2. AWARDS THEY MAY GIVE OUT
The awards that my genre can win or be nominated for is endless. Due to high focus
(in which is the main and only successful uk hip hop labels going at the moment),
being a new record label, it hasn’t won anything because of it being very common (as
it is only 5 years old). However at the AIM awards, which is a whole scale music awards
(they look at all types of music that is big in England; grime, uk hip hop, indie rock,
pop ect) high focus got nominated for the ‘best small label’ award.
Another award company in which are starting to uk hip hop would be the MOBO’s
award. These look in to uk developed music and artists. They look at best newcomers,
best label, best artist (male and female), best music video ect. It was publicised and
funded by ITV for the first time in its history, due to the committee realising that uk
originating music is starting to become bigger and more recognised. So this is truly
showing how new uk hip hop and grime is and how much of an up rise it is having
over the last couple of years.
3. WHERE IT ORIGINATED FROM
Hip hop is one of the most iconic forms of music, shaping the music that we know
now to be how it is. If it wasn’t for the early hip hop era, music could be entirely
different. Hip hop as we know it first originated in the early 70’s in the Bronx, New
York City. The forms of music that it originated from/ inspired by is Funk, disco, dub,
rhythm and blues, reggae, dancehall, jazz, toasting and plenty others. The genre of hip
hop may also incorporate other elements of hip hop culture, including DJing,
turntablism, and scratching, beatboxing, and instrumental tracks.
4. High focus is a new label that was recently discovered around 5 years ago (which is the start of uk hip hop) by an
artist called ‘FlipTrix’. As he had a high interest in the new age hip hop, he then started to sign up talented and
budding new artists, which is now 17 and strong.
The people signed to this label includes
-Fliptrix
-Jam Baxter
-Dirty Dike
-Leaf Dog
-Verb T
-The Four Owls
-Ed Scissortongue
-Rag N Bone Man
-Dead Players
High focus originated in Brighton town in the early part of 2011, where fliptrix tried to get noticed and selling his
mixtape and vinyl’s on the side of the street. He then came in partnership (when
thinking about the basics of developing a record label) with leaf dog. They then funded for a small studio where
they then made it an official company called ‘High Focus’.
-Brothers of the Stone
-Ramson Badbonez
-BVA
-Cracker Jon & 2Late
-Onoe Caponoe
-Lee Scott
-Mr Key
-Ocean Wisdom
-DJ Sammy B-Side
5. POPULAR ARTIST
The main selling artists that high focus has is Dirty dike who has recently released his
2nd independent album called ‘sucking on pawns in the moon light’, which he then
went on a promotional tour around England, which proved a big success, leaving his
you tube views sky rocketing to the point where he is the most viewed high focus
artist at the moment.
Another main artist/ group would be ‘The Four Owls’ which in the early days, carried
high focus due to its popularity and high status in this new age hip hop. The Four
Owls are known to be the god fathers of UK hip-hop. They promoted their album
‘Natural Order’, which really kicked off uk hip hop and the record label.
6. KEY FEATURES
Key features in a uk hip hop music video would have would its accurate representation of the
lower class in English estates. From their fashion and what they wear, to the lyrics that they rap.
They all give a true representation of how it is to grow up and live in these types of places. The
main topic that they dominantly rap about would be the totally difference in lower and upper
class. Where the lower class (typically being the artists that are rapping) are finding it hard and
what they have to do to get money to live (generally selling drugs and robbing houses) and an
example of this could be when Edward scissortongue in theremin raps ‘Put five bullets in your
family tonight, Say why oh why did the maker decide’ meaning that they have to cause pain to
other people to get money, and the ‘makers’ being the government, he is questioning them by
saying, why did it have to be this way, you caused me to do this, likewise with the upper class
are ‘Reading from the pages of his gold leaf bible book’ (theremin- Edward scissortongue)
meaning that they have so much money, and they don’t do anything with it apart from living
the high life.
7. ATTITUDE OF THE SONG
The attitude that is normally portrayed in this type of music would typically be anger
and hatred towards the government and the police, for stopping them from doing
illegal activity and also how the government is making them poor and how they are
making us live in a fixed society and how everyone is the same, however on the other
hand, they also have a happy and upbeat attitude, normally about drugs or girls, so
they have two opposite styles of attitude that they give off.
In the music videos, they normally back up what attitude that they are wanting to rap
about due to having tints, the camera shots (soft, fast, hard ect), the facial expressions
that they have to even the lighting. These are all elements of mise-en-scene and
cinematography that help dramatically to help tell a story and generate a feeling and
passion about the song.
