Why Do UK Rappers Fail in America?

There’s a lot to admire about the rise of Grime. Compared to American hip-hop, it’s very young: born in the early 2000s as opposed to the 1970s birth decade of American rap. To go from local subculture to the global stage in less than 20 years is impressive, much like the explosion of American hip-hop in the 1990s.

While Grime is very comparable to hip-hop, it has grown into more of its own genre and less of a subgenre due to its unique sonic influences, captured in the bonafide classic album Boy in Da Corner by Dizzee Rascal, Grime’s equivalent to Nas’ Illmatic. Among these sonic influences include UK garage and house music, hip-hop, and afrobeats, seeing that the majority of Grime artists are first and second-generation Black British men.

With all of these clear parallels to American hip-hop and very unique differences, UK Grime, and UK Drill to a lesser extent, seem like forms of music that should be able to capture widespread American interest easily. But despite Dizzee Rascal’s past success, Stefflon Don’s mainstream breakthrough, and artists like Skepta, Giggs, and of course Dave receiving huge American cosigns and achieving solo success in the UK, British rappers simply aren’t catching on in the United States.

Read the video's transcript here on Across The Culture: https://acrosstheculture.com/media/mu...

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Narrated by: Pro (@JaysnProlifiq)
Written by: Zander Tsadwa
Edited by: Roman Bill
Music by: Josh Petruccio

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