UK V US

[token jesture]

I know your all gunna gun down the UK pretty quickly but have any of u actually listened to UK artists especially from the grime scene, if so please give ur views


now personally i honestly think were ahead of u now, the US jus aren't delivering it on the same level as u used to, and the UK are taking the scene to a new level

discuss

[- Mutual -]

well there are some good uk artists getting signed right now but the US have alot better lyrics compaired an thats wat matters

[token jesture]

i disagree, dont get me wrong ppl like apathy, jedi mind tricks, immortal technique have always been on a different level as far as hip hop is concerned, however i get the feeling the US have only really been offered artists from the UK such as dizzee rascal. Now although dizzee is one of the more respected artsts over here lyrically he is massively below par.

have u guys heard of the following
Kano (this guy is the future)
Devlin (one of the best white artists going)
Foreign Beggars
Asylum Speakers
Giggs (Recently won the BET award
Skepta (fantastic producer and mc)
Jehst
and there are many more such as klashnekoff, skinny man etc

if u havent heard all of these its very hard to base a realistic opinion, especially as what has been released recently in the UK such as N Dubz and Tinchy is shite.


if u havent heard any of this and i really do recommend u listen to it, essentially as its something different and still of top TOP quality, please let me know i will sort u out

-- Fri Nov 06, 2009 6:06 am --

i disagree, dont get me wrong ppl like apathy, jedi mind tricks, immortal technique have always been on a different level as far as hip hop is concerned, however i get the feeling the US have only really been offered artists from the UK such as dizzee rascal. Now although dizzee is one of the more respected artsts over here lyrically he is massively below par.

have u guys heard of the following
Kano (this guy is the future)
Devlin (one of the best white artists going)
Foreign Beggars
Asylum Speakers
Giggs (Recently won the BET award
Skepta (fantastic producer and mc)
Jehst
and there are many more such as klashnekoff, skinny man etc

if u havent heard all of these its very hard to base a realistic opinion, especially as what has been released recently in the UK such as N Dubz and Tinchy is shite.


if u havent heard any of this and i really do recommend u listen to it, essentially as its something different and still of top TOP quality, please let me know i will sort u out

[The Gonz]

I'll have to check some of them cats out that you listed. Typically, I don't care for UK emcees because I don't get some of their slang lol. But I've been looking to expand my musical horizons, so I'll scope em out.

As for the UK vs US thing, I still say US is on top. I too thought we were in a bit of a drought, a lot of the dope cats I listen to haven't dropped shit in quite a while. But, there's good news (for me, anyways lol). Apathy just dropped a dope ass album. Rakim drops an album this month, FELT (Slug of Atmosphere and MURS, produced by Aesop Rock) is dropping this month, Swollen Members, People Under The Stairs, Cunninlynguists, KRS-One & Buckshot all just dropped albums. Brother Ali, Slaughterhouse and Royce's album are still pretty fresh. RA The Rugged Man just dropped an album. There's a ton of new material being released this month. November is usually a great month for music (along with pretty much any other retail item) since people start Christmas shopping around this time.

Generally speaking, US will always top UK in the hip-hop game mainly because we have a larger population, therefore more emcees.

[token jesture]

I look forward to alot of that and I agree you have got an advantage to your population, alot of uk artits are also quite narrow minded
essentially the styles are quite different I guess I'd like to see the uk scene develop in America coz it's raw and fresh alot like nas when he blew.
If u can't get any of the artists PM me n I'll hook u up cause u will enjoy

[Cee4]

It’s hard to say the UK is top of the US when it comes to rap. Rap/Hip-hop is American so its always gonna be dominated by Americans. The American market is already over saturated so theres no way any UK scene is gonna make an impact. There may be room for an individual but the “UK scene” is never gonna take over the American market. Saying that, if British pop/dance rappers like Dizee Rascal and Tinchy Stryder can sell over 100,000 records in the UK alone then it says alot about the demand for urban music here.. Also the UK scene is so diverse with so many different styles and different genre influences i wouldnt even know how to define “UK rap”. U have grime, American influences, electro influenced...etc America waill always be on top based on population alone but the UK is definitly more creative in almost all aspects/genres of music and entertainment in general.

Personally i would say Akala is hands down the best we have to offer. I also like Klashnekoff but am not really checking for UK based hip hop. I prefer techno, dnb, house and 90`s American rap.

[token jesture]

I don't dispute he is one of our best artists and iv let my argument down by overlooking him however his inconsistency and (I will fight this point) his flow is not on par to any of the artists iv mentioned and u cant dispute that. I will say tho he is massively intelligent and uses this in his lyrics after all he is one of the best young uk mathematicians. I will also say that as I have both his albums he talks alot about politics and societal problems without any detail and doesn't stay on topic bar a few tracks.

Where as skinnyman, klash well the whole of terra firma, Kano etc are fresher rawer and have a far better flow


Back to the initial discussion, I can see how it would be difficult for the uk to break the scene but if enough artists can be recognised in the us then our scene can develop massively as the u.s will take it seriously.

Cee4 it's all about dnb let's face it, everyone should enjoy it, funky house and dubstep also

-- Fri Nov 06, 2009 6:49 pm --

I would also like to add if you ask the majority of uk urban scene followers will not reccomend akala especially the more underground scene. Also akala has no real major production as he jus uses alot of instrumentals. And as I stated his flow isn't great and he doesn't show any depth as in he mentions the topics but to no great effect I.e depth

[- Mutual -]

i'm from the UK an i dont get some of da shit they come out with so ya know also their accents annoy me lol so i can never get into it

[token jesture]

No matter where ur from ther artists from there, Manchester- virus syndicate(are Ill) for example. Also can I ask where are you from because the accents reflect the streets and areas they are from

-- Fri Nov 06, 2009 10:36 pm --

U.S heads, download devlin-shot gritty, weapons our mout and spare thoughts, album the art of rolling. kano-layer cake-kano mixtape, giggs-saw-walk in da park this a perfect example on wot ur missin and wot london delivers

and for a preview of the grime scene check out devlins track soundbwoy murder featuring dirrty goodz
and kano vs wiley is an example of our pirate radio
giggs is my hip hop example

i promise you will enjoy all these tracks if u dont, feel free to merk me on my music taste

[- Mutual -]

i'm in north wales right now but i have been in england all over the place most of my life

[token jesture]

mate i will endlessly list albums that i would rather listen to than every track of akalas, and im saying he is good, the point is he is not the reflection of the uk urban scene. i will say again his "artistic poetry" lacks depth, and he has not got a flow worth shouting about either

[- Mutual -]

dunno i like akala loli was tryna remember hisname so i could put it in mylast post

[Viral]

i cant really say...but i will say that US has way more Emcees compared to UK as in....quantity....with quality...id say US also..but then again for americans listenin to a UK emcee isnt liked id say cuz people cant understand the accents n i think ruckus mentioned the slang thats used....ive heard some UK emcess and i liked em...it took me awhile to understand somethings they were saying due to their accent...which is kinda like accent in US Emcees sometimes their so hood and/or just retarded that some shit islike....wat? lol...ima have to look up alot of them dudes listed above n i could give u more of an answer...but i will say that no matter wat US has the better lyrics such ass punchlines, wordplay, multies, not sayin UK dont got it but shit is a mastered craft that i know americans prolly take mad pride in...lol atleast the hip hop heads and emcees...lol...and its more relatable to us cuz life is obviously different in the UK yeah same instances but not so much comparable...lol i dunno im just rantin cuzim high as fuckkkkk and on some other shit...haha so ill cut this right here /

[Çhåiñ$âw]

I haven't peeped very many UK artists at all. I'll take a look at the cats you listed, because like Ruckus said, I'm always interested in hearing new talent, so anything is worth a look in my book. The only thing I can really say about UK rappers is the Scribble Jam battler named Justice is pretty fuckin dope. His accent is deep and makes some of his lines a bit hard to understand, but his punches are nice as fuck.

-$aw

[The Gonz]

Alright, I got a chance to check out Akala. He seems alright, but still having a hard time getting used to the accent. I think thats the major reason why UK artists will have a hard time selling in the US. It just sounds... I dunno, funny I guess. It doesn't have that raw swagger that I'm used to. I'm not saying UK artists suck, it'll just be a while before I'm accustomed to the accent and can start appreciating the music more.