Rap Trip: Underground Scenes Uncovered

Liverpool’s underground rap scene has been bubbling for years, fighting to be heard above the noise from Manchester. But local artists Aystar and Tremz have recently broken through – is Scouse Rap the next big thing? Ransom and FOS head to Merseyside to find out. They start with Beyond Average, who have been on the scene for years. They also meet artist SSJ as he tries to put on an event. On a walk around Toxteth, FOS and Ransom meet Gully Man Dred, a local drill artist, and join him for a freestyle. Another Toxteth artist, Pelumi, is doing things a bit differently. She’s only 16 and from a Christian family. The boys meet her as she picks up her GCSE results before freestyling at an underground radio station. A trip to the Wirral takes FOS and Ransom to rapper Mal. The life and soul of the party, Mal has autism and strives to incorporate mental health into his music, shouting loud and proud about his love for rap music to the Wirral locals.

The Irish rap scene has existed for decades but has been long overlooked and overshadowed by rappers in the US and UK. So FOS and Ransom head to the Republic of Ireland to meet some of the Irish rappers who are making noise. In FOS’s first time overseas, the duo meet JYellowL in Dublin. The Nigerian Irish artist has huge talent and was recently featured on the Fifa soundtrack, but he finds it difficult to feel accepted as an Irish rapper. The next stop is Tallaght, where teenage viral sensations Cal and Pepper have become local celebrities and are challenging the perception of Irish rap. The sad loss of both of their brothers has motivated Cal and Pepper to go all the way, and they won’t stop until they are millionaires. But Irish rap isn’t all about the city life. Next, Ransom and FOS take the van across to Port Arlington, an area that has suffered from job and industry losses. It’s here that the Lemon Pie Collective are based – a group of mates who struggle to be taken seriously as rappers in their local area. But they are pushing on regardless, building a stage in the local pub to unite the locals and showcase their sound.

The British Asian rap scene is buzzing from within the community, but is it about to take off into the mainstream? And is ‘Asian rap’ a label that should be scrapped? In this episode, FOS and Ransom head to Leicester and Bradford to meet some of the rappers breaking through. In Leicester, the guys meet Jay Milli, a rapper of Punjabi heritage, and Ceejay. Jay introduces FOS and Ransom to WnP, Western and Punjabi Beats, before taking them to a night-time block party with fast cars and freestyles. The boys then head to Bradford, where local YouTube channel King of Da Hillz invites them to a video recording in a studio. They hear from HDUK and other Asian rappers about what it feels like to be marginalised in their own communities for being rappers