1. UK RAP
HISTORICAL GENRE RESEARCH/TIMELINE
Dean Hugh - Johnson

2. THE BEGINNING OF UK RAP
British hip hop is a genre of music, and a culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop
music made in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland (The United Kingdom ). It is
generally classified as one of a number of styles of urban music. British hip hop was
originally influenced by the dub/toasting introduced to the United Kingdom by Jamaican
immigrants in the 1960s–70s, who eventually developed uniquely influenced rapping (or
speed-toasting) in order to match the rhythm of the ever-increasing pace and aggression
of Jamaican-influenced dub in the UK and to describe street/gang violence, similar to that
in the US. UK rap, or speed-toasting, has also been heavily influenced by US hip-hop.
British hip hop, particularly that originating from London, was commercially superseded
by grime, however, after a post-millennium boom period, the genre remains a hotbed of
talent.

3. ORIGINS OF BRITISH HIP HOP
Following an initial flurry of interest from major record labels in the 1980s, by the early 1990s the
scene had moved underground after record companies pulled back. In the mid-1990s hip hop in the
UK started to experiment and diversify - often mutating into different genres entirely, such as trip hop
and began making inroads into the US market.[citation needed] Knowledge, was England's first
documented rapper (Black Echoes Magazine January 1980). While many rappers such as Derek B
could not help but begin by imitating the styles and accents of their U.S. heroes, there were many
who realised that to merely transpose U.S. forms would rob U.K. hip-hop of the ability to speak for a
disenfranchised British constituency in the way that U.S. hip-hop so successfully spoke to, and for, its
audience. Attempts were made by U.K. rappers to develop styles more obviously rooted in British
linguistic practices - Rodney P of the London Posse deliberately chose a London accent - although
many succeeded only in adopting a slurred hybrid that located the rap "somewhere in the middle of
the Atlantic Ocean."

4. EARLY YEARS: 1980’S
The first ever British hip hop tune released on record was actually "Christmas
Rapping" by Dizzy Heights and released on Polydor in 1982. During these times UK
British artists were rapping live or recording amateur tapes.
There were earlier pop records which dabbled with rap - such as Adam and the Ants'
"Ant Rap" from the 1981 album Prince Charming and Wham's "Wham Rap (Enjoy
What You Do)" (Inner Vision, 1982) - but these are often considered pop
appropriations of US rap.
RAPPERS OF UK HIP-HOP 1980’S
Kinetic Effect hit the scene in the early 1980s and was part of the rap outfit 2 the
Top as D-Koy. In 1981, he teamed with Insane Macbeth to record "Borderin'
Insanity," which was released in 1993, and had a limit 500 green vinyl availability. In
1995, Kinetic Effect recorded 'Man Bites Dog'/'The Effect of Fear‘ Their song "The
Rhythm I Give ‘Em," made the UK Top 10 Hip Hop chart. Other notable rappers of
this era include London Rhyme Syndicate, Cash Crew, Shogun MC, Hijack, MC
Untouchable and Dee Lawal

5. 1985 - 1988
In 1987 Positive Beat Records came out of the hotbed of early UK Hip Hop,
Ladbroke Grove, London with two releases. The label followed up the single 'Its
Getting Rough' by 'Rocky X and D-D Dance' with the bold and seminal 'Known 2
be Down album. This featured Sir Drew (of KREW and Newtrament), MC Flex,
She Rockers, Rapski and more of West London's finest rap talents.
In 1988 Rapski released 'The Connection' on 12“. The track was taken from
'Known 2 Be Down' and was an early example of mixing Hip Hop and Reggae in
a (London) Style. More was to come in the early 1990s in the form of MC
Reason aka Voice of Reason with 'Symbolise / HouseQuake' and Jonie D with
'Which Base / Ride On' which was performed live on ITV in 1991.

6. 1989 - 1991
Hip Hop Connection - the first major British hip hop magazine - was
founded in 1989 and by the early 1990s the British hip hop scene
seemed to be thriving. Not only was there a firm base of rappers in
London - such as Blade, Black Radical Mk II and Overlord X - but many
distinct scenes developed nationally.
In 1991, Hijack released The Horns of Jericho (Rhyme Syndicate Records,
1991) on Ice-T's recently formed Rhyme Syndicate label. The first single,
"The Badman is Robbin'", was a top 40 hit and they went on sell more
than 30,000 albums.

7. PRESENT TIME OF UK RAP/ HIP-HOP
As the old rappers left the scene, a new generation, raised on hip hop and electronica, was coming of
age: The Herbaliser released Remedies (Ninja Tune, 1995), Mr. Scruff released the "Frolic EP Pt. 1"
(Pleasure Music, 1995), Mark B released "Any More Questions?" (Jazz Fudge, 1995) and DJ Skitz
released "Where My Mind Is At/Blessed Be The Manor" (Ronin Records, 1996) featuring a young
rapper called Roots Manuva on guest vocals who had previously released the single "Next Type of
Motion" (Sound of Money, 1995).
British hip hop began to go through a renaissance, its style shifting from the hardcore template of its
youth and moving into more melodic territory.
Acts such as N-Dubz, Tinchy Stryder, Tinie Tempah and Chipmunk, while prominent and commercially
successful, are part of a different genre entirely[citation needed]. Since Grime's post -millennial boom
period coincided with UK Hip-Hop's, the eagerly anticipated commercial breakout of the latter did not
come to fruition. Instead, acts such as the aforementioned were signed to major labels and their
traditional sound slightly tweaked to fit a pop sensibility. However, whilst it is the distinctive music
that identifies the genre, the lineage of these, and many UK rappers, is unquestionably grime rather
than UK Hip-Hop.

8. WOMEN IN THE UK RAP INDUSTRY
Women have contributed to hip hop’s evolution in Britain from the beginning.[19] The current
British hip hop scene features strong women like Estelle, Baby Blue, Shystie, and Mercury
prize winners Speech Debelle and Ms. Dynamite.
Women in hip hop often confront a large amount of sexist stereotyping. Recently, many female
British hip hop artists who confront this stereotyping have become popular. Grime artist Lady
Sovereign has achieved huge success both in the UK and the US. Ms Dynamite (also known
as Lady Dynamite), who released her first album in 2002, has become known for the political
and social commentary in her music. Singer, songwriter, and rapper Estelle said of the difficult
position of female rappers “I think they get a tough ride because some of them don’t see
themselves above and beyond the bullshit and no one’s really given them that breakbeat.”
There are modern UK female rap artists such as Lady Leshurr, Paigey Cakey etc., these
female artists have worked hard to get to their current position. Lady Leshurr now performs
with big UK artists such as Wretch 32, Chip etc. Paigey Cakey has recently released a new
music video which as both the featured artists in the video supporting her.

9. MEDIA
The media has helped the current UK artists achieve their goals because the media
supply coverage such as YouTube which has SBTV. It also has TV promotion such as
Channel AKA which also has also has the profile of British hip hop and grime.
They also supply radio stations such as BBC 1xtra and Choice FM this is where
majority of young people listen to their music and stay updated on what is
happening in the industry and what is expected to come up next.