Monday 19 January 2015

The Top 15 Rising Stars Of Grime & UK Rap 2014 [Ones To Watch 2015]


2014 has once again seen some of the finest UK on-line media platforms such as Link Up Tv, Grime Report Tv, SBTV, JDZ Media, GRM Daily & P110 working tirelessly on bringing some of the best in new UK Talent to the forefront with a few of these artists really putting in work to develop their sound & style which has led to them standing out and shining through consistently releasing good music until the industry have been forced to pay attention while many others proved to be little more than a flash in the pan with the UK Rap game being the biggest victim of this as many of the new Rappers who had a buzz in 2013 nowhere to be seen in 2014.
That said, here is a genuine list of UK Rappers and Grime MC's who you will not be able to ignore in 2015 as they have laid a lot of groundwork last year and this has led to them rising up the ranks as well as dropping very high quality mixtapes and E.p's proving they are worthy of their place in the music game with some destined to surpass the achievements of the previous generation of artists.

Be sure to at least check out some of the artists on this list as they are the ones to watch this year and should they keep releasing quality music and keep focused the world is theirs.

In NO particular order:

Skrapz [The Game Changer]


Ice City representative Skrapz shook the UK Rap game to the core not once, not twice but 3 times last year with the North West London UK Rapper dropping what is undeniably one of the Top 5 tracks of the year with Mission Impossible which was followed up with his mixtape Skrapz is back Part 2 which was undeniably one of the Top 3 UK Rap mixtapes of 2014 and just in case anyone thought it was a flash in the pan he topped it all off with the 80's Baby as well as scene stealing verses on a multitude of tracks which have made him one of the most talked about and sought after artists of 2014 which should set him up for an even more successful 2015 with the release of his album The End Of The Beginning.





Miss Banks [The Iron Lady]


Ms Banks is easily one of the UK's biggest secrets and has talent in abundance with a slick to fierce flow, versatile delivery and the ability to hold her own with the fellas in terms of lyricism.
In 2014 She has dropped a few stand out verses on tracks as well as very impressive Fire In The Streets & Street Heat freestyles for Charlie Sloth and Link Up Tv.

Ms Banks should do well in 2014 as her fan base continues to grow with each video and she brings out more of her personality which is quite endearing and the fact she isn't as hard on the eye as some of the other females in the scene coupled with the fact she has a few club bangers on the way doesn't hurt either!
Download Ms Banks mixtape Once Upon A Grind from Here.





Section Boyz [Too Hood For TV] 


Section Boys have basically flipped the UK Rap game on it's head this year with the South London UK Rap collective delivering some of the biggest street anthems of 2014 with track s like Delete My Number, No Rules & Trophy to name a few with the crew staying ultra efficient and reaping the rewards performing to crowds of bonafide fans who scream the words of their tracks louder than them which is something you don't get too often from UK Rap artists but something Reekos, Swift, Sleeks, Knine, Dee Pee, Inch & Littlez get on the regular and something they will have no problem continuing in 2015.

The Section Boyz mixtape Section Only is definitely one of the biggest mixtapes of the year and showcased a new breed of UK Rapper with the crew definitely having commercial appeal but really not compromising themselves to suit the industry and in a day and age where a Record deal/contract isn't worth wiping you're arse with independently the Section Boyz will flourish.





J Gang - Brixton [Street King]


South London's J Gang really made an impact on the UK Rap game in 2014 with some very well received visuals to his straight to the point gritty and at times harsh tales from the street which accumulated in the release of his mixtape Testing The Water 2 as well as various UK Rap freestyles which J Gang shut down helping to keep Brixton on the map with J Gang dropping visuals consistently and to a point where he has somehow managed to usher through not only himself but many of his crew The Raq Boyz (OS) into the UK Rap game with their fan base growing with each track released and as J Gangs consistency continues with the release of his forthcoming mixtape On My Lonely expect to see him on all the big channels in 2015 as well as a lot more.



Yung Bush - Brixton [The Young Gunner]


Another Brixton artist to keep things popping this year has been Yung Bush who emerged practically from nowhere earlier in the year as a Raq Boyz representative and delivered some very vivid and unrepentant bars and narratives in a series of solid videos and freestyles which have definitely caught the ear of many in the UK Rap and this led to the former football hopeful releasing his debut mixtape A Bit Of Both which was a well received project and has led to Yung Bush becoming one of the UK Rap games hottest rising commodities and everything featuring Yung Bush can be guaranteed to do impressive numbers as he has quickly built up a loyal following of male and female fans whom are always in anticipation of the UK Rappers next release.



Stormzy [Brand New Skeng]

Stormzy is a name which has been on everyones lips this year and the UK Rapper/Grime Artist has definitely had the year of his life going from his Wickedest Skengman freestyle series and a few extremely hot covers and remixes to a Mobo win (Best Grime Act) as well as an appearance on Jools Hoolands BBC1 show not forgetting his iTunes chart topping release The Dreamers Disease and cosigns from just about every MC, DJ and media person in the UK.
2015 should definitely be a good year from Stormzy who has a lot of music on the way as well as his ever burgeoning fan base which seem to be trying their best to make Mr Stiff Chocolate a house hold name.



Novelist [The Wonder Kid]



South East London's Novelist is possibly the best and most rounded up and coming Grime MC in the UK and one of the few who genuinely loves the music first and foremost studying the game and showing a great amount of respect for the the Grime scene and MCing culture taking an oldschool approach to things (Radio/Freestyles/Clashing) and a seriously impressive workrate as well as his ultra catchy and hype inducing Stand out verse on the Squares track Pengaleng which has led to him catching the ear of many of the Grime scene's Producers and DJ's who have not only worked on tracks with the new comer but also taken Novelist all over the UK and around Europe with them as he brings something fresh to the table and can definitely keep up with many of the games veterans.
Look out for a lot more music, radio and stage shows from Novelist in 2015. 



RapMan [Respect The Hustle]


South East London's Rapman dropped a trilogy of tracks The Story Of The Blue which saw each instalment shut down the internet in a way many a UK Rap artist could only dream of and it has to be one of the best and most compelling tracks from any artist in 2014 with the rising star delivering a tale from the streets with the same conviction as a Nas or a Biggie.
Rapman also proved he isn't a one hit wonder with the release of his mixtape Put The Work In which further proves that he is one of the few street artists that display a higher level of lyricism while staying away from stereotypical UK Rap fanfare and through this has achieved the ability to become a major player.




Izzie Gibbs [The Grime Scenes New Problem]


One of the Grime scene's hardest and most impressive rising artists has to be Northampton's Izzie Gibbs whose drive and hunger has really began to be noticed due to the amount of work he has put in over the past 2 years and Izzie Gibbs has began to reap the rewards from non stop clashing on Don't Flop, Words Are Weapons and more as well as regularly honing his skills with some of the best of them on radio sets with DJ's such as Big Mikee on Silk City Radio and Sir Spyro on Rinse Fm with Izzie Gibbs also dropping a mixtape Real To The Death in the midst of this work which has led to him being inducted into the Invasion Alert camp as well as cosigns from some of the Grime scene's best. Expect big things from Izzie Gibbz next year as he will definitely be doing his thing.




Villain [Ready For The World]


East London's Villain is one of the few artists to really capitalise off of the hype of Lord Of The Mics 6 with the Invasion Alert MC and So Bow representative making sure he has been in the right places dropping the right bars and watching his stock continue to grow with each release and freestyle and Villain has increased his workrate in 2014 dropping the mixtape Are You Listening which showed a lot more direction from the former Mucky Wolfpack Younger as well as landing guest spots on a lot of projects within the grime scene so expect nothing but big things from Villain in 2015.






Potter Payper [Bound To Blow]


Essex based UK Rapper Potter Payper really turned up the heat on them in 2014 with more solid tracks and visuals with Potter definitely breaking away from the pack and establishing himself firmly in the UK Rap scene and developing a strong fanbase as well as becoming one of the UK Rappers other UK Rappers rate with just about everyone cosigning the street lyricist whose attention to detail coupled with his honest and relateable tales of the street have seen his stock rise rapidly with his mixtape Training Day has held things down for a minute building up the anticipation for his latest project 24 which will be out in January 2015.



AK (ScumFam) [Workrate Pro]


While many of the MC's on Lord Of The Mics 6 faded into obscurity after their clashes AK from the Scumfam crew has steadily upped his workrate dumping hard and impressive bars on numerous radio sets as well as delivering some stand out verses on the multitude of track that the Sheffield representative has featured on.
To top this off he has released a well received mixtape Throwaways Vol 1 which see's AK dishing out more hardcore bars as well as showcasing his ability to work as well on his own as he does with others and also the fact he has a very good ear for beats.

Expect a lot from AK in 2015 as he finishes up his forthcoming official EP



Dorris [Manchesters Finest]


Dorris is one of the very few artists you only will only need to hear once to realise that he is on his own thing and is manages to get listeners to gravitate towards him with nothing more than a really well balance of heartfelt lyricism mixed with his Northern witticisms making Dorris aka Morris enterinment central.
Lord Of The Mics 6 saw Dorris sqaure off with Hazman from Invasion in what was a very much overlooked clash but one which anyone who paid attention to would have noticed that the Manchester representative definitely has bars for War and can take as well as give which is another sign of a solid Grime MC and Dorris's genuine 'I don't give a fuck' attitude might be the birth of a new Rockstar!



Realz [Prince Of East]

Realz is one of the few Grime artists who has shone in 2014 with no major cosigns, no label or publicist working for him behind the scenes and not through begging friend with the industry weirdos from Shoreditch, Realz done things the old fashioned way and with some really heartfelt Tracks and noteworthy freestyles has managed to gravitate towards being a complete package who can definitely hang with the best of them as the fans grow to appreciate the So Bow representative who its fair to say obliterated Proton in Lord Of The Mics 5.
Expect some good strong music from realz in 2015 as he readies his forthcoming and much anticipated Mixtape.



GINO [The MAN]


Nottingham representative Gino continued to grow from strength to strength in 2014 with not only more of the big catchy tracks he is known for but also for popping up virtually everywhere and if he wasn't on stage sharing the mic with some of the biggest names in Grime then he could be found at the Mobo's, #BDL Tour, getting a club fully turned up or turning on the Christmas lights in Nottingham city like it's nothing.
Gino is a ball of non stop energy which is what he brings to the game and you will soon notice that there isn't a dull moment with the MC who stays away from promoting the same tired street tales which stagnate many an artists career instead prefering to bring good time sna d good vibes which are a nice way to balance things out and something which Gino has become a professional at.
Look out for a lot from Gino in 2015.




Honourable Mentions....
Here are a few lesser know but equally talented new artists whom you will definitely be getting to know by the end of 2015

Cadell (East London)
Snowy (Nottingham)
The Square (South East London)
Jammz (East London)
C Caine (London)
Grimos (East London)
Ten Dixon (London)
Trapz (Birmingham)
Rampage 
Pawz (South East London)
Mic Ty (East London)
67 (South London)
Black Steve (East London)
Forca (Sheffield)

What do you think of this list? To be honest I don't really care as many of you will say its wrong but feel free to let me know if there is anyone who has been missed out off of this list either in the comments or on Twitter @TheGrimeReport @Lordie__






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