British Hip Hop

When it comes to music there is no powerhouse country like England, they have given us such great acts like the Beatles, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, and Pink Floyd; it has even been argued they they are responsible for the birth of punk. However there has been one music where they have fallen short. Hip Hop. Now England has been known for producing great bands that have taken the soul sound and brought it to new levels of recognition. I recently came across a video that documents the emerging British hip hop scene (mostly if not all from London) and I noticed that the same thing was happening; they were taking something that Americans had started and copying it. Up until the last part of the movie I noticed there was a cookie cutter American flavor to their hip hop scene, everything was the same as in New York even the accents while rapping. I was begging to lose hope and respect until the 24 minute mark in the film where a rapper by the name of Bionic from the London Posse starts to explain his style. He says " I use my cockney accent I don't rap in an American accent, that's whats keeping English people back." I started to think about how English rap has progressed since and if it even has at all. Of course most people by now know of Dizzy Rascal, the English born sensation that has adapted the jungle and drum and bass sounds of English electro and used it to excel in what is known today as grime. Another scene that has been emerging out of the north of England is a music called Donk which seems distinctly English with very little hip hop influence. I myself am a hip hop purist, and being from the east coast ........ of America, I like a certain degree of lyrical content. You won't find that in donk music but the energy cannot be denied. But that's just my opinion you make up your own.

London Posse - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8RknnkmEpE

Donk Music - http://www.vbs.tv/watch/music-world/donk

Dizzy Rascal - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZGvnI37mxk



music now - mos def - pistola