It might be 2016, but take a trip around the message boards and comments sections and you will still find confused, angry UK rap fans screaming for authenticity in one breath, and then shooting down artists who rap in their native accents, with the next. With labels like Blah, Bad Taste, AssociatedMinds and EatGood coming to the fore in recent years and bringing their regional accents with them, you could be forgiven for thinking that this was never an issue, but the reality is far different. Writer Gingerslim looks back through his own memories of UK hip-hop, and also speaks to a couple of artists, about their own recollections of who paved the way outside London, and what personal struggles they have had to deal with.
I got into hip-hop back in 1994, when I was 14, but my first memory of UK hip-hop was hearing London Posse’s Money Mad in about 1996 (which had been released way back in 1988). At the time I couldn’t believe there were people in this country making the same style of music I had grown to love, and hearing these people rapping in a British accent was an enlightening experience for me.
But that was still a London accent, albeit with a heavy Jamaican twang. It was also pre-internet, so I remained blissfully unaware of the acts up and down the country, who had been trying to make a break with their own accents for years. Crews like Krispy 3 in Chorley, Ruthless Rap Assassins in Manchester, Suspekt in Derby and II Tone Committee in Glasgow, were bringing out records as far back as the late 80s and early 90s, and helped give rise to the Britcore movement, as it became known. This movement was the first time since hip-hop arrived on our shores where we actually had our own identity, and although the critical success of releases like Ruthless’ Killer Album in 1990 and II Tone’s Beings from a Word Struck Surface in 1991, never generated the same response on a commercial scale, the scene was strong enough to have piqued the interest of up and coming MCs from all over the country.
I asked Konny Kon (Broke N English/Microdisiacs/Children of Zeus), who hails from Manchester, about his early memories of UK rap and he said that although a lot of local rappers chose to affect other accents, hearing people come through with the local dialect was his main inspiration:
“In Manchester when people stopped rapping in American accents a lot of them rapped in a ‘London accent’. But after we heard Krispy 3, Ruthless Rap Assassins, MC Buzz Bee and such like, there was really no excuse. I think for me what really opened my eyes, when we started putting out records, were the Nottingham MCs. There was a wave of really nice MCs who had an accent I wasn’t familiar with at all. At first a lot of us laughed but in the end that was the best accent in the UK to rap with.”
That last comment resonated a lot with me because when I first heard rappers from the Midlands and other places outside London, my first reaction was to laugh, because to me it just did not sound ‘right’. I guess I already classed the ‘right’ sound as London lingo and I think that was the problem for a lot of people. However, my view changed quickly when I heard the level these guys were rapping at and also when I came to realise that different accents allowed for the different pronunciation of words, ultimately allowing for lyrical flows to vary greatly, even when the same words were being used. It also heralded the emergence of different slang words from across the country and all of this helped to shape the scene we know and love today. But what about the backlash, if there was one? Were artists being slated for trying to keep it real? I asked Bubber Loui from Bristol crew Aspects for his view.
“I can’t remember ever being held back by our accents, but I do think we may have been pigeon-holed to some extent. We always included a strong sense of humor in the stuff we did and that coupled with what some deem to be a bumpkin accent, doesn’t help you to be viewed seriously.”
I would argue that the Bristol scene and Aspects in particular, were the catalyst for the change in people’s perceptions as to how UK hip-hop should sound, as the West Country is home to some of the heavier regional accents in the country. This is evident in Aspects receiving critical acclaim for their releases, from the likes of Radio One and MTV, despite making their accents even stronger, as Bubber explains:
“Someone recently linked me to a video of a very early show at Ashton Court Festival in around ’97 that me and Ian (El Eye) performed at. What strikes me now looking at the performance, is that I really pushed up my accent in truth. I was so militant about repping the south west I actually emphasized and accentuated what I wanted to be heard.”
That ties in with what Jamie Hombre, head of Bristol’s Hombre Records, had touched on in Peter Webb’s Youth Cultures: Scenes, Subcultures and Tribes book, published in 2007. Peter writes that in the 90s Jamie had recognized the importance of the accent in UK hip-hop and that labels like Hombre had promoted the Bristol accent as a mark of authenticity, ultimately changing people’s attitudes as to how hip-hop should sound in this country.
Now I think we are now in a time when the majority of genuine rap fans understand the importance of being true to your roots on the mic and not settling for an adopted accent, simply to try to break into the charts, like many accuse Iggy Azalea of doing. But even then, it seems to be one rule for one, as Mike Skinner (The Streets) the Birmingham native, sounded like he never set foot in the Midlands in his life. There are arguments which hold weight on both sides of this debate, because as I have found myself from moving round the country, accents are one thing that can subconsciously be adopted by a person, just by getting on well with the people they are conversing with. But then consciously choosing to adopt an accent, to me seems like deception and a definite two fingers up at your heritage. Only they will really know if their affectation was conscious or unconscious though.
For me personally, I welcome all these accents and regional lingos with open arms/ears, because they are a signal that the UK is now at a point where lyrical skill, clarity and strength of production are the key factors in determining what is good hip-hop.
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Gingerslim has been a hip-hop fan since 1994 and has written for various blogs and websites since around 2006. During that time he has contributed to style43, Think Zebra, Headsknow and Front Magazine. His main interests in rap are UK hip hop and the underground movement in America, with a focus on Rhymesayers Entertainment and the once mighty Def Jux label. He lives in Bristol and has a beard. All other details are sketchy at best.