Brithop

Abstract

Brithop investigates rap music’s politics in the twenty-first-century United Kingdom. In it, the author argues that this music is partly an extension of, or often a counter to, political discourses happening in other realms of British society. These rappers are essentially responding through rap to mainstream Britain’s political discourses. The rappers in this book critique the United Kingdom’s more conservative narratives, and they express their relationship to Britain in the politically turbulent climate of the new century, providing valuable perspectives which can go unnoticed by those skeptical of or ignorant of hip-hop culture. Through themes of nationalism, history, subculture, politics, humor, and identity, this book looks at multiple forms of politics in rap discourses from Wales, Scotland, and England. It covers selected hip-hop scenes from 2002 to 2017, featuring rappers and groups such as The Streets, Goldie Lookin Chain, Akala, Lowkey, Stanley Odd, Loki, Speech Debelle, Lady Sovereign, Shadia Mansour, Shay D, Stormzy, Sleaford Mods, Riz MC, and Lethal Bizzle. It investigates how rappers in the United Kingdom respond to the “postcolonial melancholia” (Gilroy) of post-Empire Britain. In contrast to more visible narratives of national identity in Britain, Brithop tells a different, arguably more important, story.