UK vs. USA - The Argument so good, it spanned 1775 to 1783 and 7,000 casualties! But anyway, the old age question, USA or UK? Which country makes the best rap tracks? A lot of the negative feedback I read regarding the UK Grime genre are from Americans, who obviously hate the UK, but have never actually listened to a UK Grime track in their lives (but rest assured, Dizzee Rascal isn't the only UK Rap artist we have). Though really, how does UK Grime really stack up against American rap? Well in the following article I've broken it down in key areas to see who gets the advantage. Yeah, I know not exactly a scientific comparison, but it's what you're going to get anyway...
LYRICALLY
For me UK hip-hop hasn't got to the point where US hip-hop has where it's a shallow, meaningless money spinner for top industry records bosses. UK hip-hop comes from the heart, it's deep, clever and has some kind of bearing on real life, not hoes, rims and guns etc (which a lot of people can't relate to anyway)... Plus UK rappers are more versatile as the most successful UK MC's have their own sound, and you can tell who is who by listening to a song with lots of different people on it, whereas with US rappers, they all tend to sound the same, and no one is trying to break barriers to sound different.
Although, not all British MC's are lyrical geniuses. There's some that don't stay true to their roots as they try to adopt an American lifestyle by being "gangster" and living the good life, and some even go as far as to try and put on a fake American accent.
Though, for the most part, UK, are in it for the love of the music, unlike the States that produces it to make money. Take a look at Eminem, Nelly, 50 Cent, it's no longer proper rap like it was 10 years ago, they are more like pop tunes now. US HipHop was in it's prime during the '80s and '90s with guys like Jam Master J and Tupac. While I am referring to the mainstream US Urban scene, I know there are a lot of Underground Rappers that talk about more than just sex, drugs, and guns (like Immortal Technique, Nas, Common and Kanye West), so I'm not declaring US HipHop officially dead or anything. While US HipHop has long reached it's climax, it's something that will never die. Though, I do believe that Americans are waiting for the right underground MC to come along and start a new era in HipHop.
Though, I understand the reason why American artists keep rapping about bling, drugs and drive bys is because it's what comercial listeners want to hear and when the day comes when we stop buying that crap, American artists will adapt and start keeping it real instead of showing women shakin' their booty and gettin pimped.
I'll give UK the nod in this one because apart from the dead rappers, or rappers who have already made their mark on the US scene, there are no new and exciting US acts that are going to emerge in the mainstream scene anytime soon, whereas the Grime genre is ready to burst into the mainstrem scene. Plus British MC's are always looking for new ideas, thinking outside the box by experimenting with new things as they try to change how people perceive urban music.
ADVANTAGE: UK
PRODUCTION
UK Hip Hop is grittier and American Hip Hop is a lot more polished with high production. British music videos are generally poorly produced and are poor quality compared to the Americans. Then again, the reason they produce better music videos in the first place is because they have more cash. I prefer the States because of their high production values.
ADVANTAGE: USA
ACCENTS
A lot of Americans complain about the Northern accents UK rap artists have, but there are plenty of British MC's all over the country with different accents that aren't just Northern. Hell, even Estelle is from London! And it's weird how Americans fault us for our accent, when they've recently took a shine to the "Dirty South" movement (led by Ludacris and Scarface) as everyone has managed to accept their Southern accents.
ADVANTAGE: None
LONGEVITY
In some ways it's unfair to compare the two because Americans have been at it a lot longer than us so they have a good head start. UK hip-hop is still in it's infancy, but that's not a knock against them because the fact that it sounds primitive is what makes it so great. In a way I hope UKHH never blows up and sells out like the US hip hop scene, though our artists do deserve recognition and money for their work but British MC's just keep it real and that is reflected in their music.
ADVANTAGE: USA
RECOGNITION
Easy one, Americans win hands down. While most know who Dizzee Rascal is, not everybody knows who Lethal B is as the only exposure most UK Urban artists get is from Channel U and the Internet. And even if you do conquer the UK market like Dizzee did, then you'll then need to repeat the whole process again if you wish to conquer the US market, whereas US mainstream artists don't need to tour England in order to be heard off. Then again, the reason US hipHop is so commercialised is because a) the media says it's cool and b) it's rammed down peoples throats. That's not to say that everyone's a sheep, but there is a mighty big flock.
ADVANTAGE: USA
WORK-RATE
Both have to work equally hard to get to the top, but for Grime it's especially hard to get heard, because it is a new type of sound that is coming up, and people don't want to take risks on playing it incase it turns out to be a total flop.
ADVANTAGE: UK
CONCLUSION
In the end, it's not about either being "better". Both places have good rappers and bad rappers. A good rapper is a good rapper, regardless of where they were born or where they live. If you don't like UK rap, that's cool, each to their own - but don't just declare it's somehow inferior unless you have actuality listened to it! Just because someone's not well known in America, that doesn't make them bad.
No disrespect to Americans was intended because I know that's the birthplace of hip-hop and the UK has got a lot to thank America for, but UK hip-hop is something I can relate to.
The following YouTube video is Hip Hop from both sides of the pond so you can decide for yourself on who produces the best music... the UK or the USA?
UK Rap vs USA Rap
