there like that so he kicked off the door for us.’ And he was completely right, since this moment the Brits have showcased UK hip hop proudly, for example we have seen performances like Stormzy’s Blinded By Your Grace performance in 2018, Dave’s performance of ‘Black’ in 2020 and of course in 2022 the iconic performance of ‘In The Fire’ with Dave, Fredo, Meekz, Giggs and Ghetts. UK hip hop isn’t to everyone’s taste and a lot of people aren’t aware of its social importance, such as Liam Gallagher who responded to the Kanye performance via twitter saying ‘Kanye West. Utter Shit. LG x’ (lets not forget the Bits rejected Liam Gallagher from performing at the brits in 2018), but the point is, attitudes against UK hip hop seem to be completely uneducated due to the lack of representation it has in the media.
Asap Rocky and Skepta ‘Praise the Lord’
Released on June 26th 2018, on Asap Rocky’s third studio album ‘Testing’, ‘Praise Da Lord/Da Shine’ has become one of the most iconic UK/US collabs. This was Skepta and Rocky’s third collab together after they worked together on Skepta’s song ‘Ghost Ride’ and on Asap Mobs song ‘Who we be’, although fantastic and respected tunes, I guess third times a charm because this spent 21 weeks in the UK charts. It is a fantastic Hip Hop tune, quite perfectly merging features of UK and US Hip Hop together, comfortably. The song includes a flute sample from the video game ‘ Rome: Total’, although we don’t know where this connection was made, aside from Asap an Skepta’s one-of-kind- rapping, it is the most distinguishable part of the song, creating the songs foundation. Skepta, who produced the track, paid homage to DMX in the song, in the line, ‘I listened to X, I peeped the bars’. Skepta refers to DMX’s song ‘Who we be’ who he took inspiration from in this song, and listening to it, you can really hear the similarities. The video includes a split screen one side showing Asap in New York and the other showing Skepta in London, both in their respected home towns. The video, directed by Dexter Navy, includes vivid to subdued colours with 90s-esque cinematography. The video felt nostalgic and for me, made me think of videos like ‘C.R.E.A.M’ by Wu-Tang-Clang and ‘Shook Ones Pt.II’ by Mobb Deep’, classic 90s music video features, which I feel encapsulated the song very well.
Drake’s relationship with UK Hip Hop
Whether you like Drake or not, he has certainly brought Global attention to UK Hip Hop. Some think his love for British rap is disingenuous and ‘fake’. But his history with the UK Hip Hop scene goes far back. Now 34, he has worked with several UK Hip Hop artists, including names like Dave, Skepta, Giggs and Headie One. The first milestone we see in this Drake and UK Hip Hop relationship is his interaction with Wiley. In Wiley’s song ‘The Ascent’, released in 2012, he includes a clip of drake saying Wiley is his favourite MC, which is ironic if we look at the conflict between the pair now, we will get to that. He spawned a creative relationship with Skepta back in 2015 and even brought him out at Wireless festival, before they appeared together on the remix of WizKid’s ‘Ojuelegba’. A year later Drake teamed up with Dave, remixing Dave’s song ‘Wanna Know’, this acknowledgment early on in Dave’s career prepared him for global popularity. He began to work with Giggs on his song ‘KMT’ and ‘No longer Talk’, Headie one and recently Jhus on his song ‘Who Told You’. It isn’t just British music Drake is interested in, but British culture. He also isn’t afraid to use British slang in his songs or refer to other UK artists. Some, think Drake’s relationship with the UK, is a façade and think he is perhaps exploiting British talent for his own benefit. Although, maybe surprising and to some a little weird, he has shined a light on British Hip Hop music and without Drake, I don’t think it would be as recognised globally as it is now. Now… Back to Wiley. Wiley has had controversial moments in his career despite being labelled as one of the original creators of grime. Although praising Kanye for performing with UK MC’s in 2015, he called Drake a ‘culture vulture’ and even came for Ed Sheeran calling them both ‘pagans’. In 2019 he also tweeted ‘ Don’t come back to England’ to Drake, in which he received no reply. He seems to be one of the only UK Rappers to think this. What do you think? Is Drake a ‘culture vulture’ or just a fan of UK Hip Hop?
Stormzy and Jay Z’s potential collab
In 2019, some would say a peak year in Stormzy’s career, he released a single with Ed Sheeran called ‘Take Me back To London. However, Stormzy revealed that Jay Z also joined him and Ed in the writing process and was going to feature on it. After a long conversation, surrounding community, black culture and the significance of London, which Stormzy states was ‘the greatest conversation of my life’ Stormzy came to the realisation this wasn’t the right song for him and Jay Z. Having Jay Z on a song with Stormzy changes the whole meaning and although you may assume Jay Z was irritated by this, he actually praised Stormzy on his bravery for speaking up and not staying quiet. In an interview with Jonathon Ross, Stormzy said he has complete ‘verbal diarrhoea’ and on the way home thought to himself he probably ‘won’t get this opportunity again’. However, we have seen Stormzy express his deep gratitude for Jay Z, and has continued to celebrate his artistry… so maybe we will see the collab happen in the future? We can only hope.
Central Cee’s LA Leakers Freestyle
Perhaps a niche choice, but I felt I had to include Central Cee. British trap rapper, Central Cee has taken the US by storm. He became well known in the UK after his songs ‘Loading’ and ‘Day in the Life’ before pioneering his career in the US with his songs ‘Doja’ and ‘Sprinter’, gaining their popularity particularly through TikTok. In 2022, he appeared on the ‘Power 106 Los Angeles’ YouTube channel freestyling for the LA Leakers, an American musical group. This isn’t their first time showcasing a UK rap artists, 7 years ago, a fresh-faced Dave appeared on their channel, whose freestyle has 3.7 million views. Central Cee’s freestyle went viral with people calling a lesson in UK slang. In the freestyle, he translates American phrases into UK slang such as ‘They don’t understand, I’m givin’ them U.K. slang, My brudda, my fam’, my akh’, as well as, ‘You say “y’all”, we say “you lot” You say “restroom”, we say “toilet”‘. Many people praise Central Cee for remaining uniquely British, we haven’t seen him, yet, change his ways due to his American popularity, in fact in this freestyle he is outlining the cultural differences between the US and the UK. The hosts Justin Credible and DJ Sourmilk were blown away saying ‘West London is here!’. Whether or not you think Central Cee deserves this hype, I am intrigued to see if his fame in the US will be maintained in his future releases.
Honourable Mention: Tyler The Creator’s speech for the 2020 Brit Awards
I have to include this iconic Hip Hop moment. Although it doesn’t involve any UK Hip Hop artists, it is still, I would say, a cultural crossover. In 2020 Tyler the creator won ‘International Male Solo Artist’ following his fantastic and groundbreaking album ‘IGOR’. Tyler, can be known for his authentic and chaotic award speeches, which couldn’t be more clear in his speech for winning this award. In 2015, Theresa May forbid Tyler from entering the UK due to his lyrics that she thought ‘encourages violence and intolerance of homosexuality. In his speech for the 2020 Brit Awards he says ‘shout out to all the British funk from the 80s I try to copy’ before continuing and saying ‘I want to give a special shout out to someone, who I hold dear to my heart, who made it where I couldn’t come in this country five years ago, I know she is at home pissed off, thank you Theresa May’. He received a huge applause and left the sage, with a beaming grin on his face This isn’t the first time Tyler has been confronted about his lyrics, particularly in his original Hip Hop band ‘Odd Future’ and his older albums such as ‘Cherry Bomb’ and ‘Goblin’. In 2012, Newsnight interviewed him and his band Odd Future. In this interview, the British journalist Stephen Smith implicitly criticises Odd Future and their lyrics, asking Tyler ‘ What about your lyrics’, to which he replied ‘What about them?’. Stephen smith continues saying ‘What are you saying in your lyrics?’, Tyler replying, ‘Nothing. Shit to piss old white people off like you’. He continues this stance in the interview, saying his lyrics aren’t offensive and people are always going to find things offensive.
Many people found the criticism of Tyler’s homophobic lyrics, ironic as Tyler has an open and unlabelled sexuality, his sexuality has been questioned for years and in an interview with Larry King he is asked about gay rappers to which he replies ‘ Why does that shit matter? If he want to fuck dudes, why does that matter?, why do we care?’. If anything, people argue he has broken a history of homophobia in Hip Hop music and he is a token of unlabelled, authentic characteristics. Nowadays, few people find Tyler offensive and instead, he has become one of the most likable, and genuine and unique Hip Hop artists.