Music
10 lyrically brilliant UK hip-hop tracks that still resonate today
From London Posse to Giggs… the very best in British beats, rhymes and life.
British hip-hop covers such a broad spectrum that it's sometimes tough to find common ground beyond the simple accident of geography – a bunch of people born on the same island who happened to find rap.
Sometimes, though, that's enough. Back in the day, before hip-hop became so deeply embedded in popular culture, the mere thought of a British person rapping was often seen as a comedy act. You can see why a lot of serious and talented British rappers were accused of acting like they had an inferiority complex – trying way too hard or simply not being quite as untouchably cool as the people they were ripping off.
But if modern hip-hop feels more diverse, open to different voices and cultures, that's in part thanks to the sterling efforts of British pioneers who took up US sounds and fused them with their own peculiarly UK swagger and twang. The 10 tracks selected below date from the late '80s to the modern day, but all sound at least as good as they did they day they were made – if not better. Click play on the Spotify playlist, or read on and check out each track on YouTube.
1. London Posse – Money Mad (1988)
London Posse are widely acclaimed for releasing the UK's first bonafide classic rap album with 1990's Gangster Chronicle but those looking for the most potent concentrated dose of their untamed ragamuffin hiphop fire need look no further than the original 1988 version of Money Mad. The brittle early dancehall ambience and references to old school technology (such as Bionic's claim “I got a video from Currys in the riots”) sound quaint to modern ears until it sinks in how sad it is that the concept and most of their specific complaints remain as urgent as ever.
2. Silver Bullet – Twenty Seconds To Comply (1990)
Any UK hip-hop countdown has to start with London Posse because they were the way forward – but in many ways this London-born MC was more representative of early British hip-hop, or at least its biggest contingent back then, a self-styled hardcore most usually known as Britcore. Others from the era such as Hijack, Hardnoise and Blade made better albums and tend to get more respect. But there's a naive enthusiasm to Silver Bullet's frenetic fight back against police brutality and, yes, that imposing but ever-so-slightly cheesy Robocop sample, that sounds even more badass today than when it hit No 11 in 1990.
3. Tricky – Hell Is Round The Corner (1995)
Received wisdom may be that UK hip-hop wasn't up to much in the 90s, but the truth is much of it was so futuristic to most people it didn't even register as hip-hop any more. Despite an EP length collaboration with the RZA's US rap supergroup Gravediggaz, Tricky struggled to escape the corny "trip-hop" label he inherited from his early association with fellow Bristolians Massive Attack. Twenty years on it's hard to look at the androgynous, made-up Tricky in the video Hell Is Round The Corner without thinking of Young Thug and wondering why it took the US so long to catch up.
4. Skitz ft Wildflower, Estelle, Tempa – Domestic Science (2001)
Skitz's epochal Countryman album is perhaps the best introduction to the utopian idealism that powered UK hip-hop through the turn of the century. From the false dawn of Blak Twang's win at the inaugural MOBO Awards in 1997, through Roots Manuva's early work and artists such as Task Force, Braintax, Skinnyman and Phi-Life Cypher there was a steady stream of mostly independent artists and labels not only making great music but consciously building for the future with a most cerebral party music. Listening to Domestic Science now, the surprise isn't that Estelle went on to achieve stardom, it's that Wildflower and Tempa haven't yet gotten to the same level. Key Tempa lyric: “We're trying to survive, we're queens and we're dapper/Whether it's rapping or working on the checkouts at Asda”.
5. Roots Manuva – Witness (1 Hope) (2001)
Witness is the one moment almost everyone with a passing interest in UK hip-hop acknowledges is flawless, from the juggernaut of a riddim to the cryptic imagery of the lyrics to sheer exuberant majesty of it all, comic video and all. Witness was voted the greatest UK hip-hop record of all time by readers of Hip-Hop Connection magazine, cementing the London MC's place in the UK rap firmament. "Before that Roots Manuva was for college and university kids… you go in the inner city, on Battersea and the housing estates, they don’t know about him," said Rodney P of London Posse. "But that’s a big tune.” It still is.
6. Foreign Beggars ft Skinnyman – Hold On (2003)
At a time when UK hip-hop occasionally seemed at risk of becoming a little too introspective for its own good, Foreign Beggars effortlessly managed to bridge the divide between head music and neck-breaking, Neanderthal-friendly party music. Not only that but the hook sums up in 16 menacing words the “council estate of mind” that Skinnyman would spin a smash hit album out of barely a year later. “Hold on tight to what you own” it goes, “cos it's people like me what's outside your door”.
7. P Brothers ft Scorzayzee – Great Britain (2004)
Whether or not you agree with the sometimes controversial political and philosophical viewpoints expressed by Scorzayzeeon Great Britain there's no denying the gut-busting force of his delivery. His fire is scattershot for the same reason he hits his target with such uncanny grace over and over, a rare stream of consciousness where there's more gems than dirt. He's not a deep political thinker, just a quick witted average lad who's been pushed to his limits, stressing out over the insanity of everyday life.
8. Mitchell Brothers ft Sway – Harvey Nicks (2006)
The Mitchell Brothers' debut album A Breath Of Fresh Attire was an underrated masterpiece in an era awash with them, from Joe Buhdha and Klashnekoff's Lionheart: Tussle With The Beast to Pyrelli Tha Instigator's Tha Organ G. Where the Mitchell's scored above all else was in securing the patronage of The Streets' Mike Skinner. Both Harvey Nicks and its twin Routine Check tackle the everyday brutality of prejudice with a rare wit, that their brilliance wasn't rewarded with commercial success is a massive shame. That they still sound amazing today is some consolation.
9. Giggs – Talking The Hardest (2008)
Giggs smashed boundaries at a time when UK hip-hop had drifted far from its origins as the voice of young Black Britain, providing a laidback gangster counterpoint to the relentless assault of a more adrenalised grimewave. His impact was massive and endures today everywhere from Krept & Konan to Stormzy and Section Boyz. Talking The Hardest is still a powerful showcase for the charms of a man who could boast “I treat my little niggas like fam, not a boss.”
10. Lunar C – Free Weed For Single Mothers (2013)
From a lull at the end of the noughties UK hip-hop has recovered with a newfound confidence over the last five years with labels such as High Focus, Eatgood and Boot building the framework of a thriving independent scene, alongside events such as the Boom Bap Festival and too many Bandcamp entrepreneurs to count in one lifetime. Another key development has been the growth of battle rap, through events like Don't Flop. Its energy hasn't always translated well into actual finished musical product, but Lunar C is the brilliant exception. His mixtapes are funny and addictive enough to loop indefinitely when you're pissed at the world but Free Weed For Single Mothers goes one better – an unlikely but nonetheless inspiring social justice anthem.
Honorable mentions
Derek B – Bad Young Brother (1988); Hardnoise – Untitled (1990); Blade – Mind Of An Ordinary Citizen (1990); Rebel MC – Street Tuff (1990); Hijack – Hijack The Terrorist Group (1991); Demon Boyz – Glimity Glamity (1992); Blak Twang ft Roots Manuva – Queens Head (1996); Task Force – The Junkyard (1999); Jehst – Adventures In New Bohemia (2003); Klashnekoff – It's Murda (2003); Skinnyman – I'll Be Surprised (2004); Sway ft Pyrelli – Up Your Speed (2005); Professor Green – Stereotypical Man (2006); Stig Of The Dump – Braindead (2007); LATE – I'm A Saint, I'm A Sinner (2008); Rizzle Kicks – Down With The Trumpets (2011); Plan B – Ill Manors (2012); Krept & Konan – Don't Waste My Time (2015); Lady Leshurr – Queens Speech 4 (2015); Section Boyz – Don't Panic (2015)