Ankst was a Welsh independent record label formed in 1988 at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth by Alun Llwyd, Gruffudd Jones and Emyr Glyn Williams. After a handful of low key cassette releases, the label relocated to Cardiff and became a more serious concern, providing a launch-pad for several popular Welsh artists, including Llwybr Llaethog, Super Furry Animals and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. The Rough Guide to Wales described Ankst as "one of the most prolific, eclectic and innovative" of the 1990s Welsh music labels.
The Music of Wales, particularly singing, is a significant part of Welsh national identity, and the country is traditionally referred to as "the land of song".
Dafydd Iwan Jones is a Welsh singer and nationalist politician who rose to fame writing and performing folk music in the Welsh language. From 2003 to 2010, Iwan was the president of Plaid Cymru, a political party which advocates for Welsh independence from the UK.
Goldie Lookin Chain are a Welsh comedy hip hop group from Newport, south-east Wales. The group produces humorous, and often explicit songs that satirise hip hop, today's consumer society, the "chav" culture and life in Newport and South Wales in general.
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.
Llwybr Llaethog are an experimental Welsh language band that effectively mix such varied musical genres as rap, dub, reggae, hip hop, and punk in their music.
Andrew Major, known professionally as Maggot, is a Welsh rapper.
Steffan Cravos is a Welsh rap and hip hop musician and artist.
"Guns Don't Kill People, Rappers Do" is a song by the Welsh hip hop group Goldie Lookin Chain from their Greatest Hits album. In August 2004, the song peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart. With the tagline "The gun is the tool, the mind is the weapon", in this track the band satirised the perceived link between American hip hop and gun violence, referencing several rap murders.
The music of Cardiff has been dominated mainly by rock music since the early 1990s with later trends developing towards more extreme styles of the genre such as heavy metal and metalcore music. It, along with the nearby music scene in Newport, has brought a number of musicians to perform or begin their careers in South Wales.
Asbo4Life is the fourth studio album by Welsh hip-hop/rap group Goldie Lookin Chain. It is noted for a change of style musically and is the only GLC album not to contain any samples. It is said to be Eggsy's least favourite GLC album and was recorded in a house in Newport which was turned into a recording studio. Mike Balls almost died during the recording of the album.
"Yma o Hyd" is a Welsh language folk song by Dafydd Iwan. The song was released during Iwan and Ar Log's "Taith Macsen" tour in 1983. Since then it has continued to gain popularity at cultural and sporting events.
Astroid Boys are a Welsh rap rock band from Cardiff, whose music has been called a mix of hardcore punk and grime music.
The Newport music scene, in and around Wales' third city, has been well documented and acclaimed for cultivating bands, singers, and famous music venues. Newport has been traditionally a rock city since the 1970s, but it has evolved over the years to include forms of punk, 1990s alt-rock, and more recently metal and hip-hop.
Horizons is an arts scheme and music festival launched jointly in 2014 by BBC Cymru Wales and the Arts Council of Wales to develop new independent contemporary music artists. It is curated by BBC presenter Bethan Elfyn.
Welsh folk music refers to music that is traditionally sung or played in Wales, by Welsh people or originating from Wales.
Eretoda Ogunbanwo, known professionally as Sage Todz, is a Welsh rapper producing both Welsh and English language music.
Welsh pop and rock music is popular music of Wales produced commercially in Wales.
Mared Williams, known professionally as Mared, is a Welsh singer-songwriter from Llannefydd, north Wales. She won the 2021 Welsh Language Album Award and has won two Y Selar Awards.
