UK Hip Hop 89-92: A Retrospective

London Posse: Money Mad
From: Gangster Chronicle [Mango, 1990]

Ragga Twins: Illegal Gunshot
From: Reggae Owes Me Money [Shut Up And Dance, 1991]
Featured on: Ragga Twins Step Out [Soul Jazz, 2008]

Demon Boyz: Original Guidance
From: Original Guidance [Tribal Bass, 1992]

Caveman: Pages And Pages
From: Positive Reaction [Profile, 1990]

Hijack: Hijack The Terrorist Group
From: The Horns of Jericho [Rhyme Syndicate, 1991]

Black Radical Mark II: Witch Hunt
From: The Undiluted Truth: A Black Man’s Leviathan [Mango, 1991]

It wouldn’t be much of a bold statement to declare that UK hip hop has always been seen as the runtish offspring of the US originators. Generally dismissed by American heads, it’s a scene that’s constantly fought to be taken seriously even within the UK, potential breakthrough records routinely trounced by releases from overseas. In recent years it’s status has improved somewhat with artists such as Roots Manuva, Dizzie Rascal, and, of course, Estelle (though these days she’s firmly in the R&B camp) making an impact on the charts but we still seem a lot more successful at selling British versions of Soul and Rock than of the spoken word.

However, this is now and what I’m going to look back on is what was then – the first big wave of UK rap artists at the end of the eighties, beginning of the nineties. This isn’t by any means a definitive list and there are many more artists I could have focused on but what I hope it will do is give you some indication of the variety of talent on offer on this little island at the time.

Let’s start by taking you back, way back. London Posse’s 1989 single Money Mad was an early guide to how UK Hip Hop could diversify from the US scene. Deriving as much influence from dancehall as traditional hip hop the track combines rave style sirens and breakbeats with a more Jamaican rhythm, loping piano, and a rapping style more akin to dancehall than traditional mcing. Widely held up as a pivotal release in UK rap it helped pave the way for the artists that followed.

Expanding the cross influence idea even further were The Ragga Twins who burst on to the scene in the wake of The London Posse. Coming from a background in hardcore rave production they successfully combined this with the Ragga sound to produce a pretty unique album of dance and rap tracks. Illegal Gunshot displays their sound nicely with its use of hardcore style production and a Ragga delivery. The group also reflected the social concious edge of many of the UK artists of the time, focusing on issues from the homeless to drug abuse.

A year later, in 1992, Demon Boyz second album hit the scene. While this shared the Ragga Twins rave influence the Boyz combined this with a more traditional style of delivery as their tracks switched between straight jungle and straight rap. Original Guidance, the title track of their second album, displays the group’s insistence on keeping the sound as truly British, its beats a combination of slowed down amen break and jungle bells. The group also helped up the game on the quality of British mcing as well, shifting the focus from just beats to complex rhymes as well.

Not all UK rap was interested in highlighting the difference though; Caveman’s Positive Reaction, from 1991, has a sound set squarely in New York and in the garden of Gang Starr. Still, if you’re going to run with a sound, might as well take it from the top and it’s a pretty decent album in it’s own right. Pages And Pages is a good indicator of their sound at the time, with it’s jazzy samples and fluid rhyming style. More party, less political, than the other artists featured here it still holds up well enough against a lot of the other Premo influenced bands of the time though the lack of local identity does grate with me somewhat.

Anyway, back to the hard shit and next up, Hijack. A British hardcore (Britcore) group undeniably influence by Public Enemy, they were signed by Ice T’s Rhyme Syndicate label and released their The Horns of Jericho album in 1991. Featuring a mixture of clever rhymes and intense beats, the group displayed huge potential but were deemed too UK centric for American audiences and their album was never released in the States. Hijack The Terrorist Group features production more akin to The Bomb Squad, a mixture of air raid sirens and layered instrumentation creating the group’s own attempt at a wall of sound. Only shame is that their attempts at American accents are highly unnecessary and, to put it plainly, shit. DJ Supreme from the group is still going strong today in the turntablism field.

Last but by no means least we have Black Radical Mark II. Also releasing his debut album in 1991, Black Radical stuck firmly to his guns to release one of the angriest albums in UK rap history. Influenced not only be the sound of Public Enemy but their political message as well, his debut single for Monsoon (at that time one of the largest UK rap labels) was a blistering account of how the music industry is a corrupt mess. The track featured here, Witch Hunt, displays a suitably trademark example of BMRII’s mixture of highly politicised lyrics alongside heavy heavy production . Unfortunately for BMRII his focus on themes such as dating outside your race and the evil of white people (not to mention calling a song England Is A Bitch) alienated not only many of his listeners but his label as well and one of the more interesting voices to appear on the scene was unceremoniously dumped.

So, there you go, by no means remotely comprehensive but a guide to artists that hit home for me in that period between 89 and 92, unquestionably the first wave of real British impact in rap and, with their combining of influences from ragga to rave, the forerunners of the vibrant scene we have today. Mention must also be made of

I can’t begin to list the artists I have ignored but would welcome any schooling that can be offered on those you think foolishly omitted from the list. Please no suggestions of Credit To The Nation or Stereo MCs though….