UK rap: Last News

Che Lingo has teamed up with anime streaming service Crunchyroll to release his new original song ‘Lifetime’, created exclusively to celebrate the 2023 anime fall season.The partnership between Crunchyroll and Che Lingo marks the first time that the anime platform has released a song to support their content.Behind-the-scenes footage, which you can watch below, shows how the South London rapper developed the song to echo themes in his favourite anime which inspired him as a child. The featurette also explores how he worked with MIKU NAKAMURA (Cö shu Nie), to create a song that will resonate with fans.Both Che and MIKU have already contributed to the world of anime with both artists being featured on the Jujutsu Kaisen Season One OST.

Ghetts has announced a 2024 UK ‘On Purpose, With Purpose‘ tour in support of his fourth album of the same name. Find ticket details below.The tour will see the grime star make his way through the UK in March next year. Kicking off on March 22 at the O2 Institute in Birmingham, Ghetts will then make his way to Manchester March 24 to play the New Century.

Ghetts has announced details of his fourth album ‘On Purpose, With Purpose’.The album serves as a follow-up to his 2021 major label debut ‘Conflict Of Interest‘, which featured Wretch 32, Skepta, Stormzy and more. His third album went on to be nominated for a Mercury Prize, an NME award for Best British Album and a BRIT award for Best Hip-Hop/Rap/Grime.Today (October 16), Ghetts teased his new album via an Instagram video, captioned: “ON PURPOSE WITH PURPOSE.

LEGACY later this year.LEGACY shall explore the untold stories of Birmingham’s grime, hip-hop and rap scene, showcasing the artists, tastemakers and entrepreneurs who are responsible for the city’s influence on Black British music; allowing many more new genres and artists to follow in their footsteps.Set to be released on November 15, the LEGACY mini-series and book will feature Brum trailblazers such as Jaykae, Lady Leshurr, MIST, Sian Anderson and many more talking about their part in the Birmingham music scene.A post shared by Jess Monroe (@jessmonroex)However, the book – co-written by Jess Monroe and Casey Bailey – will dive deeper into the history of the Birmingham Black music scene, writing about the evolution of radio, the producers who influenced the UK sound, iconic clashes (rap battles) and other cultural moments that made the city famous for its Black music.In the book, Lady Leshurr reminisces on how “it’s not as hard as it used to be” to blow up in Birmingham. “I had to leave Birmingham to make a name in London,” she explained.

Bugzy Malone has revealed that he became “quite insecure with my position as a rapper and as a person” after his quad bike crash.In 2020, the UK rapper – whose real name is Aaron Davis – was riding a quad bike in Manchester and crashed into an Audi. As a result, he subsequently suffered a brain bleed.

YouTube’s Director of Black Music & Culture and the founder of Spotify’s Rap Caviar playlist, has spoken to NME about hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, YouTube’s new FIFTY DEEP programme and why Soulja Boy deserves his props as an innovator of “youth culture.”The Congolese-American’s career has been heavily intertwined with the genre. Earlier in his life, he helped programme hip-hop music on BET – where shows like Rap City earned the network huge ratings, VJed on MTV in the early ‘00s, and even worked with rap mogul Diddy for three years at Bad Boy Records.One of his biggest feats, however, is creating the popular Rap Caviar playlist for Spotify: now the most-followed rap playlist on the streaming platform and meant to represent the creme de la creme of all things hip-hop.“I didn’t pitch it necessarily,” Basa said, explaining how Rap Caviar came about.

Burna Boy has enlisted Dave on his latest single, ‘Cheat On Me’ – taken from his upcoming seventh album ‘I Told Them’ – and announced details of an intimate London show.The ‘African Giant’ has teamed up with the Streatham rapper before on the latter’s smash hit ‘Location’ from his 2019 Mercury Prize-winning debut ‘PSYCHODRAMA’. The track currently has over 456 million plays on Spotify and is one of Dave’s most popular tracks.

Giggs has returned to Fire In The Booth to perform a new freestyle ahead of the release of his new album ‘Zero Tolerance’. Check it out below.The new freestyle marks the fifth time the London rapper has visited the booth for the Charlie Sloth Rap Show and has been a part of the Fire In The Booth segment. Giggs first stepped up to the mic in 2011.

Giggs has released his first single of the year ‘Mandem’ from his upcoming sixth album ‘Zero Tolerance’, featuring Diddy. Check out the video below.The ‘Peckham Landlord’ hasn’t put out much solo music since his 2020 second mixtape ‘Now Or Never’, which featured Meek Mill, Ray BLK and Ghetts, but last year hopped on Aitch’s ‘Just Coz’ and Tion Wayne’s ‘Suffer’.Today (August 4), Giggs dropped ‘Mandem’ and its accompanying music video.

Stormzy and RAYE teamed up for the sultry and 2000s-reminiscent collaborative single, ‘The Weekend’. Check out the track and the video below.‘The Weekend’ is the second collaboration from the two south Londoners have together – following the Norbury grime star hopping on the R&B singer’s single  ‘Ambition’ back in 2016.Yesterday (July 19), Stormzy and RAYE dropped their new London-produced single.

NME about being a part of a viral cypher with Dave and Central Cee, as well as radio and grime culture.Cyphers (also known as radio sets) are when multiple rappers come together and share a microphone, rapping over randomly selected beats. Before mainstream media aired the underground genre, pirate radio, handmade mixtapes and DIY videos were the only way fans could hear these rhymes.

J Hus has announced details of his third album ‘Beautiful And Brutal Yard’, alongside news of a UK tour.The Stratford rapper’s next record – the follow-up to 2020’s acclaimed ‘Big Conspiracy‘ – will arrive on July 14, and feature the likes of Burna Boy, Popcaan, Jorja Smith, and Naira Marley. J Hus and Burna Boy previously previewed their new track ‘Masculine’ at Burna’s history-making stadium concert in London earlier this month, while ‘Beautiful And Brutal Yard’ also features the viral Drake-assisted Afro-swing track, ‘Who Told You’.In his 2019 residency at London’s The O2, the Canadian juggernaut brought out J Hus after he had spent eight months in jail for carrying a knife.A post shared by Squif (@theuglygram) Check out the tracklisting below and pre-order the album here.The news also comes with new tour dates, at which J Hus promises special guests.

N-Dubz have announced details of free pop-up gig in London this Friday (June 30) ahead of their upcoming album.Last year, the trio reunited after an 11-year hiatus, before sharing comeback single  ‘Charmer’ and embarking on a 27-stop reunion tour which was mostly sold out.This Friday (June 30), the iconic British pop–grime band will perform a free surprise show for 2,000 fans at BOXPARK Wembley. The concert is set to start at 6pm and end at 8pm, with tickets available here.The pop-up gig, in partnership with Festival Republic, will warm the duo up for their headline show at Gunnersbury Park on August 11, with Tion Wayne and Venbee set to support. N-Dubz will finally release their fourth record ‘Timeless’ next month.

N-Dubz have announced that they will be releasing their first album in 13 years, their long-awaited fourth album ‘Timeless’.The trio returned to music last year with their single ‘Charmer’ and embarked on their reunion arena tour around the UK.Now, the UK rap trio have posted the artwork and trailer for new album ‘Timeless’, revealing that the record will be released on August 4 and is now available for pre-order. A press release describes ‘Timeless’ as “some of their best work yet” and tackles issues such as toxic relationships, mental health, and growing up in inner-city London.The band have also shared their new single ‘Habibti’, described as “a Michael Jackson-inspired sexy summertime banger about texting back-and-forth with a new beau”.A post shared by N-Dubz (@n_dubz)In the past week, the trio have been teasing the announcement by sharing candid videos from photo shoots and studio sessions.A post shared by N-Dubz (@n_dubz)A post shared by N-Dubz (@n_dubz)A post shared by N-Dubz (@n_dubz)A post shared by N-Dubz (@n_dubz) Tulisa alluded to the new album in an Instagram post in March, showing the mansion the group rented out for their recording space.N-Dubz have released two singles this year so far: with ‘Trust No One (Tour Bus Freestyle)’ arriving in February after being recorded on the bus during their sold-out 27-stop arena tour, before they dropped the electro–pop track ‘February’ and signed a new global deal with EMI Records.N-Dubz found early success with three consecutive platinum-selling albums: 2008’s ‘Uncle B’, 2009’s ‘Against All Odds’ and 2010’s ‘Love.Live.Life’.

Dave and Central Cee have broken the Spotify UK record for the most-streamed song in a single day this year with their track, ‘Sprinter’.Released on Friday (June 2), the jubilant track saw the two London rappers collaborating for the first time.This week, it was confirmed that ‘Sprinter’ became Spotify UK’s most streamed song in a single day in 2023 so far. Currently, the track has amassed more than 20 million streams in just under five days.

Central Cee and Dave have released their new collaboration ‘Sprinter’ – along with an opulent accompanying music video – check it out below.The single is the first collaborative release from the duo, however in 2016 the two were both featured on a remix of AJ Tracey‘s 2015 grime track ‘Spirit Bomb’.Now ‘Sprinter’ sees the 24-year-olds rap about their new lavish lifestyles with great bravado, proven when Central Cee delivers: “We ain’t got generational wealth / It’s only a year that I’ve had these millions.”Through his bars, the Shepherd’s Bush native also gives a shout-out to the Fast & Furious movies and Skepta‘s 2009 track ‘Too Many Men’. The track was produced by Jo Caleb and Jonny Leslie with assistance from Dave, NME 100 alum Jim Legxacy (whose vocals are sampled), TR and Kyle Evans.The single serves as Dave’s first musical release of the year, following on from last year’s ‘Starlight’ and ‘My 24th Birthday’ – the former being his first solo UK Number One and second overall after the 2018 Fredo-assisted ‘Funky Friday’.

Jords has released the heartfelt single ‘iPray’, which features grime legend Wretch 32, Mrs Chambers and MilesFromKinshasa.The single is released in celebration of the announcement of the Croydon rapper’s upcoming album, ‘Dirt In The Diamond’. Produced by UK rap heavyweight Kadiata, the single comes with an accompanying music video that sees the artists mournfully recite their verses at a funeral.The Renee Osubu-directed video serves as the second part of Jords’ film, which uses select songs from the album to narrate scenes.Speaking about the single, the 28-year-old said: “To me, ‘iPray’ is like Simba’s conversation with Mufasa.

Professor Green has released new single ‘POPSHXT’ – featuring UK rap star K Koke. Check it out below.The single is Green’s first release since last year’s ‘Dance Like A Tory’, aimed at Boris Johnson, and the titular track of Green’s next EP.Produced by Greatness Jones (Giggs, Avelino), the two London rappers riff off one another back-to-back with typical rap braggadocio.In the minute-long snippet he posted to TikTok, Green starts off the song: “This is my ignorant, nonchalant shit / Came up off that street shit, made it off that pop shit”.Talking about his EP and being in the studio, Green said: “I did what I always do and go with whatever felt right in that moment.”“[The new] music bangs, really bangs,” he explained.

Little Simz has released a new documentary, On Stage Off Stage, following the European leg of her recent tour.The documentary was filmed and directed by Abu Dumbuya and takes the viewer on tour with the Mercury-winning London artist, mixing both behind-the-scenes access with live tour footage.In On Stage Off Stage, you can see Simz learn how to play tennis, jet-set around the world, and give heartfelt speeches to fans who say she “saved their lives.”A poignant moment comes when Simz speaks directly to a young fan in Munich, saying: “Anything you want in this life, anything you want to become is possible. Just trust yourself and believe in yourself and you’ll do OK.”Back in December, Simz dropped her critically acclaimed surprise album ‘NO THANK YOU’.

NME Award-winning BERWYN has released new single ‘Bulletproof’ ahead of his nine-day European tour.The Trinidadian-born, Romford-raised musician has launched his first musical release since his 2022 comeback single ‘Path To Satisfaction’ and the double release ‘3450 / Chasing Lights (demo)’.BERWYN continues the reflective streak in his music, shifting his focus in the process after a “genuinely enlightening trip” to his home of Trinidad reigniting deep-rooted emotions.•READ MORE: BERWYN: Romford underdog’s soul-baring rap is helping those in need“‘Bulletproof’ is less about me and more about the people around me,” he said. “It’s another part of my personality: I’m willing to do anything for the people around me.”He continued: “It also highlights the dangers of my job and exposes me as an individual with troubles.

Che Lingo has released new single ‘Out The Blue’ and shared details of his sophomore album ‘Coming Up For Air’.The album follows his critically acclaimed debut ‘The Worst Generation’, and will see the AIM Award-nominated south Londoner talk about mental health and anguish to the full extent“CUFA is an intimate and personal look at myself and the people like me who find it hard to see themselves sometimes,” said Che Lingo. “The CUFA album in my own way is to let people know that they aren’t alone in these trials”.In anticipation of his follow-up record, Lingo has released ‘Out The Blue’; a sombre track to help “break out of the cycle of pressures, inherited and personal, that he and so many suffer from”.Speaking of what inspired the song, Lingo talked of “Times where I felt like I was drowning, fighting things, emotionally and mentally I couldn’t even see and repeating that cycle…This is a story about times like that and how I sung and rapped my way through it.