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 N*gga 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 released to critical acclaim.

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]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	90/100 [9]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Clash	9/10 [10]
The Guardian	[1]
NME	[11]
Paste	8/10 [12]
Pitchfork	7.8/10 [13]
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. ^[9] 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". ^[13] NME called it a "potential future classic". ^[11] 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]

Track listing

Credits adapted from Tidal. ^[17]

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. ^[18]
• "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. ^[19]
• "Sun" features an interpolation of "Did You See", written by Momodou Jallow and Jonathan Mensah and performed by J Hus. ^{[18] [19]}
• "06 Wayne Rooney" features an interpolation of "Hey Ya!", written by André Benjamin and performed by Outkast. ^[19]
• "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. ^{[19] [13]}
• "SOS" features a sample of "Missing You", written by Joe Thomas, Tim Kelley and Bob Robinson, as performed by Case. ^{[19] [20]}
• "3x" features an interpolation of "Wanna Know", written by David Omoregie, Fraser T. Smith and Tyrell Paul and performed by Dave. ^[21]

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. ^[17]

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) [22]	29
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [23]	13
UK R&B Albums (OCC) [24]	3

References

1. Petridis, Alexis (17 July 2025). "Jim Legxacy: Black British Music review – London iconoclast catalyses chaos into a major mixtape". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 23 July 2025.
2. Hussain, Shahzaib (18 July 2025). "Jim Legxacy Unveils New Mixtape 'black british music (2025)' | News". Clash . Retrieved 23 July 2025.
3. DW (18 July 2025). "Jim Legxacy unleashes new mixtape 'black british music (2025)'". Dance Wax. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
4. Breihan, Tom (27 February 2025). "Jim Legxacy Shares New Single "father": Listen". Stereogum . Retrieved 23 July 2025.
5. Strauss, Matthew (27 February 2025). "Watch Jim Legxacy's Video for New Song "Father"". Pitchfork . Retrieved 23 July 2025.
6. Strauss, Matthew (10 April 2025). "Jim Legxacy Shares Video for New Song "Stick"". Pitchfork . Retrieved 23 July 2025.
7. Simpson, Joe (11 April 2025). "Jim Legxacy Unveils New Single, 'Stick'". Mixtape Madness. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
8. Murray, Robin (8 July 2025). "Jim Legxacy Announces New Mixtape 'black british music (2025)' | News". Clash . Retrieved 25 July 2025.
9. "black british music (2025) [Mixtape] by Jim Legxacy". Metacritic . Retrieved 24 July 2025.
10. Interviews, Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & (20 July 2025). "Jim Legxacy - black british music (2025) | Reviews". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
11. Smith, Niall (18 July 2025). "Jim Legxacy – 'Black British Music (2025)' review: triumph lives next to trauma on this unmissable mixtape". NME . Retrieved 23 July 2025.
12. "Jim Legxacy's black british music (2025) Is a Highlight Reel of Its Maker's Wide-Ranging Tastes and Talents". Paste Magazine . Retrieved 5 August 2025.
13. Jayasuriya, Mehan. "Jim Legxacy: black british music (2025)". Pitchfork. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
14. Ihaza, Jeff (23 July 2025). "Jim Legxacy Delivers a Brilliant Snapshot of Black British Culture". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 23 July 2025.
15. Pearce, Sheldon (28 July 2025). "British hip-hop eyes a global tipping point". NPR . Retrieved 4 August 2025.
16. Caramanica, Jon (23 July 2025). "Jim Legxacy Makes Music That Sounds Like Memory" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on 26 July 2025. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
17. Jim Legxacy - black british music (2025) / Credits, 18 July 2025, retrieved 17 August 2025
18. Pace-McCarrick, Solomon (18 July 2025). "Black British Music: How Jim Legxacy remixed UK rap, grime and drill". Dazed. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
19. Ihaza, Jeff (23 July 2025). "Jim Legxacy Delivers a Brilliant Snapshot of Black British Culture". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
20. Pearce, Sheldon (28 July 2025). "British hip-hop eyes a global tipping point". NPR. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
21. Simpson, Joe (18 July 2025). "Album Review: Jim Legxacy Raises The Bar On Black British Music". Mixtape Madness. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
22. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
23. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
24. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 July 2025.