For example, I released a track on Link Up TV in 2014 and most of the comments were from people saying: “I like it, but what’s this accent? It comes down to who’s the most hungry? When I found music, the same thing happened. Instead you need to be in the studio making tracks. Among them were Stormzy, Skepta, and The Rap Game’s own Krept and Konan.Fast-forward to 2019, the UK rap scene is spreading far and wide with cities like Manchester and Birmingham challenging London for its crown.
I learnt a lot of languages like Swahili, Somalian and Arabic. Pioneered by the likes of Dizzee Rascal, Wiley, Kano, and Lethal Bizzle, it saw MCs spitting razor sharp bars over beats at a tempo of 140 beats-per-minute (bpm). There’s a lot of variation between cities too. So like other kids growing up in Aberdeen, when I first stepped up to the mic I was tempted to mimic that. In BBC Three's The Rap Game UK, seven unsigned MCs battle for a record dealAcross the country, sub-genres have gathered pace from Afro-swing and conscious rap – which draws on themes of social change – to road rap, which focuses on the realities of life in some of the capital’s toughest areas.Krept (left), Konan (right) and DJ Target (middle) are in search of undiscovered talent in BBC Three's The Rap Game UKBut while it might feel like grime, and the wider scene, is enjoying a golden era – marked by The first British MCs emerged during the boom of soundsystem culture. Some people don’t feel comfortable telling people their feelings – or they see it as a sign of weakness. Later, Akala began blazing a trail for politically-motivated rap, with powerful lyrics challenging the status quo. I’m both of those things. We caught up with the seven artists battling it out for the chance to be the next big thing in UK rap.Birmingham's Wassifa Sound System established a nationwide reputation in the 1980sBirmingham's Wassifa Sound System established a nationwide reputation in the 1980sBionic (left) and Rodney P, two members of the influential UK rap group London PosseBionic (left) and Rodney P, two members of the influential UK rap group London PosseKrept (left), Konan (right) and DJ Target (middle) are in search of undiscovered talent in BBC Three's The Rap Game UKKrept (left), Konan (right) and DJ Target (middle) are in search of undiscovered talent in BBC Three's The Rap Game UKIn Manchester, we don’t try and use different accents to portray something else in our music. I poured my soul out over everything from heartbreak to school troubles. Blending the speed of UK jungle and the garage of their predecessors with emotionally raw and complex lyrics, grime became a testament to the ferocious talent of British youth. A lot has happened in my personal life. In the scene now, you have other female rappers coming up. He’s had one of the quickest come-ups to date. You’ve got Link Up TV (a popular YouTube rap channel) veterans like Kodee, Squeeks and Benny Banks, three of the rappers who are all from Islington. But I put my mind to picking the right path and, for me, that was music. I sing, I’ve proved I can spit bars. But once I got up on stage, it wasn’t half as bad as I’d built it up to be. Looking at other people coming up against struggles like knife crime and police brutality, I started doing research and was inspired to write lyrics.I’ve probably been making music for 10 years or so but I only started putting out stuff about six months ago. Before I did music, I was into boxing. So I thought, why wouldn’t I rap about all these places and put that culture into my music?It’s a powerful way to get my story across. You have to be OK with making sacrifices like missing out on drinking and partying. My producer and I have been making music together since the beginning, so with him behind me I know my beats will be on-point – and with the people that follow me and support me, I have no reason not to be confident.Character wise, people in Scotland are very straight to the point and that comes across in our music and delivery. So because of that I started looking at things that were going on around the world. But when you rap about things, you get it off your chest. You have rappers who aren’t scared to bring politics into their music like Stormzy. I was born in St Lucia and have lived in the UK for 10 years – half the time in London and half the time in Essex. It comes down to who’s the most hungry? I lived in places that didn’t have a lot of hip-hop at the time - like Kenya, Egypt and Yemen - but regardless I’d still find time to listen to my music. I picked it up and I was shocked man! “Rap” means “rhythm and poetry” - and I had poetry, so I started singing as well and working on my rapping.You can’t put J Lucia in a category!