UK rap

[14][15] Performers saw wider success in the 2020s, including Stormzy headlining Glastonbury Festival, Dave releasing back-to-back UK number one albums with Psychodrama followed by We're All Alone in This Together, and Little Simz winning the Mercury Prize.

[20] Two singles from 1980 precede both of these however, namely Allen & Blewitt's novelty record "Chip Shop Wrapping", released in 1980, a parody of The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight", and Bo Kool's "Money (No Love)".

The instrumental for "Money (No Love)" was produced by Funk Masters member Tony Williams, and would turn out to be an influential release in its own right, going on to inspire DJ's from New York to employ influences from dub music.

[23][24] This was one of several British novelty or comedy hip-hop singles which hit the UK charts during the 1980s, including "Wikka Wrap" by the Evasions, "Snot Rap" by Kenny Everett, "'Ullo John!

"Buffalo Gals" and another track from the album, "World's Famous" which also featured the group, used techniques which have been established in hip hop in the United States, such as sampling and scratching.

Over the next few years, more UK hip hop and electro music was released: Street Sounds Electro UK (Street Sounds, 1984), which was produced by Greg Wilson and featured an early appearance from MC Kermit, who later went on to form the Wilson produced Ruthless Rap Assassins; The Rapologists' "Kids Rap/Party Rap" (Billy Boy, 1984) and Grandmaster Richie Rich's "Don't Be Flash" (Spin Offs, 1985).

Mainstream radio did play British hip hop on occasion, supported by such well-known DJs as Dave Pearce, Tim Westwood, Steve Barker[citation needed] and John Peel.

Building on Derek B's success, Music of Life went on to sign groups such as Hijack, the Demon Boyz, Hardnoise (later Son of Noise) and MC Duke.

London Posse, Black Radical Mk II and DJ Ruf Cut And Tuf C were more influenced by reggae and disco whilst the Wee Papa Girl Rappers, Cookie Crew and Monie Love achieved chart success with more radio-friendly hip hop.

However, despite the chart success of some British-born hip hop artists – for example Monie Love, Slick Rick, Young MC and MF Doom, who all moved to the US – the majority of the scene was still underground and small scale.

Not only was there a firm base of rappers in London such as Blade, Black Radical Mk II, Bushkiller (including Sirus) and Overlord X, who cut a Discomix with Jah Shaka — but many distinct scenes developed nationally.

Birmingham and the West Midlands gave rise to Credit to the Nation, whose MC Fusion would espouse conscious anti-racist, sexist and homophobic lyrics.

— and Kold Sweat came into their own, discovering groups like SL Troopers, Dynametrix, Unanimous Decision and Katch 22, whose "Diary of a Blackman" was banned by Radio 1 for using a sound clip from the National Front.

Their first two releases, the 1990 mini-album Guilty as Charged and a 1991 EP Tales from the Wasteland were bogged down by potential sample clearance problems and thus were only ever made available in small numbers.

Mango Records closed down, and the British public began to turn their affections to Jungle music, a fusion of breakbeat hardcore, dub, dancehall, ragga, hip hop and reggae, profoundly influenced by the rhythmic dynamics of King Tubby's and Scientist discomixes and the spatial reverberations of Jah Shaka and Lloyd Coxsone sound systems, both of whom attracted followers with an almost religious sense of awe and devotion to sound, specifically, to bass tones and frequencies.

Their work was met with critical acclaim and they toured solidly with American artists including Cypress Hill, The Roots and WuTang, but big record sales seemed to be very elusive and they parted ways with Virgin in 1998.

In 1998, Mark B and Blade released "Hitmen for Hire EP", which featured guest appearances from Lewis Parker and Mr Thing (of the Scratch Perverts).

Roots Manuva, Blak Twang, Mud Family, Ti2bs, Task Force, Phi Life Cypher, MSI & Asylum, Jeep Beat Collective and Ty all came to the public's attention, while veteran acts Rodney P, Mike J, and MC Mell'O' returned to the scene.

[50][51][52][53][54] In 2001, Roots Manuva claimed that British hip hop "is more healthy" than American hip-hop, and is more about making the music than is it about exploiting wealth or hitting it rich.

Wiley's Treddin' on Thin Ice was a cornerstone of the genre, and one-time friend Dizzee Rascal won a Mercury Music Prize for his debut Boy in da Corner.

Artists from this new wave included N-Dubz, Tinchy Stryder, Tinie Tempah, and Chipmunk (later known as Chip) who emerged in the late 2000s to great commercial success.

[72] The early 2010s also saw the emergence of an underground UK hip hop scene emulating the earlier wave of 2000s rappers such as Jehst, Task Force, King Kashmere, MysDiggi and Skinnyman.

With complex lyrics and rhyme schemes and '90s New York boom bap influenced production, High Focus Records was instrumental in bringing this sound to a wider audience.

The label was founded in 2010 by London rapper Fliptrix[74] and key members of the larger High Focus crew have included The Four Owls, Dirty Dike, Ocean Wisdom, Jam Baxter and Dabbla.

Artists from the label have managed to build a sizeable following despite remaining underground, having performed to crowds of 25,000+ across Europe,[74] played the famous Reading and Leeds festivals in the UK[75] and seen many tracks reaching multiple millions of views on YouTube.

[81] Key members of the Blah family include Lee Scott, Salar, Black Josh, Milkavelli, Jam Baxter and Cult of The Damned.

[84] Acts that would rise within the hip hop scene within the following years include Dave, Kojey Radical, Slowthai, Little Simz, and Loyle Carner.

Scarlxrd has cited some of his main inspirations and influences as including the likes of Eminem, Bring Me the Horizon, Limp Bizkit, DMX, Slipknot, Travis Scott and Linkin Park, among others.

Instead, acts such as Tinchy Stryder, Tinie Tempah, N-Dubz and Chip were signed to major labels and their traditional sound tweaked to fit a pop sensibility.

Because of the belief that mainstream acts are paid large sums of money by the major labels to make music tailored to the current mass market, these artists often face a backlash and accusations of 'selling out' from the underground community.