For almost as long as hip-hop has existed as a concept, the UK’s had its own iteration. For a while, that meant imitating what we saw on MTV, putting on American accents and mimicking the style and swagger. Gradually, though, especially in the wake of London Posse, rappers started to reject that—artists began to look inwards and draw from the diaspora right here in Britain. Elements of U.S. rap were still present, but now the beats and flows were starting to reflect the culture more—especially in the forgotten corners of the country with crews like Birmingham’s Moorish Delta 7.
By the early 2000s, in parallel to grime’s ascent, a load of crews and individuals were sprouting up, mostly in Brixton and Peckham (although East London outfit Choong Family bucked that trend). Of the South Londoners, Brixton’s P.D.C, aka Poverty Driven Children, were early trailblazers and their darker, no-frills approach completely changed the game. This is when the flows got slower, the subject matter got darker, and the signifiers really took hold. Interestingly, although a lot of these elements are now undeniably UK, they still have their roots in the States. The slow flow, for example, isn’t a million miles from early Gucci Mane and Jeezy, and let’s not forget the beat from “Talkin Da Hardest” was a Dr. Dre beat made exclusively for Shady/Aftermath’s Stat Quo. So while the influence of America will always be there to some extent, this era transformed UK rap forever, taking those influences, stripping them down and chopping them up into something completely our own.
It was also this mid-2000s era that grime exploded in popularity. That scene had made stars of Dizzee, Wiley, Tinchy and more in the years that followed, but when that happened, many felt grime was no longer the voice of the streets. In place of that, road rap’s raw, often rough-around-the-edges presentation felt much more honest and relatable. It’s that era that we’ve selected as our start point because, in 2007, it felt like UK hip-hop had not only found its voice under the road rap banner, but it was really starting to crank out some hits. It’s also a time when we saw a lot of today’s stars really come into their own. Giggs was in full swing now, heading up his empire and getting ready to drop the national anthem, Blade Brown had just returned to the game after a brief hiatus, Youngs Teflon had ditched grime and was kicking off a prodigious run of tapes, and a young fresh-faced duo called Krept & Konan were getting ready to shake some rooms.
Most of the legends that we’ve listed below are going stronger than ever and have even started to influence things Stateside. The legacy of road rap is also felt in modern stars like Potter Payper and Nines who are still brutally raw, but now come armed with high production values and, in the case of the latter, the backing of the UK arm of a hip-hop institution: 0207 Def Jam. You can also hear it in today’s drill stars, whose dark and brutal roots echo the scuffed-knuckle toughness of 2000s rap. The call of the mainstream and the current (and concerning) sampling controversy may have given us some watered down iterations, but the towering influence of Giggs, Youngs Teflon, Fekky, Young Spray, K Koke et al., will still be standing tall long after the last bait UK garage sample has been bludgeoned to death.
Giving flowers to a pioneering age and the artists behind it, here are the 20 best mixtapes from road rap’s early reign.
20. Morrisson, ‘The Best Of Morrisson’
Year of release: 2009
Essential tracks: “Gucci’d Up”
Raised on Newham’s William Morley estate, road rap veteran Morrisson has been active since 2008, but it’s his 2009 project, The Best Of Morrisson, that has stood the test of time, cementing itself as one of the genre’s staple releases. The life and times of infamous East End ‘60s gangsters like the Krays have long been glamorised and storied. Morrisson’s chilling, gritty descriptions of drug dealing and tit-for-tat violence in Newham have the opposite effect—there’s not much glamour to be found amongst the bloodshed, paranoia, jealous rivals and constant threat of jail time. He delivers his street dispatches with authority and menace too, leaving you in little doubt about the veracity of his rhymes—it’s a potent blend when coupled with the tape’s motivational productions. The Best Of Morrisson is an unfiltered hustler’s diary, and captures the raw outlaw energy of the genre in its early days. —Robert Kazandjian
19. Sneakbo, ‘Certified’
Year of release: 2014
Essential tracks: “Right Here”, “Real G”, “Real Talk 2”, “Older”, “It’s Cracking”
Sneakbo has been showing us “the wave” for close to 15 years straight. One of the more consistent creators in UK rap, his 2014 mixtape, Certified, dropped after years of hustling underground to get his music heard by the masses and respected by the critics. The more you listen to Certified, the more you understand why Sneakbo is one of the best street banger-makers around, mixing his love of dancehall and the Afro sounds of his Nigerian background with hard-hitting raps—this all before Afroswing even had a name. At just 22 years old, the Brixton native was touring with the likes of Drake and Rick Ross and accumulating millions of YouTube views; Drizzy even went on record to say how much he was inspired by Sneakbo on his 2011 LP, Take Care. On Certified, Sneaky showed the world why his wave was certi. —Mimi Itseli.
18. Fekky, ‘Come On Den’
Year of release: 2012
Essential tracks: “Bang”, “Ring Ring Trap (Remix)”, “Retail”, “Magic”, “Winner”
What a time capsule! The features alone should secure this one a place in the history books, including early appearances from J.Appiah, as well as a feature from Don Strapzy under his ill-fated Dru Blu alias. Most importantly, it bridges the gap between grime, rap and trap, and then packing it with features from Jme, Frisco and Little Dee side-by-side with Blade Brown, Youngs Teflon, and Krept & Konan. Speaking of which, it also gave us an absolutely massive anthem in the “Ring Ring Trap (Remix)”, a six-minute road epic featuring Blade Brown, Youngs Teflon, C-Biz and Fem Fel. Nowadays, the grime-rap crossover is a well-worn path, but in 2012, putting a tape like this together was truly groundbreaking and breathed energy and creative vigour into both camps. —James Keith
17. Benny Banks, ‘Patiently Waiting Vol. 1’
Year of release: 2011
Essential tracks: “Out There”, “All Starz”, “Talk 2 Me”, “2 Feet”, “Money Over Bitches”
North London’s Benny Banks—your favourite rapper’s favourite rapper—is a diamond in the rough that has continued to shine in his darkest moments. Benny’s 2011 mixtape, Patiently Waiting Vol. 1, captivated listeners with his laid-back flow and spotless bar structure, giving life to his from-the-heart, emotionally-charged bars on a life of disenfranchisement. With collaborators including Squeeks, G Money, Joe Black, Timbar and more, the tape’s standout moments are literally endless, and as an overall vibe, it really doesn’t get much more ‘LDN’ than this. —Mimi Itseli
16. Tion Wayne, ‘Wayne’s World’
Year of release: 2014
Essential tracks: “Still Me”, “Wanna See Me Down”, “Streetheat”, “I’m Living” “Outro”
Now a proven hitmaker and comfortably one of the biggest rappers in the UK, Tion Wayne’s hustler’s ambition to escape the poverty of his youth in Edmonton was evident from his 2014 debut mixtape, Wayne’s World. While he’s known today for his breezy Afroswing anthems and swaggering drill cuts, his first tape sits firmly in the lane of motivational road rap, at a time when the genre’s first golden age was coming to an end and emerging artists would begin to experiment with more fluid sounds. Autobiographical opener “Intro” puts Tion’s story into context, describing how his mum’s illness and financial struggles killed his dreams of being an accountant and put him on the roads “with no plan B”, while warmer cuts “Still Me” and “Out The Hood” focus on how a change in circumstances and more money won’t change who he is. They’re also early examples of his writing credentials, and sound like they could have been hits if given the chance. Tion’s focus has always been achieving the financial freedom that would allow him to live a better life, by any means necessary—that hustling was a means to an end. He sums up this mentality on “Outro”: “I know I should be copping body armour/But I’m in Balenciaga.” —Robert Kazandjian
15. Mover, ‘Everybody Hates Muni Vol. 1’
Year of release: 2013
Essential tracks: “Girl With A Tattoo”, “Reala Chick 2”, “Nan Down”, “One Day”, “Ringtone”
During the early 2010s, road rap had reached peak grittiness—in the beats as much as the bars—but Mover’s contribution to it brought an element of playfulness. Citing everyone from 50 Cent and Max B to Vybz Kartel as influences, he seamlessly blended dancehall, rap and Afro sounds in this project whilst still keeping it gritty at the core. This is worth noting because Mover was one of the only rappers at the time that catered to both their male listeners and female audience with this style. Alongside the good vibes, Mover’s poignant and reflective storytelling shone through on Everybody Hates Muni Vol. 1, which saw him tap into many emotions. Although incarcerated, there will never be another like Mover and his influence is still ever-present. —Naz Hamdi
14. Rimzee, ‘The Upper Clapton Dream’
Year of release: 2012
Essential tracks: “Keep Stackin”, “Hometown”, “2010 Freestyle”, “Here I Am”, “Hard Life”
Inspired by the late Black The Ripper’s Edmonton Dream from 2009, Rimzee’s debut mixtape—The Upper Clapton Dream—is an East End hood classic. His intention with the project was to tell the story of his experiences as a young Black man growing up in Hackney, the trials and tribulations of an unforgiving ‘Murder Mile’, and how he stayed inspired to pave a better path for himself and those around him. The Upper Clapton Dream was the first tape on Mixtape Madness to reach the milestone of 10,000 downloads upon its release, and half of them were from overseas (America, Sweden, Japan, et al). Highly regarded for his go-getting and ambitious nature on and off the mic, Rimzee is now finally getting the flowers he truly deserves as he continues to rise up the ranks in UK rap. —Naz Hamdi
13. Young Spray, ‘Realer Than Most Vol. 2’
Year of release: 2009
Essential tracks: “Stand On My Own Feet”, “Shed No Tears”, “Sorry Mum”, “Bury Me A G”
South London is credited as road rap’s birthplace, but also standing tall at the genre’s inception was Young Spray, hailing from Walthamstow with close links to Tottenham. Originally part of Channel U legends Northstar alongside C1 and Chyna, Spray’s legendary 2009 sophomore tape, Realer Than Most Vol. 2, expertly captures the rage and rawness of the sound. Authenticity was, is, and always will be one of road rap’s core tenets, and Spray oozes realness across the set’s 27 tracks. The project’s opening bars on “Stand On My Own Feet” sets the tone, and embodies Spray’s mantra of fierce independence as a means to making it out of the trenches: “I can stand on my own feet/I’m a man, I bust my own heat/Born alone, die alone/Nobody can’t own me.” There are plenty of poetic insights about wider society amongst the growled boasts and violent threats, too. The RTM podcaster’s bars about the degradation and dehumanisation of jail make “Locked Up” one of the genre’s best ever prison portraits, and “Revolution” is a fiery street sermon coming live and direct from the belly of the beast, aimed at the politicians responsible for the cycles of violence Spray describes in his bars. —Robert Kazandjian
12. Joe Black, ‘Realionaire’
Year of release: 2011
Essential tracks: “Realionaire”, “Usual Suspects”, “Day In, Day Out”, “Hustlers”
When it comes to pain-rap, few cut as deep as rapper-turned-football-coach Joe Black. (His beat selection is also still a major talking point, even though he hasn’t dropped in years). Following his 2009 mixtape, King Of The Underground, in 2011, Joe unleashed his magnum opus: Realionaire, a 25-tracker that featured everyone from Stockwell’s Youngs Teflon to 0121’s Stardom, proving that he had an ear for the stars of tomorrow. Whether it was the MMG-inspired, feel-good vibes of its title track, or the easy-breeziness of “Usual Suspects” with Squeeks, the North London native showed he was an artist to be reckoned with on Realionaire. —Joseph ‘JP’ Patterson
11. Youngs Teflon, ‘Renaissance’
Year of release: 2014
Essential tracks: “Django”, “Ain’t Got Time”, “Cameras”, “When Thugs Cry”, “Survivor’s Story”
Youngs Teflon himself has gone on record as saying Renaissance is the best full-length project he’s ever released, and it’s easy to see why he’d say that. We get to see every side of Tef at full tilt; there’s greaze, there’s storytelling, and the beat selection is something to behold—a lot of which come from Michelin Shin and Carns Hill. Don’t forget, this is 2014, so not that long before, Carns began working out the blueprints of early drill with 67. Although there isn’t really any drill in the strictest sense (in fact, there’s more boom-bap than drill), you can hear just the faintest hints of some of those ideas being sketched out, namely the bass patterns of “Django” and some of the drums on tracks like “Ain’t Got Time”. This is far from Tef’s only classic—in truth, he’s got at least half a dozen tapes worthy of inclusion—but the intersection of pre-drill Carns Hill and Youngs Teflon at this stage in his growth just aligned perfectly. —James Keith
10. Blade Brown, ‘Financial Times’
Year of release: 2011
Essential tracks: “Dreaming”, “30%”, “Sitting In A Room”, “Don’t Ever Go”, “Sometimes”
Blade Brown’s 2011 project, Financial Times, is up there when it comes to influential bodies of work in British rap, with remnants of his flashy-but-thought-provoking rhymes—laced with tales of the trap, women, parties, and the “big bro” flex as he warns those that might want to follow suit—being heard even in today’s UK drill, by the likes of K-Trap. Enlisting names such as Wretch 32, Skepta and Youngs Teflon, Blade was out to prove a point: that he could stand up next to the most lyrically-deft spitters in the game and still keep the crud on 100. The stakes were also high as he had a lot to live up to after dropping classic tapes in The Best Of Blade, Hollow Meetz Blade, Blade vs Fem Fel, and Bags & Boxes. But he did it with total ease, and Financial Times continues to be a motivating force for go-getters all over. —Mimi Itseli
9. Potter Payper, ‘Training Day’
Year of release: 2013
Essential tracks: “Purple Rain”, “Conversations With A Fiend”, “The Mrs”, “Hustlin”, “Oldskool”
Potter Payper’s Training Day project, named after the 2001 film starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke, saw the Essex rapper delve into difficult topics such as his upbringing, poverty, and the botched prison system via his hunger-driven, impassioned bars and gripping rhyme schemes. Throughout the tape, Potter’s conviction and airtight delivery leaves you with a belief in his self-assuredness as he sounds so firm and honest when he’s in the zone. TD1 was loved so much by the streets that it spawned Part 2 & 3, the latter of which hit No. 3 on the UK albums chart back in 2020. Training Day was the beginning of a fruitful journey for Potter, and is now etched in UK music history as one of the greatest rap projects to come from this country. —Naz Hamdi
8. J Spades, ‘More Money More Pagans 2’
Year of release: 2013
Essential tracks: “Live Life”, “Wavey”, “TGIF”, “Trapping Look Bad”, “Pagans”
Mashtown legend J Spades shifted the road rap landscape with More Money More Pagans 2, arguably the diamond in his crown of releases. One of the originators of intermixing Caribbean sounds with hard-hitting trap, J Spades—with his patois-leaning styles—was, and still is, a highly respected figure in UK rap, one known for flying the flag for his East London sides and shining a light on the rest of the Mashtown collective (R.I.P. Hypo). More Money More Pagans 2 was made for the hustlers out there whose main aim is to “Live Life” to the fullest, and celebratory cuts such as “Wavey” and “TGIF” make for the perfect fly-guy soundtrack. It becomes more and more clear who inspired which wave early on when listening to these iconic tapes. —Joseph ‘JP’ Patterson
7. Skrapz, ‘Skrapz Is Back Part II’
Year of release: 2014
Essential tracks: “Letter To My Fans”, “Mission Impossible”, “Bless You”, “It Ain’t Easy”, “Waiting”
By the end of the 2000s, North-West London grime crew SLK had fractured and its key players were forging their own paths. A few stuck to grime, but Skrapz immersed himself in the rap scene and by the turn of the decade, he’d dropped Skrapz Is Back. That was a landmark release in itself, but its sequel was arguably even better. For various legal reasons that don’t need to be dwelled on, Skrapz has yet to reach the heights he really deserves, and that fact isn’t lost on him, either. Right after the “Intro”, on “Letter To My Fans”, he talks in detail about the pull of road life and his own self-doubt keeping him from reaching his full potential. That said, the 18-tracker did hit a few milestones that shouldn’t be overlooked. For one, the video for “Mission Impossible” was his first to hit a million views. Still, as popular as that tune is, what really makes this tape a winner is the tension between his moments of peace and the desperate times that pull him back to the streets. A timeless classic. —James Keith
6. Krept & Konan, ‘Redrum Vol. 1’
Year of release: 2009
Essential tracks: “Ya Smell Me”, “Armageddon”, “Pain In My Head”, “Click In Beef”, “With You”
It was the decidedly glossier Long Way Home (and, to some extent, its predecessor Young Kingz) that really helped Krept & Konan break through, but in the underground, it was their much darker Redrum project that earned them their stripes. It’s coarse, fast-paced, and packs a lot of the energy they brought over from their formative days in grime. Actually, quite a lot of the Krept & Konan blueprint can be traced back to this tape. Krept’s “128 Bar Massacre” was a bloody-nosed, scuffed-knuckle take on Juelz Santana’s “Rumble Young Man Rumble”, but then there are the kind of R&B-laced smoothies that would become central to 7 Nights years later, and there’s even some UK funky on “Jump In The Middle” with Weazy and the late Cadet. Tsunami, the South London duo’s follow-up, is also worth checking out. Passionate advocates would argue it’s better, but I’d argue this wrecking ball of a set has yet to be topped. —James Keith
5. Skrapz, ‘80s Baby’
Year of release: 2014
Essential tracks: “Get You Home”, “One More Chance Freestyle”, “Deep Cover”, “Rain On Me”
Sorry, Foxy. Sorry, LL. Sorry, Biggie (R.I.P). And all the other rappers’ hits Ice City Boy Skrapz covered on this tape, but these songs belong to him now. Maybe I’m being biased because I’m hashtag Team UK for life, but I said what I said and I’m standing by it. —Joseph ‘JP’ Patterson
4. Nines, ‘From Church Rd. To Hollywood’
Year of release: 2012
Essential tracks: “CR”, “My Hood”, “Zino Always Said”, “AJ’D Out”, “The Way It’s Gonna Go”
Hailing from the Church Road estate in Harlesden, North-West London, Ice City Boyz godfather Nines first introduced us to his trademark smoked-out drawl in 2007, then just 17 years old. When his debut mixtape, From Church Rd. To Hollywood, finally landed in 2012, it officially announced him as one of road rap’s emerging young kings. Across the tape’s 20 tracks, Nines floats above smooth productions like a cloud of ammi smoke, painting hazy pictures of the life of a successful young trapper in Church End. There’s plenty of loud to sell and smoke, and plenty of women to smoke it with. Rivals and threats are there too, but it rarely feels like they’re at the forefront of his thoughts, such is the serenity in his delivery. Nines’ rap superpower is the smooth effortlessness with which he glides over beats, and it’s in full effect on this tape, making his cool boasts all the more believable. “Came to the club alone, I’ll probably leave with your girl/When I was putting weed on the scales, you n****s was watching Kenan & Kel,” he brags on “Zino Always Said” before going onto describe the pack he’s smoking as green and fluffy as a Teletubby. It’s the kind of description that only works if Nina raps it. —Robert Kazandjian
3. Giggs & Blade Brown, ‘Hollowman Meetz Blade’
Year of release: 2007
Essential tracks: “Sink A Boat”, “Last 1’s Left”, “Day In A Life”, “Get Doe”, “Push”
This was one of the first collaborative tapes in UK rap and, in a lot of ways, set the tone and the standard for the format. Back then (and 15 years ago really is a lifetime in music years), the stakes were much, much higher. Radio play was so rare it basically wasn’t worth shooting for and live shows were just as hard to come by, so projects were pretty much dependent on sales. It’s also worth remembering that Walk In Da Park was a year from release and Blade Brown was yet to even kick off his Bags & Boxes series, but even so, the two rhymers had already achieved cult status—Blade for his Nothing Long Vol. 1 tape and freestyles on 1Xtra, Choice and Kiss, and Giggs for his years of work as a DJ, rapper, and head of the already flourishing SN1 empire. So when this landed, it was a huge gift for rap fans. Before “Talkin Da Hardest”, this tape gave road rap quite a few early anthems, but “Sink A Boat” might be the biggest of all. Throw in features from Cease, T. Coming, Sizzle, Money Anderson and Bucky Boy alongside SN1 teammates Tiny Boost, Kyze and Joe Grind, and you’ve got a historic moment for South London and road rap. —James Keith
2. Giggs & Dubz, ‘Ard Bodied’
Year of release: 2007
Essential tracks: “Talking Da Hardest”, “Pain Is The Essence”, “List Hello”, “Be Careful”
2007 was a super important year for UK hip-hop: it was the year road rap exploded on the streets of South London and infiltrated the rest of the big, bad city. At the centre of this ominous strain of British rap stood a then-unknown rapper by the name of Giggs, aka Hollowman from Peckham. Taking on a Dr. Dre beat—originally used for Stat Quo’s “Here We Go” in 2007—Giggs wrapped his monotone flow and get-to-know rhymes around the strings-led production to create “Talking Da Hardest”, a track now considered the catalyst of this entire sound. Proving that he was no one-hit-wonder, Giggs’ collaborative mixtape with Dubz, Ard Bodied gave us timeless gems such as “Pain Is The Essence” and “List Hello” and, 15 years on, the Big Ryde-hosted, 21-track project is as much of a hood legend as its creator. —Joseph ‘JP’ Patterson
1. K Koke, ‘Pure Koke Vol. 1’
