The Rise of Alternative Hip Hop in the UK

Words: Dimeji Layiwola

808 Ink

Photo via Facebook

With the rebirth and entrance into the mainstream by UK grime in the past few years, it is safe to say that urban culture now has a firm foothold within everyday culture. The success of grime stars such as Skepta and Stormzy have propelled the scene upwards and upwards, and almost everyone is talking about grime right now. Recently, we have also witnessed the commercial growth of afro swing; artists like Kojo Funds, Yxng Bane and Not3s are producing high quality, high charting songs, on quite a regular basis. However, besides all this, there is another growing scene within the UK that maybe hasn’t got the recognition it deserves; alternative hip hop.

With the rebirth and entrance into the mainstream by UK grime in the past few years, it is safe to say that urban culture now has a firm foothold within everyday culture. The success of grime stars such as Skepta and Stormzy have propelled the scene upwards and upwards, and almost everyone is talking about grime right now. Recently, we have also witnessed the commercial growth of afro swing; artists like Kojo Funds, Yxng Bane and Not3s are producing high quality, high charting songs, on quite a regular basis. However, besides all this, there is another growing scene within the UK that maybe hasn’t got the recognition it deserves; alternative hip hop.

Hip hop has always been a firm part of British urban culture, and with the strength and growing of the brand of grime, the differentiation between hip hop and grime itself has become more widely recognised; before, it wasn’t unusual for people to incorrectly assume that grime artists were making hip hop or vice versa, but this isn’t the case now mostly. But now, there is a ‘new’ new school of hip-hop artists coming out of the UK, and they are definitely shaking up the scene.

With the new artists who have popped up in the game, both in the UK and the US, it is safe to say that hip-hop has definitely become a lot ‘weirder’. Loads of wacky hairstyles, crazy lyrics, and eerie beats. But you’d be lying if you said that they aren’t making a positive impact on the game. This ‘weird’ stage that hip hop finds itself in has given much way for genres such as alternative hip hop to flourish. And flourish it has.

Since 2016, we have seen the growth of several alternative UK hip hop/rap artists, such as Lancey Foux, 808INK, and others; some of which have received recognition not just within the UK, but also in the US. In more recent times, budding stars such as Octavian, Flohio and Benny Mails have come through, with a fresh swag and style that has brightened up the scene. And with the growth of platforms that is giving these artists exposure, such as Colors Berlin, these artists are breaking out of the underground scene, and slowly entering into the mainstream.

It is these platforms, like Colors Berlin, that are the real MVPs. It is safe to say that grime is the dominant music genre within UK urban culture, with other new sub-genres such as drill coming further into the spotlight. These genres have massive platforms backing them, such as Link Up TV, and GRM Daily, but alternative hip hop does not share the same exposure potential. It is like the US; the You- Tube channel, 88Rising, has given Asian rappers a platform to showcase their talent, within a scene and genre where their brand of music isn’t given the exposure it needs. The growth of these platforms, and the increase of people in the UK that are checking them out, have birthed not just alternative hip hop stars, but also R&B stars too.

Other artists who have blown up out of the alternative hip hop scene are Daniel OG and Loyle Carner, the former having cosigns within the grime scene; this shows that despite the emergence of new genres and stars in the scene, there is still cross-genre cohesion, which is paramount for the prosperity of UK music as a whole. But beyond the artists, the producers must also be given acknowledgement, as more times than not, it is their earthy and euphoric beats that are really shaping these songs and fuelling the growth of the genre. Producers such as oneninenine and dxvl have shown their wide range of talents already despite their short careers respectively, and them, along with many others, are the ones really behind the growth of the alternative hip hop scene.

But with alternative hip hop growing and growing, it begs the question; is the UK scene ready for it? Many new artists, such as Just Banco, have spoken on the scene not being ready for his brand of music. As said earlier, a large proportion of the UK urban scene is monopolised by grime music, but there has been an emergence of sub-genres in recent years, such as drill. Drill is a form of road rap, rooted within the Chicago music scene, which is starting to slowly dominate most urban platforms.

Songs and freestyles under this genre are accumulating millions of views constantly, and we know even see drill artists selling out tours, and performing at music festivals both in the UK, and abroad. The thought of UK grime/hood artists selling out tours and shows would not have been fathomable 3-5 years ago; how many times in previous years did we see Giggs concerts, Nines concerts and others, being cancelled and shut down by the police? The growth of both these brands of music in recent years, coupled by the scrapping of Form 696, which had been the cause of cancellation of various urban music events, has been a major factor as to why we see the scene prospering so well.

But can alternative hip hop be the next big thing within UK hip hop? Can we see alternative artists selling out shows, performing worldwide? There’s no argument to suggest that the music isn’t good enough; it’s just an issue of the fanbase. As said before, there are various platforms that are pushing this genre forward, but in terms of cultural relevance within the UK, a Colours Berlin cannot be compared to a GRM Daily, hence why the majority of UK alternative hip hop stars are still underground. Colours Berlin is getting more and more UK viewers, but it just isn’t comparable yet. This stops artists from getting the key exposure they need, which stops them from being on the charts.

A common misconception of the term alternative is that it means ‘weird’ or ‘obscure’, but alternative hip hop isn’t just ‘weird’ rap; look at the likes of The Age of L.U.N.A, whose funky sound has gained them several plaudits, or Last Night in Paris, whose music regularly contains a chopped and screwed R&B sound, similar to the Toronto sound. There are artists within this genre that can appeal to all sorts of music fans, but it all boils down to exposure, which is something that this genre has, but not to the degree that is required. We don’t know what is going to happen in the future, but one thing that remains true, and that is that alternative hip hop is the next big thing.