The best British rappers bring a lot of fundamental hip-hop skills to the table: their extensive vocabulary, articulate nature, and much, much more. Today, we're gonna be taking a look at some of the best British rappers, well, our favorites at least. In no particular order, here's our list.
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Considering that his debut mixtape was unveiled just last year, it's pretty incredible to see just how far ArrDee has come since his start. He hails from Brighton, and he proudly reps the city and its culture. Some of his most notable songs include "Flowers (Say My Name)," "Oliver Twist," "Hello Mate," and "War," just to name a few.
AJ Tracey is widely regarded as one of the top rappers out of the UK. It's not for no reason, either. He's come a very long way since his humble beginnings, and is showing no signs of slowing down. You might've already heard of him thanks to his mega-hits like "Thiago Silva" and "Ladback Grove," but if not, here's your chance. You'll thank us later.
Aitch is another world-renowned name in rap from the UK. You can't talk about modern UK rap without mentioning his name. He's accumulated over 10 million monthly listeners, and that's just on Spotify alone. Some of his most notable songs include "Psycho," "UFO," and "Rain."
If this list wasn't random, it's highly likely that Skepta would grace the number one spot. He's become the godfather of UK hip-hop, and for good reason. He's got hits on hits, and has demonstrated a clear interest in fostering the next generation of talent out of the UK through his Big Smoke Corp label. He's also introduced other up-and-comers from around the globe, just like Dee Aura during his Gov Ball set this past summer. We'd normally list our favorites in this part, but listen to literally any Skepta song and you'll understand why he's on our list.
Octavian is one of the most prominent rappers out of the UK, so it's no surprise he's made our list. From his early days collaborating with Take a Daytrip and Skepta to now, he's come a very long way. Some of his most noteworthy songs include "Papi Chulo," "Bet," and "Pattern Chanel," to name a few. Did we mention he's a member of ESSIE GANG - like a couple other artists on our list?
Last year, we wrote about Central Cee and his LA Leakers freestyle which broke the internet, thanks to his cunning breakdown of UK and US slang. He's grown even more since then, to no surprise. While "Doja" is still his top song (at a third of a billion streams on Spotify), he's got other heat that is getting rampantly streamed by the day, including "LET GO," "Loading," and more.
Niko B has a little bit more of an indie style than the rest of our list - more laidback, chill type music. However, he's got bars like the rest of them, and he's continued to grow his career by the day. We wrote about him last year, on the heels of his music making it into the latest FIFA video game. Some of his top tracks include "Who's That What's That," "Mary Berry," and "Quick Drive."
Michael Phantom is another member of ESSIE GANG, and is one of the most slept on rappers out of the UK. He's graced songs with Skepta and Octavian, amongst other notable talents, and has done more than held his own. Despite the fact he's only got 30,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, he's one of the strongest candidates for number one on our list. We mean that. Take a listen for yourself.
Lancey Foux is no stranger to our site. He's been covered a multitude of times, and he's made his way back again on this list. His latest album featured three artists: Jah$tar, KAYTRANADA, and 070 Shake, and it proved to be a major success, like his long line of albums before it. He's a UK rap success story, and he's only continuing to grow by the day.
Another member of the famed ESSIE GANG, which hails from SE London (get it?), is L3. He's appeared on famous UK hits like "Pattern Chanel," and "No Stress," as well as having a standout single called "Crash the Coupe." We're hoping to see this talent have a major 2023 - he deserves it.
Sam Wise is easily one of our favorite talents from this list. He's a young rapper poised to make some big moves in the music game. So far, he's unveiled several hits, which show off his South-London accent and distinct style. Did we mention he collaborated with Billionaire Boys Club's ICECREAM brand? Some of our favorite Sam Wise tracks include "How It Feels," "Shuda Cuda Wuda," "Guess Who's Back," "Thankful," and "Cheque Came."
Signed to A$AP Rocky's AWGE, this rapper has proven to be more than that. He's wildly creative, as made apparent in his bars and visuals. The emphasis of his pronunciation is equally attention-grabbing as the rest of his impressive brand. Some of our favorite Slowthai tracks include "Doorman," "inglorious (feat. Skepta)," "I Tried," and "adhd."
It's hard not to like producers who can rap - and vice versa. They're so easy to support, thanks to their abundance of skill and uniformed style across their beats and vocal approaches. Ayrtn is exactly that, and he happens to be one of the best out of the UK. His beats aren't just hip-hop: they have a distinct twist to them that is a trademark of ayrtn's. Some of our top ayrtn songs include "EDGAR DAVIDS," "Alone," and "COSY."
