5 of the Best Alternative UK Rap Albums of 2019 by Dwayne Wilks
With us all home-bound for the foreseeable future, there’s no better time than now to catch up on the music, film and television that might have passed us by in recent times. When it comes to rap in all its forms, the UK took it to new levels in 2019. Dave delivered a seminal album early in the year. Headie One might have established himself as the star of the drill scene with Music x Road. Through Kano and Wretch we saw the scene’s OGs continue to push themselves and cover unchartered territory (can we also acknowledge the crazy feature run Ghetts has been on). Amidst all the heat and the D-Block Europe clones that 2019 has provided us with though, a lot of sick projects from established artists didn’t get the shine they deserved. Here are 5 of the best that fall within that category:
Blood, Swvgg, Tears/Youngs Teflon
For the past 10 years Youngs has consistenly delivered quality UK rap. Now a veteran, Blood, Swvgg, and Tears sees Tef’ continue with gritty tales of the trap and the South London streets, while sounding hungrier than a lot of the scene’s newcomers. The sample driven Aaliyah and the conceptual Broken Safety exhibit Young’s vintage storytelling abilty, the latter inspired by his favourite rapper, Nas’ classic track I Gave You Power. Being a decade deep in the game, Teflon, (aka ‘Jimmy’) has sharpened his pen to the point that almost every bar comes packaged with a punchline and those punchlines don’t (often) miss. Couple his wordplay with the overall sonics of the project; hard-hitting drilly beats that align the album with the current sound of the scene, and Blood, Swvgg and Tears establishes Jimmy as a stalwart of UK hiphop. That’s if he wasn’t one already. The best thing is, it looks like he’s still getting better.
(Best Tracks: 3AM In Brixton, Clout, Rehab, Survivor Stories Pt.2)
Kojey Radical/Cashmere Tears
Cashmere Tears gifts us with Kojey’s usual intricate and poetic flows, introspective content and performative delivery. As he has been for some years now, he gives us finely crafted bars about steeped in introspection, but this time they are delivered over warm sultry basslines and endorphin-inducing horns. On Can’t Go Back, producer Swindle’s joy-filled funk is married with Kojey’s lyrics celebrating his re-emergence from a dark mental space. This is the formula that carries much of the project; candid, vulnerable bars atop infectious instrumentation. When it comes to levels of funk, the album resides high up in the stratosphere. I’m not sure there’s a rapper in the UK that’s as comfortable up at those dizzying heights. Don’t believe me? Do yourself a favour and listen to Kojey glide over the album’s title track Cashmere Tears.
The warm basslines and brass sections are repurposed later in the album, matching the more sombre topics Kojey tackles. Case in point being the track Eleven which sees Kojey grieve the death of his close friend. The vulnerability showed on songs like this and the choir assisted closer Last Night has an endearing effect on you as you listen; you can’t help but appreciate the raw honesty in the act of exposing your lowest moments. Cashmere Tears is an example of how music can offer a view into an artist’s conscience and psyche. When it comes to pushing the boundaries of the UK music scene Kojey Radical is at the forefront, his workload far outweighing his acclaim.
(Best Tracks: Cashmere Tears, Eleven, Feel About It)
Money Over Everyone/P Money
P Money has never made the most humble music. Moretime he’s spitting bars soaked in arrogance over grime instrumentals, and it’s this arrogance that makes Money Over Everyone 3 so hard. P Money revels in his longstanding refusal to comprimise from the grime genre, taking every opportunity to tell everyone that doubted his and grime’s staying power, “hate to tell you ‘I told you so’… but I told you so”. Countless times on M.O.E.3 P Money shamelessly champions his own integrity, like his boasts about touring Australia for the fourth time on Shh Hut Yuh Mout which has JME repeat one of his classic refrains all over the hook. There is a deliberate attempt to align himself with JME who is featured and name dropped at several points on the album and P is fully deserving of the type of recognition that the BBK legend recieves, especially after an album like this. Amidst all the boasy talk, M.O.E.3 does have its more reflective moments; Live This Twice has P show that he doesn’t at all take his success for granted and on That’s Air Manga St Hilare assists in explaining the mindset of the kids on road that have nothing to lose and move accordingly.
(Standout Tracks: Where & When, About Grinding, Live This Twice)
Little Simz has recieved a lot of praise this year, mainly for starring in the latest season of Top Boy on Netflix. While she’s fully deserving of the acclaim for her acting, her muscial endeavours might have gone slightly under the radar. Grey Area is Simz’s best work yet; at times vulnerable and at times aggressive, at times sombre but always honest. The raw drum break and distorted bassline underpins Simbi’s boasy, hostile tone in the opener Offence. Within no time it’s clear: Little Simz can rap. So as impressive as these aggresive moments are, it’s elsewhere on the project that Simz really shines.
There’s a dope moment of nostalgia on the song 101FM; nostalgia both in the sonics and sentiment of the track. From this, the mid-way point of the album, Simz gets into her personal bag. On Therapy she opens up about attending therapy sessions to cope with the burdens of fame and relationships, but unexpectedly declares the practice of therapy ineffective and unhelpful. Unexpected because the next track, Sherbet Sunset, is a rambling confession of the pain of a broken heart. Lines like “ Still it hurts tremendously, can’t bear the intensity”, “ Lost part of myself, and I can’t get her back”, “ Who am I? I’m a mess, more sinning, more spending” paint a picture of someone in dire need of therapy. It seems though that Little Simz’ prefers to heal through her music, putting her pain in her lyrics provides all the catharsis she needs. And long as it works for, I’m here for it. The blessings and burdens of fame, the contrast of her introversion and her intensity, it all makes for Little Simz’ Grey Area.
(Standout Tracks: Selfish, 101 FM, Pressure)
Not Waving But Drowning/Loyle Carner
Not Waving But Drowning feels longer than its 45 minute run time. The record’s generally slow-tempo and Carner’s easy flow don’t make for the most thrilling of listens. Carner’s effortless delivery might even be enough to send the more passive listener to sleep. Animated and energetic it is not, but Carner’s magic is found in his deeply personal lyrics, full of feeling. In his patented fluid rhyme style, he tells of a train journey that spurs thoughts of a future family in Ottolenghi, the track made all the more touching by tenderness of Jordan Rakei’s singing on the hook. There are a host of touching moments on the album like the song Desoleil (Brilliant Corners) which features elusive UK singer Sampha and is a perfect fit for the vocalist, with its ballad-like pace and fleeting drums that hide in the back of the track, allowing the piano riff to lead.
The personal, touching moments continue with songs like Loose Ends (for which Jorja Smith lends her vocals) and Krispy, an attempt to amend a failed friendship. Maybe the most intimate moment is Looking Back where Carner explains his feelings of being lost because of being mixed race. This song isn’t the contrived and corny stuff we hear from some (*looks in the direction of Logic*), but is as earnest as it is honest, exemplified by the hard-hiting line “I’m thinking that my great grandfather could’ve owned my other one/ And yo, that shit is weird”. Despite the reminiscing on times less certain and existential struggles of Not Waving But Drowning, the album doesn’t feel negative or depressive. Even though much of the instrumentation is melancholy in feel, much is also pretty feel-good. There is a lot of optimism about the future and there is a lot of talk of love, whether it’s directed towards his friends, family or partner. Loyle Carner probes around in his own feelings in this project and invites us to join the search.
(Standout Tracks: Ice Water, Ottolenghi, Desoleil (Brilliant Corners), Looking Back)
