How UK Rap Finally Crossed The Pond

Welcome to 45th issue of Backseat Freestyle. This is my weekly hip-hop newsletter I send out every Friday (this edition was suppose to arrive about 10 days ago, so apologies on the delay and links to music that was released from the past two or so weeks; baby girl had a dance recital, a kindergarten graduation and her first day camp…so a lot was happening over here. A second newsletter will arrive in the next couple of days to touch on the halfway mark of 2023.) focusing on one big thing that happened over the past seven days. I also include links (15-25 of them) to what I’ve been listening to, reading and watching. You can check out the archive, here, and read more about me, here. If you’re already a BF subscriber, thank you for your continued support. If you’re arriving to this issue by way of a forward, LinkedIn or social media, please subscribe below. And please share this newsletter with your circle so that they can enjoy it, too; personal referrals are my best path to long-term growth. With that said, let’s get into it….

Front Seat

This is what’s driving hip-hop this week….

THE PHENOMENON OF CENTRAL CEE was something I wanted to experience up close for a while now. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to catch him when he performed in New York back in February. But my interest was peaked for a couple of reasons. First, he seamlessly infiltrated Spotify’s RapCaviar playlist; once he was placed, it was a steady climb to the front of the selections. And second, when I was an undergrad in college, I studied in London for a semester and took to reading Hip-Hop Connection and listening to Mark B & Blade (RIP to Mark B.) I’ve had an affinity toward hip-hop’s global adaptation, though as a working magazine editor at the onset of my career I found it hard to justify granting coverage to foreign acts. The slanguage barrier seemed to great for a genre that was powered by coded speech. The internet and each subsequent generation, however, have helped to flatten things. And into that space, Central Cee and Santan Dave had put their designer trainers. Their surprise EP to celebrate their 25th birthday feels like the end of a long journey that was paved by many a pioneer. This is how it happened.

Back Seat

Respect my mind or die from lead shower.

THE MOST INTERESTING THING about a seismic event—and to be clear, Central Cee and Santan Dave’s Split Decisions EP is a big one—is all the activity that precedes it.

Earlier this month, the pair, who are longtime mates, announced a surprise joint project, a collaborative set in honor of their 25th birthdays, which marked their first recording output together in about seven years.

It’s a brilliant showcase for Cench and Dave, two lyricists, each who bend the sounds of words that normally wouldn’t rhyme in order to give their conversational flows an elastic feel, where every line blends into the next for a dynamic delivery. Anecdotally, the thing that struck me the most about the release was seeing the number of people stateside who I follow on IG posting “Sprinter,” the pair’s lead single, on their Story. It wasn’t overwhelming, but it wasn’t insignificant either.

Then about five days after “Sprinter” dropped, I noticed the YouTube views for the music video were outpacing Latto and Cardi B’s visual for “Put It On The Floor Again.” Ten days later, that was once again the case. And nearly two and a half weeks later “Sprinter” has 10 million more views than “Put It On The Floor Again.”

The ladies are clearly on the rise in hip-hop right now (for the second year in a row) and Latto and Cardi aren’t just two of the biggest women stars in the genre, they’re two of the biggest stars, period(t).

Still, one of Atlanta’s finest trap acts and a Bronx supernova were eclipsed by two British rappers.

For my quid, this marks the moment U.K. rap truly arrived.

It’s been a longtime coming—courtesy of the success of several sub-genres, a number of the Black Diaspora’s biggest stars emerging and local British artists’ adoption of American rap traits.

To rewind for a moment. Last year, in May, I was working at Spotify as the executive producer and showrunner of The Bridge: 50 years of Hip Hop, an original podcast offering hosted by Nas and Miss Info. Our 31st episode featured Idris Elba, the acclaimed actor, who also has a great love of music and doubles as a DJ during his downtime. He reflected on his roots as a hip-hop fan and spoke fondly of London Posse’s Rodney P and Bionic, who emerged in the mid ‘80s and aligned themselves with Boogie Down Productions and Afrika Bambaataa’s Zulu Nation.

London Posse’s 1990 album, Gangster Chronicle, was a landmark release for UK hip-hop (London’s Hip-Hop Connect named it the greatest UK rap album of all time) and its composition was full of familiar flourishes that would influence the UK’s Black music scene with its mix of dubstep/drum and bass/jungle music soundscapes and Caribbean-inflected vocal cadences. (Bionic would often refer to himself as a reggae MC.)

It’s easy to draw a straight line from the London Posse to grime titans Griggs (whose parents are from the Caribbean) and Skepta (whose parents are from Nigeria), and to Dizzee Rascal’s garage dominance and also to the all-world talents of Ms. Dynamite (Mercury prize winner and the first recipient of the Brit Awards’ Best British Urban Act) and Stormzy, respectively.

It’s less easy, however, to trace the zig-zag of artists like Kardinal Offishall and Sean Paul into the equation; the former was a pioneer in combining traditional rap as exported from the U.S. with a pinch of Toronto’s imported cultural foundation. In that same interview with Nas, Idris spoke to the parallels between Toronto and London. Having experienced Caribana in Toronto and Carnival in London, it was like deja vu for me to be present at one after the other. Those cities are melting pots in the way America claims to be (New York aside, of course) with each having their own varying mixes of Caribbean, African and indigenous culture. It’s within this space that Sean Paul took his dancehall roots and followed in the footsteps of Mad Lion and Supercat by collaborating with American rappers. His more mainstream success helped to normalize a dancehall delivery with pop and R&B sounds. To wit, “Baby Boy” with Beyonce.

So, it’s not a coincidence then that rap’s first king born beyond the U.S. borders, Drizzy, would be influenced by international acts (or in the case of Kardi, a local star to look up to) and also influence the international map. Drake is a lot of things, rapper and singer chief among them, of course, but he’s also a tastemaker who amplifies a scene as he partakes in it (or uses it, for those who think he’s more nefarious than benevolent). His star power has allowed him to have a greater impact in this regard than say Kardi, who similarly pulled from his Toronto roots to mix and match styles and scenes. Like Sean Paul, his collaborations have helped bridge the gap; he’s worked with Skepta, Giggs, Headie One, as well as Wiz Kid and released his More Life and Honestly, Nevermind projects, both of which are long on across-the-pond pollination. Once the wave began to crest, the success of Burna Boy and A$AP Rocky’s experimentation continued to move momentum forward for Central Cee and Dave’s acceptance in the states.

But make no mistake, Cench and Dave put in work. Back in 2019, Dave did a loop in the U.S., performing in major U.S. cities to lay a foundation. For his part, Cee has been revelatory for the way he assimilated U.S. moves into his playbook. To wit, his breakout hit “Doja,” sampled a friendly hit in Eve’s “Blow Ya Mind” and the visual was helmed by Lyrical Lemonade’s Cole Bennett. And both have fed the streamers with a steady diet of releases via their own material or guest sets as Spotify, Apple, Amazon and YouTube have been in an arms race for global market share via subscribers.

Split Decisions was the big payoff. It’s the end of a long, winding path that was aided by dancehall artists, Canadian rappers, tech’s big music boom and mobile browser activity becoming more commonplace—our world is more connected/much smaller as a result. In the end, we get two UK rappers who are spitting that shit and flossing without having to bear the weight of their country or the mechanics of translating local slang for a wider audience. Instead, you simply see the pair in Monaco on “Sprinter” living the life. On the EP opener, “Trojan Horse,” they don't even bother with a hook nor using the song’s title to serve as a grander, hidden purpose. They’re just rapping, doing it at a high level and doing it better than a lot of their peers on either side of the Atlantic.

The British are here.

Trunk (Music)

Music, news, reads, podcasts and videos that I’m checking for this week.

I was working on a project earlier this year and we wanted Moneybagg Yo booked as a guest. It didn’t happen because he was too busy wrapping up his album, is what we were told, but now that Hard to Love is here and his label is referring to it as a mixtape in press releases instead of an LP… I’m kinda bummed. Partly because we couldn’t land an interview with him over a mixtape? But more importantly because the project is good, album-quality good; it’s a focused set where the Memphis native looks inward about his relationship with loved ones. I hope it gets worked like an official release—”Sholl Is,” “No Show” and “Going Thru It” are early standouts. [Listen]

Metro Boomin is in his bag on the “Across The Spider-Verse” soundtrack. Expectly, he gets busy with friendly collaborators like Lil Wayne, Don Toliver and Swae Lee; though it’s his new partnerships withBig Boss Vette (“I Can’t Stop"), Myke Towers (“Infamous”) and Beam (“Link Up”) that spark excitement. [Listen]

Speaking of the mixtape/pack/album conundrum, Toosi is back with his official debut, Naujour, which is his government name. I think some of his mixtape/project/indie releases are better, but he’s an interesting talent that I enjoy checking for. Peep “Only Me.” [Listen]

I don’t get to keep my eye (or ear, rather) on Kenny Mason enough, but what I like about him is through his mix of sounds/genres he makes material that’s distinctly now but could fit into a Dungeon Family playlist with no problem. His latest EP, 6, follows his 3 EP from earlier this year. “I Got” and “Side II Side” are my favs. [Listen]

I’m prolly playing myself by comparing Doe Boy to Ray Cash; maybe it’s their shared Cleveland roots, but there’s such a familiar vocal tone that I hear in their deliveries. Doe Boy’s flow is slow motion in comparison, though he uses it to great effect on Beezy. Whether he’s dolo (“Way I Walk”) or riding shotgun with a feature (the Don Tolliver-aided “Deep End”) he more than proves to be a worthy addition to the Freebandz roster. [Listen]

Statik Selektah rarely strays away from the sound of the era that inspired him, but I always felt like that was deliberately based on a fandom of his; he has good working relationships with artists from the generation prior to him (see album opener “For Dave” by Posdnuos). HIs decisions aren’t for lack of talent, however. On his latest LP, Round Trip, there’s flashes of a different producer that he doesn’t need to be (“Right Here” and “Got 2 Give”), but it’s nice when you hear it from time to time. [Listen]

The City Girls dropped a two pack (“I Need A Thug” and “Piñata”) that features them playing around with some different vibes. [Listen] [Listen]

Tyga ain’t gonna play around with his vibe, he’s locked and loaded on the party lifestyle tip on “West Coast Weekend.” I fux with it. [Listen]

Kari Faux can rap and you should listen to her latest album, Real B*tches Don’t Die. [Listen]

Meant to get this into the newsletter a couple weeks back: The Black Music Coalition's Music Industry Action Report Card; Sony is doing best among the label groups and Amazon is leading the way for DSPs, even though there’s a lot of room for improvement. [Info] Related: Billboard asks “Is the Music Business Slipping on Its Pledge to Diversity?” [Info]

My guy Salaam Remi is spreading his wings beyond music into the art/graf/Wynwood scene; this piece does a nice job of doubling as a trend piece and a profile. [Info]

Bodly James sits for his first interview since a serious car accident in January (he needed surgery for a broken neck,among other ailments.); newsflash: he’s still working. [Read] Related: His latest project, an EP with ChanHays titled Prisoner of Circumstance, [Listen]

I’ve wanted to get Luh Tyler in my newsletter and figured his XXL Show & Prove is a good BF entry for the young Florida rapper. [Read]

XXL’s latest issue has a lot of good features, including this Destroy Lonely one (he’s so different stylistically than his father and I find that cool/fascinating) and a Coi Leray one I’ll link to below. [Read]

Rollingstone’s Andree Gee with a damning investigation into Adam22 and the No Jumper operation. [Read]

50 Cent’s interviews are always blockbuster; here, in my opinion, is one of his best with New York’s Vulture site. I’ve had this same type of conversation with 50 after interviews, in particular when I asked him why he was doing a headphone deal. And I’ll never forget him telling me there’s still a lot of market share and money in being number 3, and if number 1 and number 2 slip, you’re right there. This interview has a lot of that. [Read]

Speaking of good interviews, when he’s in his bag Tyler, The Creator is right up there with Fif, but in a different way. He had a good macro sense of rap/music/creativity and dishes on it clearly. His turn on the RapRadar pod was top notch. [Listen]

I already wrote about Latto before, but I might have to put up a part two; here she’s giving big energy on the “Put It On The Floor” remix with Card B; I don’t want to compare it to “Tomorrow 2” other than to say both videos are dope. [Watch]

Sort of a staggered release for this record; first it was on YouTube only as audio, then it came to the rest of the DSPs and now a video for Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem’s “Hillbillies.” [Watch]

Coi Leray is doing it the right way. I say that a lot in this space, but it’s true. Her new video for “Bops” is all the relevant evidence needed: good record, good flood and good times. [Watch] Related: Coi catches up with Interview mag. [Read]

These guys are up to something and if it’s anything like "hue_man nature," Saba and No ID are gonna be making a lot of lists for their team-up. [Watch]

He’s become the most interesting artist in hip-hop and with his new release, Gunna is going at it alone with no features, just his POV; “bread & butter” is quite the statement. [Watch]

It’s time for Babyface Ray to show and prove; “All Star Team” is a good mix of his unique style with splashy (on budget) video. [Watch]

Jay Worthy & Roc Marciano’s title track is prolly my joint from their new project; here’s a breezy video to go with it featuring A$ton Matthews. [Watch] Related: Their Nothing Bigger Than The Program album. [Listen]

Lance “Un” Rivera doesn’t speak much, so even though I haven’t gotten to check this out yet, I had to include this 27-part (!) video interview he did with VladTV. [Watch]

Backseat Freestyle is written and produced by me, Jayson Rodriguez, for Smarty Art. If you have any comments, feedback or questions, feel free to email me: [email protected]. If you would like to discuss sponsoring an issue of the newsletter, contact: [email protected] and check out the rates, here. And follow me elsewhere:

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