uk-rap #DWMT & The whole UKHH scene (No originality)

[Afroman]

Here’s why we won’t be posting anymore “Don’t Waste My Time” freestyles…or “PoundCake” freestyles, or any other copycat freestyles you can think of’ – (That’s the full title of this piece and no, I don’t think it’s too long).

I promise one of these days I’ll stop moaning and write a positive article, maybe even tomorrow (hint, hint) but for today we’ve got to address this epidemic. I really thought it would stop this week but no, I was wrong. Every single day for the past two weeks without fail, there’s been a new remix version of Krept & Konan’s “Dont Waste My Time” pop up. It’s only when you realise the track dropped in August of last year that the silly situation we’re now in reveals itself. Apart from a planned UK remix, nobody else thought the track worthy of remixing until…January 2nd 2014, French Montana popped up with a version on his ‘CokeBoys 4′ mixtape and seemingly gave everyone the green light? Now it suddenly received an official stamp of approval? Now all of the UK has to be all over it? Now all of a sudden Dot Rotten has an issue with Krept & Konan that he desperately needed to get off his chest? I have to admit, the irony of rappers up and down the country declaring “Don’t Waste My Time” whilst doing exactly that is truly special.

 

To be fair, the majority of these tracks have been good, with verses from rappers at the forefront of the scene like G Frsh, Youngs Teflon, Yungen, Sneakbo etc it’s to be expected. DWMT is a banger of an anthem with a strong hook but it’s just a shame UK rappers are proving they need batteries put in their backs for inspiration at times.  I can also see the counter argument here, if it brings about more good music, does it really matter? The problem with this way of thinking is that it completely ignores the deeper issue and that is, shouldn’t we be the tastemakers within our own scene, our own country? Should we let ‘outsiders’ decide whats hot and what’s not?

 

My main point here is, this all goes against the very reason French probably recorded his version in the first place. It goes against the reason Diddy recruited a UK MC to launch a grime remix of “Hello Good Morning”, the reason Jay Z came to the Royal Albert Hall in 2006 and made sure he freestyled over the hottest UK track at the time. Believe it or not, our very small nation is respected and is more influential than countires two or three times our size across the world.  Some of the biggest acts in the world pencil London, Birmingham and Manchester in on their tour calendars, as places they have to put on a show for. The UK isn’t seen as somewhere an artist can come, see and conquer. They have to really impress – but it’s when French Montana (an artist that failed to go even Gold or Silver in the states with his debut album) is capabale of shaking up our scene in such a way it reveals just how small we are after all. When rappers that spend the whole year tweeting about Drake being ‘moist’ and ‘soft’ all decide to cover “Pound Cake” one by one without even seeing their own hypocrisy, it’s backfires on all of us.

 

 

Want an example of a good cover track? Skepta’s “Castles“, which you may or may not know borrowed the beat and hook from US oddball RiFF RaFF’s “Versace Python Freestyle“. Instead of needlessly leeching off the hype around a popular hit, Skepta stumbled across an alternative track, used it as inspiration and “Castles” spearheaded ‘Blacklisted’, arguably Skepta’s best project to date. Want proof of its effect, Skepta’s version is more viewed and ‘liked’ than it’s predecessor despite being released months after, testament to it’s longevity and authenticity. Now ask yourself if these various copycat cover tracks have been played more than the first time you heard them and you’ll realise the value of orignality and non conformity in an art form as flexible and as free as rap.

 

Took this of the grmdaily website. 

 

But yeah, been something that I have been thinking for a while about the whole d*ck riding sport ukhh has always had.Had 3 different up & coming rappers asking man to shoot a visual for this same beat.

 

DWMT is a sick beat. But it took french montana to jump on it before uk rappers wanted to jump on.

 

Their is no originality in ukhh and it always going to be in the shadow of the USHH.

[seven]

 

dont wanna hear anyone elses

[Sole]

tbf uk scene has been like this for last couple years don't know why man are only just getting upset

krept and Conan been guilty of this in the past

think it's more a case of there are just so many more idiots trying to rap and doing a 'remix' is step one in the rapping for dummies guide book

dwmt isn't even all that.

[Agony]

Glad someone wrote that article

Was thinking about this exact subject the other month when a uk rapper asked on twitter "should I do a poundcake freestyle?"

Why be a sheep and be the 57th person to jump on a track when you can think outside the box and stand out on a track that everybody else has slept on e.g. Giggs using 'Stat Quo - Here we go' for 'talking the hardest'

And if you're gonna jump on a bait track at least flip the subject matter(e.g. Lupe Fiasco's BMF/Building Minds Faster freestyle) to put your own spin on it.

[Flat Eric]

if i was a rapper i would be spitting on them hidden gem instrus like giggs did

[TF S4DK]

Grmdaily are as guilty as the rappers tbh.

 

If they continue to take this stance great.

[Afroman]

Grmdaily are as guilty as the rappers tbh.

 

If they continue to take this stance great.

agreed. 

Grm daily had a filter system when they first came out and it was all about placing guys with real talent on. Now these days just pay and they put you on. I understand that these man need to eat. But they are partly responsible for the uk urban bubble going burst imo. Its funny that alot of their content is more US based these days.

 

Here goes another hot mess again. Ay beatz tried to turn goldie into some uk future

Shits comical.

[The Infamous]

LOoOOOOL so shit that guy is doing the future adlibs and shit

UKHH scene never had a proper trendsetter

[Wavant]

UKHH is a snoozefest.

There's no competitiveness as well.

[Mizchif]

I was having this conversation yesterday. My boy Gully and my brother were sat in the kitchen with me and they played 5 different versions of DWMT. By the end of all of it I didn't even want to listen to music anymore, yes its a banger, but seriously people have no originality.

 

Back in my emceeing days I made great efforts to spit on things no had spat on in the hope they'd be big, not take someone elses formula and try to emulate their success. That is just the crappest thing you could do as a musician and absolutely not what UK hip hop needs. I heard the G Fresh version 4th and by that time I wasn't moved because of all the other shit I'd just listened to.

[seven]

that goldie really needs to just stick to the roads

[TF S4DK]

The roads aren't everlasting.

[The Infamous]

Cant believe don went autotune and dropped woo woo he must have thought what future does is easy

[Incumbent]

every "rapper" just seems to want the fame/money but don't want to graft to get there, put the work in

 

the ones that do rarely get a look in 

[seven]

 

 

say what u want about these man but you gotta give them a bit of credit

 

[Sole]

Waiste

Fuck sake french.

[Jam]

What advice would you give to the artist that has the talent, hunger, work ethic to persevere and succeed in the game over here?

[Sole]

does that person need advice?

[Jam]

Yeah. What's your take on it?

[Sole]

Well if they have all that then my only advice would be get your music out there in the public domain.

[seven]

Waiste

f*ck sake french.

 

truss me

[TF S4DK]

What advice would you give to the artist that has the talent, hunger, work ethic to persevere and succeed in the game over here?

 

Learn the business/get someone you trust to learn it for you, and then understand it.

 

Network and pick the brain of everyone - fans, other artists current, new, failed or successful, producers, DJs, pluggers, PR, songwriters, managers, publishers, workers at indies/majors, music lawyers. Never stop learning but most of all remember who you are and who you want to be.

[Kuffir]

all these man need to stop bredding the chicago wave

 

seeing all these man from north to south flexing in their video talkin bout no lacking and loud pack

 

over some young chop/lex luger throwaway

 

POOR.