UK rap, also known as British hip hop or UK hip hop, is a music genre and culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. 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 in order 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.
Richard Kylea Cowie Jr., better known by his stage name Wiley, is a British grime MC, songwriter, DJ and record producer from Bow, London. He is regarded as a pioneer in the British underground music scene, known for his prolific work rate and versatility, with many crossover hits.
Kane Brett Robinson, better known as Kano, is a British rapper, songwriter and actor from East Ham, London. His fifth album, Made in the Manor was shortlisted for the 2016 Mercury Prize and won Best Album at the 2016 MOBO Awards. On screen, he played the role of Sully in Top Boy.
Justin Jude Clarke-Samuels, better known by his stage name Ghetts, is a British grime MC, rapper, songwriter and actor. His music has been played on national radio stations such as BBC Radio 1, Kiss 100, BBC Asian Network, and BBC Radio 1Xtra. Currently, Ghetts is signed to independent record label Disrupt, and released his debut studio album, Rebel with a Cause, on 9 March 2014. Known for his hard hitting lyrics and intricate rhyme schemes, he is associated and has toured internationally with such acts as Kano and was a member of NASTY Crew.
Nathaniel Thompson, better known professionally as Giggs, is a British rapper and songwriter from Peckham, London. He released his debut studio album Walk in da Park in 2008 and released a follow-up album Let Em Ave It the following year.
Jahmaal Noel Fyffe, better known by his stage name Chip, is an English rapper from Tottenham, London. In the past 14 years he has collaborated with the likes of Skepta, T.I., Meek Mill, Young Adz and many others. In 2009, he released his debut album, I Am Chipmunk, featuring four songs which peaked in the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart, including the chart-topping "Oopsy Daisy". In 2011, Chipmunk released his follow-up album, the American hip hop-influenced Transition. It included the single "Champion" featuring Chris Brown, which peaked at #2 on the UK Singles Chart.
Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr., known professionally as Skepta, is a British grime MC, rapper, record producer and DJ. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined Roll Deep before they became founding members of Boy Better Know in 2005. With Boy Better Know, Skepta clashed with fellow MC Devilman for the video release Lord of the Mics 2, in what is remembered as one of the biggest clashes in grime history.
Jamie Adenuga, known professionally as Jme, is a British grime MC, songwriter, record producer and DJ who was born in Hackney, and raised in Tottenham. He is the co-founder of the crew and label Boy Better Know. He also serves as a sole owner and director of an associated company, Boy Better Know Limited, which he incorporated in 2008. He was previously part of the grime collective Meridian Crew and later Roll Deep alongside his older brother, Skepta.
Joseph Ellis-Stephenson, better known by his stage name Dot Rotten or Zeph Ellis, is a British grime MC, rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer from Lambeth, South London.
Sirach Charles, better known by his stage name Angel, is an English (British) singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer from West London, England. His single "Go In, Go Hard", featuring vocals from English rapper Wretch 32, was released on 18 March 2012. The song reached number 41 on the UK Singles Chart. The following single, "Wonderful", performed better commercially, peaking at number nine on the UK Singles Chart and topping the UK R&B Chart.
Krept and Konan is a British hip hop duo from London, consisting of Casyo Valentine "Krept" Johnson BEM and Karl Dominic "Konan" Wilson BEM, the son of Delroy Wilson otherwise known as 'Jamaica's first child star'. Their first major release was the mixtape Young Kingz, released on 2 September 2013. As of 3 May 2013, Krept and Konan signed a record deal with Virgin EMI Records.
Natalie Athanasiou, known professionally as NoLay, Isabella, and Bella Gotti, is an English rapper of Greek-Cypriot and Caribbean background.
Aaron Daniel Davies, known professionally as Bugzy Malone, is a British rapper and actor from Manchester, England. Malone has been described as one of the key artists instigating a "grime revival" moving the UK urban scene away from more commercially-oriented music, and the first artist in the grime genre from Manchester to commercially succeed in the UK.
Aisa Khan Sampson-Spencer, known professionally as Merky ACE, is a British grime MC, rapper, songwriter and record producer from Lewisham, South London. He was a founding member of the grime collective Family Tree, and later Tizzy Gang, with whom he is still a part of. He also produces beats under the pseudonym Splurt Diablo. His debut album, Blue Battlefield, was released on 3 April 2011.
Ché Wolton Grant, known professionally as AJ Tracey, is an independent British rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is from Ladbroke Grove, West London. Tracey rose to popularity in 2016 and was listed by The Guardian in a list of "best new acts to catch at festivals in 2016".
Charles Oluwafunsho Nnaji, better known by his stage name Greatness Jones is a British record producer, composer and songwriter of Nigerian descent. He has worked with British hip-hop artists such as Giggs, Avelino, Scorcher and more.
League of My Own II is the third studio album by British rapper Chip. It was released on 11 August 2017 by Cash Motto Limited. The album is the sequel to Chip's breakthrough mixtape League of My Own (2007) and marks its 10-year anniversary. It is Chip's first album in six years since Transition (2011) and parting ways with Sony Music. League of My Own II includes guest appearances from Giggs, Ghetts, Jme, Wiley, Donae'o, D Double E and Loick Essien, among others, as well as production from Dready, Swifta Beater and The Fanatix.
Wamp 2 Dem is a commercial mixtape by English rapper Giggs. It was released on 6 October 2017 by No BS Music, while the mixtape was distributed by Island Records. It succeeds Giggs' fourth album Landlord (2016), released a year and two months prior, and is Giggs' first release with a major label. The mixtape includes guest appearances from American rappers 2 Chainz, Young Thug and Lil Duke, alongside Dave, Footsie, D Double E, Popcaan and Donae'o. Production was handled by Cool & Dre, London on da Track, Zaytoven, The Fanatix, Bricks Da Mane and Chris Childs, among others.
British rapper Giggs has released six studio albums, eighteen mixtapes, nine solo singles and twenty-seven music videos. A majority of his releases have been independently released through SN1 Records, alongside several releases through XL Recordings and Takeover Entertainment.
UK drill is a subgenre of drill music and road rap that originated in the South London district of Brixton from 2012 onwards. While being sonically distinct from Chicago drill music, it embraces its aesthetic and melds it with road rap, a British style of gangsta rap that became popular in the years prior to the existence of drill. UK drill lyrical content tends to be truculent, depicting the harsh realism of their lifestyles. The explicit lyricism has stimulated discussion about whether the subgenre is a factor in an increase in knife crime in London. Gang affiliation and socioeconomically-deprived backgrounds are common amongst UK drill artists.
