Black British Music (2025)

Not to be confused with British Black music.

Black British Music (2025)
Mixtape by Jim Legxacy
Released	18 July 2025
Length	34:55
Label	XL
Producer	Jim Legxacy Baby Cashy BoyRed Cole YoursTruly Cppo DameDame* Dre Denim Fritz! Fumez Henes Phil Hamilton Hoskins Jkarri J Moon Kiri Lucid Nathan Rahitsbkay Sai on the Beat Joe Stanley YT
Jim Legxacy chronology
Homeless Nigga Pop Music (2023) Black British Music (2025) (2025)
Singles from Black British Music (2025)
"Father" Released: 27 February 2025 "Stick" Released: 10 April 2025

Black British Music (2025) (stylised in all lowercase, shortened to BBM) is the third ^[1] mixtape by the British rapper and producer Jim Legxacy. It was released on 18 July 2025 through XL Recordings. ^{[2] [1] [3]} The follow-up to his mixtape Homeless N*gga Pop Music (2023), it features guest appearances from Dave, Fimiguerrero, and Dexter in the Newsagent. Legxacy primarily handled production himself, alongside Joe Stanley, Cppo, J Moon, and Dre Denim, among others. It was released to critical acclaim.

Background and release

On 27 February 2025, the first single from the mixtape, "Father", was released on streaming services. ^{[4] [5]} This release was followed by the second and final single, "Stick", released on 10 April 2025. ^{[6] [7]} On 8 July 2025, Jim Legxacy announced that Black British Music (2025) would be released on 18 July 2025. ^[8]

Composition

Overview

Black British Music is a experimental rap album, with reviewer Mehan Jayasuriya writing how the album sees Legxacy combine "audio moodboards, stitching together spidery emo guitar lines, Afrobeat drums, recognizable samples, and of-the-moment rhythms like Jersey club." ^[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	90/100 [10]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Clash	9/10 [11]
The Guardian	[1]
NME	[12]
Paste	8/10 [13]
Pitchfork	7.8/10 [9]
Rolling Stone	[14]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic , Black British Music (2025) received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 90 out of 100 from 6 critic scores. ^[10] Pitchfork called the album "some of Legxacy's best production and songwriting yet; he's beginning to sound like the second coming of cut-and-paste icon Jai Paul. Here, Legxacy is at his best when commanding tracks that are propulsive and chaotic: Samples collide headfirst, drums snap with the force of fingers on pads, drops overpower everything in the mix". ^[9] NME called it a "potential future classic". ^[12] Sheldon Pearce of NPR described the album as "a jumbled, marvelous survey of 21st century U.K. rap, identifying connective tissue with Afrobeats, emo, drill and garage." ^[15] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called the album a "homage to the last two decades of Black British music." ^[16] The Economist included the album in their top 10 albums of 2025, describing it as "the most intriguing British hip-hop release of the year." ^[17] According to Rolling Stone , Black British Music was ranked at #38 out of #100, with Jeff Ihaza of the company writing Lgexacy showcases his personal storytelling on the project. On tracks like the boldly titled “I Just Banged a Snus in Canada Water,” he hypes himself up while reflecting on past struggles, capturing deep emotion in simple lines. The mixtape, reminiscent of Illmatic in its intimacy, blends his inner world with his environment. Despite acknowledging hardship—“There's always gonna be mud”—Legxacy's music remains grounded in hope.

Year-end lists

Year‑end lists

Publication	List	Rank	Ref.
Billboard	The 50 Best Albums of 2025	21	[18]
British GQ	20 Best Albums of 2025	—N/a	[19]
Clash	Albums Of The Year 2025	5	[20]
Complex	The 50 Best Albums of 2025	5	[21]
Complex UK	Best Albums Of 2025	1	[22]
Crack	The Top 50 Albums of 2025	4	[23]
Dazed	The Best Albums of 2025	3	[24]
DJ Mag	Top Albums of 2025	—N/a	[25]
Dork	Albums of the Year 2025	37	[26]
The Economist	The Top 10 Albums of 2025	—N/a	[17]
The Fader	The 50 Best Albums of 2025	18	[27]
Gorilla vs. Bear	Albums of 2025	17	[28]
HotNewHipHop	The 40 Best Rap Albums of 2025	11	[29]
The Line of Best Fit	2025 Albums of the Year	4	[30]
Loud and Quiet	Albums of the Year 2025	4	[31]
The New York Times	Best Albums of 2025	2	[32]
NME	The 50 best albums of 2025	14	[20]
Paste	The 50 best albums of 2025	25	[33]
	The 25 best rap albums of 2025	12	[34]
Rolling Stone	The 100 Best Albums of 2025	38	[35]
	The Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2025	4	[36]
Rolling Stone UK	25 Best Albums of 2025	—N/a	[37]
The Quietus	Albums of the Year 2025	41	[38]
Stereogum	The 10 Best Rap Albums Of 2025	5	[39]

Track listing

Credits adapted from Tidal. ^[40]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Context"	Jim Legxacy Joe Stanley Lucien Dunne	Legxacy Lucid	1:59
2.	"Stick"	Legxacy Stanley	Legxacy Stanley	2:19
3.	"New David Bowie"	Legxacy Julian Arnone Justice Ude Jon Bellion Jason Cornet Jason Johnson Stefan Johnson	Legxacy BoyRed Cppo Baby Cashy	2:14
4.	"Sun" (with Fimiguerrero)	Legxacy Fimihan Akinola Stanley Karan Behl Bryan Kabangale Phil Hamilton	Legxacy Stanley Fumez Rahitsbkay Hamilton Lucid Cole YoursTruly	3:04
5.	"'06 Wayne Rooney"	Legxacy Stanley Jay Mooncie	J Moon	2:40
6.	"Issues of Trust"	Legxacy	Legxacy Stanley	2:00
7.	"Father"	Legxacy George Smallwood	Legxacy Baby Cashy YT	1:46
8.	"D.B.A.B"	Legxacy Mooncie	J Moon	2:36
9.	"Big Time Forward"	Legxacy Mooncie Mark Lawumsai	Legxacy J Moon Sai on the Beat	1:45
10.	"SOS"	Legxacy Nathan Osai-Prempeh Stanley Bob Robinson Dill Aitchison Joshua Gaskin-Brown Joe Thomas Joshua Thompson Nolan Ogbebor Tim Kelley	Legxacy Nathan Stanley Kiri Phil Jkarri	2:16
11.	"I Just Banged a Snus in Canada Water"	Legxacy Ude Oluwatimilehim Bakare-Temison	Legxacy Cppo Kare	2:12
12.	"Dexters Phone Call" (with Dexter in the Newsagent)	Charmaine Ayoku Legxacy Andre Denim Adam Fritzler Stanley	Legxacy Dre Denim Fritz! Stanley	2:32
13.	"3x" (with Dave)	Legxacy David Omoregie Stanley Kieran Henney Ude Ogbebor	Legxacy Stanley Henes Hoskins Cppo	2:40
14.	"Tiger Driver '91"	Legxacy Stanley Denim Madison Nadurata	Legxacy Stanley Dre Denim	2:06
15.	"Brief"	Legxacy Barbara Hyouhat Edith Nelson	Legxacy DameDame* Stanley	2:39
Total length:				34:55

Notes

• All track titles are stylised in lowercase.
• "Stick" features additional vocals from Joe Stanley and an interpolation of "Going Through It", written by Joseph Adenuga and Stewart Mullings and performed by Skepta. ^[41]
• "New David Bowie" contains a sample of "Wash", written by Jon Bellion, Jason Cornet, Jason Johnson, Stef Johnson and Pete Nappi and performed by Bellion. ^[42]
• "Sun" features an interpolation of "Did You See", written by Momodou Jallow and Jonathan Mensah and performed by J Hus. ^{[41] [42]}
• "06 Wayne Rooney" features an interpolation of "Hey Ya!", written by André Benjamin and performed by Outkast. ^[42]
• "Father" features a sample of "I Love My Father", written and performed by George Smallwood. ^[4]
• "D.B.A.B" features an interpolation of "Informer", written by Darrin O'Brien, Shawn Moltke, Edmond Leary, Terri Moltke and Jeffrey Silva and performed by Snow. ^{[42] [9]}
• "SOS" features a sample of "Missing You", written by Joe Thomas, Tim Kelley and Bob Robinson, as performed by Case. ^{[42] [43]}
• "3x" features an interpolation of "Wanna Know", written by David Omoregie, Fraser T. Smith and Tyrell Paul and performed by Dave. ^[44]

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. ^[40]

Vocals Jim Legxacy – lead vocals Fimiguerrero – vocals (4) Dexter in the Newsagent – vocals (12) Dave – vocals (13)

Musicians Joe Stanley – synthesizer (1, 2), programming (1, 14), guitar (4) Jim Legxacy – programming (2–4, 6, 11–13, 15), synthesizer (14) BoyRed – programming (3) Cppo – programming (3, 11, 13) Cole YoursTruly – guitar (4) Fumez – programming (4) J Moon – programming (5, 8), guitar (5, 9), synthesizer (8) Baby Cashy – programming (7) YT – programming (7) Sai on the Beat – bass guitar (9) Kiri – guitar (10) Phil – strings (10) Jkarri – synthesizer (10) Kare – programming (11) Dre Denim – programming (12) Fritz! – programming (12) Hoskins – guitar, programming (13) Henes – programming (13) DameDame* (Barbara Hyouhat, Edith Nelson) – piano, programming (15)

Technical Lexxx – mastering engineer (1, 4–6, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15), mixing engineer (1, 4–6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15), recording engineer (8) Beau Thomas – mastering engineer (2) Freeze – mastering engineer (3, 7, 13), mixing engineer (2, 3, 7, 13) Nickie Jon Pabón – mastering engineer, mixing engineer (10) Jim Legxacy – mixing engineer (7), recording engineer (2)

Charts

Chart performance for Black British Music (2025)

Chart (2025)	Peak position
UK Albums (OCC) [45]	29
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [46]	13
UK R&B Albums (OCC) [47]	3

References

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