THE BRITISH ARE COMING: TGRI’s UK RAP INVASION WEEK – Tinchy Stryder

“You see i’m six foot one and I’m tons of fun and I dress to a T / You see I’ve got more clothes than Muhammad Ali and I dress so viciously” – Big Bank Hank of the Sugar Hill Gang, “Rapper’s Delight”

Tinchy Stryder’s 5’1″, and likely rhymes far more viciously than he dresses. And if anyone is the man with the future of UK hip hop trending toward success in United States, it’s him. Now 24, Stryder is a ten year veteran in the game, cutting his teeth as a pirate radio grime emcee with the likes of Wiley who had moderate US fame with “Wearing My Rolex,” and mega popular on the US underground UK superstar Dizee Rascal. With those roots, he’s definitely of the right progeny for success.

http://www.youtube.com/v/nmrOcdSx3J4?fs=1&hl=en_US

Stryder’s career as a top UK emcee mirrors some important stylistic changes in the nature of the UK scene. Stryder started as a grime rhymer, which means that he flowed over a plethora of breakbeat heavy two step and grime house tracks, music reflective of the progressive scene in the UK in the laste 90s and early 2000s. However, in a manner similar to dubstep, UK fans were bored with the sound at the point of it’s US crossover, and tastes have trended toward more US mainstream fare. Few can bridge the gap with excellence, and few have been successful on both sides of that progression of British hip hop. “The Star in the Hood,” one of the few and the proud to excel while in transition.

http://www.youtube.com/v/s2qs6L8S5rc?fs=1&hl=en_US

2010 has been Stryder’s year. Opening on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury, headlining the O2 Arena, opening for Rihanna’s UK tour dates and the ultimate, having his management company, TakeOver purchased by Jay-Z’s mega label Roc Nation. As a rhymer it is deserved. He carries many of the token traits of UK grime emcees, an effervescent energy, charismatic battle flow, and over the current electro heavy tracks popular at the moment, a solid fit.

Tinchy’s current release is called Third Strike. He’s not out though. He’s BREAKING out.

THE BRITISH ARE COMING: TGRI’s UK RAP INVASION WEEK!

On February 9, 1964, The Beatles played on the Ed Sullivan show for the first time. John, Paul, George and Ringo were leagues away from being the pop and rock game changers that they evolved into, but insofar as being smiling chipper lads from Liverpool, England, they had that one covered. The 1964 British Invasion was entirely based off of American blues, rockabilly and rock and roll standards being covered by likely the last people you’d ever expect to mimic Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry and early era Motown.

Well, it’s 46 years later, and the British method for invading the US hasn’t changed. From punk to metal to R & B and dance music, UK artists have proven to not only be successful, but genre advancers who given their outsider status are allowed the ability to take risks that stateside artists generally refuse to take.

Hip hop has re-expanded itself. Nearing 40 years as a recognized genre, hip hop is now the ultimate power broker in pop music. That being a given, US artists’ overseas expansion with branding, touring and marketing is at an all time high. Of course, with that, there is the inevitable give and take. At various other points when hip hop was gaining in overseas expansion, UK emcees were more than willing to blend US hip hop swagger with UK cool, however, hip hop’s lack of a full global agenda from the American side of the coin did not allow for significant superstar moves for these rappers. There are those internationally like Kardinal Official, MC Solaar and Dizzee Rascal who have achieved a modicum of success but by no means are superstars. However, that’s all about to change.

Let’s point to three key indicators. Foremost, electronic dance music’s hipster fueled rise to prominence has inundated America’s pop ears with all manner of electro, dubstep, techno and deep house in the past five years, sounds that foreign, namely UK based grime and garage emcees have been rapping over successfully for years. As well, Drake, the second coming of Will Smith for hip hop, is from Toronto, Canada, and has been embraced by US hip hop lovers as being likely more skilled than many of his American counterparts. And last but not least, MIA’s “Paper Planes” being as large of a hit as it was made top mainstream labels fully aware of what underground labels without major label access have known for years. World music is the definition of crunk, and starts a party like none other.

With that, we at TGRI feel that there’s yet another successful British invasion on the horizon. Names like Tinie Tempah (goes big on Swedish House Mafia’s “Miami 2 Ibiza”), Tinchy Stryder (Roc Nation signee and widely considered the current top Bristish emcee to British hip hop insiders), Professor Green (a Lily Allen favorite for starters) and Giggs (dark and lyrically weaker than the pack, but a great persona) may appear to be foreign to US hip hop fans, but, hopefully, after this week, you’ll be familiar and prepared for what is coming. What they lack in vertical size they more than compensate for with enormous charisma and talent, and all are worth checking out and choosing a favorite amongst the lot.

http://www.youtube.com/v/3wpCf0FsZKQ&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3

Want a sample? Well, Tinchy Stryder released a track featuring every significant emcee that has aspirations on making it big in the United States in some manner in the next year or two. “Game Over,” a sizzling trunk rumbler of a synth workout is Tinchy’s but also features Giggs, Professor Green, Tinie Tempah, Devlin, Example and Chipmunk. Listen, enjoy and take in the rest of this week’s devotional to the UK scene.