By Dean Langan
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| Tyneside rappers The Verbal Terrorists |
For the past year I have been studying Music Enterprise at Newcastle College and carried out extensive research into Newcastle upon Tyne's Hip-hop scene, while asking the question - Why are Geordie rappers not mainstream artists? - Is it due to the lack of talent the Northeast possesses? Does the Geordie accent actually belong in a rap song? Are the public simply unaware it even exists? I am an avid fan of rap music, and have lived in Newcastle all my life, so hopefully it makes this blog a bit more credible.
It is fair to say that Newcastle upon Tyne, like any other city, regularly churns out talented people from all walks of life. Whether you're a talented musician, photographer, writer, TV personality or footballer, being from the region shouldn't stop you getting where you want to be. This can also be said about the city's home-grown rappers. The artists, if not as vast in terms of numbers as they once were, are certainly more talented than ever. If you're in any doubt as to the quality of the music being made in the region, check out acts such as Rick Fury, Suus and Stig Of The Dump. However as you will appreciate, talent alone is not enough to catapult you into super stardom.
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Geordie MC Rick Fury of Dialect
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In 2011 Radio 1 Xtra DJ Charlie Sloth set out to try and understand why the UK is so heavily dominated by London. Sloth discovered that the UK rap scene is unaware or uninterested of the rap culture up North, which is almost how the American scene was 20 years ago when it was centralised in New York. In another documentary, filmmaker Nick Light suggested that Hip-hop Is Dead (2010), which may have an apparent resonance with truth. Nick interviewed Newcastle rappers The Verbal Terrorists who said "There's not any A&R up here" and rap trio The Projekt added "There's not enough fans". It would seem that exposure needs to come from the fans, however a vast majority of hip-hop fans (including myself) have been brought up on a diet if US rap, and are unwilling to look at what is happening in their own area, let alone a region outside their own.
Due to the genre's heavy reliance on slang and colloquialisms, means it will be harder for outsiders to understand and embrace Newcastle rap, especially as they're already accustomed to their own slang and speech patterns. So to some, a broad Geordie accent on a rap track just sounds out of place. For me though, I think anything new to the ear is worth a listen, and I have to say that after a full year's research I now enjoy hearing a Geordie rap accent. It actually reminds me of the time when I first heard Grime music by London rappers Wiley and Dizzee Rascal some 10 years ago and thought - this will never catch on! But gradually it did catch on, and nowadays I look forward to new music from the likes of Roll Deep, Lethal Bizzle and Skepta. To put it short, more people need to embrace hip-hop from other regions; this is easier than ever with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and costs absolutely nothing.
Like many, I first got into gangsta rap after I heard Detroit rapper Eminem back in 1999 with his release of The Slim Shady LP. My new appetite for rap music would eventually lead me to discover New York City rappers such as The Notorious B.I.G, Nas and The Wu Tang Clan, who popularised the subgenre in the early 90's. New York City - heralded as the capital of gangsta rap - is notoriously laden with crime, so it becomes more plausible when these artists rap about the controversial subjects that are so often associated with their place of birth. When repeated by Newcastle rappers however, sadly it doesn't have the same affect.
Perceptions of Geordies have been dented into the minds of people since the city turned from a coal-mining one to a party one. So when someone hears a North East accent, that person will probably assume they are a football-loving beer-drinking Geordie with a below average IQ, and definitely not a gangster rapper. Furthermore, if you ask anyone outside the North East if they know any rappers from Newcastle, they would most likely say Ant and Dec (Ready to Rumble) or even Gazza (Geordie Boys). It's these stereotypes that give North East rappers a huge mountain to climb before they can be accepted as genuine artists.
Perceptions of Geordies have been dented into the minds of people since the city turned from a coal-mining one to a party one. So when someone hears a North East accent, that person will probably assume they are a football-loving beer-drinking Geordie with a below average IQ, and definitely not a gangster rapper. Furthermore, if you ask anyone outside the North East if they know any rappers from Newcastle, they would most likely say Ant and Dec (Ready to Rumble) or even Gazza (Geordie Boys). It's these stereotypes that give North East rappers a huge mountain to climb before they can be accepted as genuine artists.
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PJ and Duncan on Saturday Night Takeaway (2013)
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There maybe hope, however. Northeast rap collective Big Beat Bronson oppose the laid-back tough-guy image that is so often associated with rap music of today, and instead invoke a personality into their music that stays true to them. The foursome (2 rappers, 1 female vocalist, and a DJ) are headed by a colourful and zany character calling himself Baron Von Alias, who takes to the stage looking like a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Fred Astaire (see below). Their music is definitely current, with producer Steesh (the Baron himself) implementing drum and bass, electronic and and dance elements into their hip-hop anthems. You only have to look at the image they convey to realise that this is not an entirely serious operation, which is expressed in their 2011 releases 'Get Wild Gan Mental' and 'Action Man'.
Tipped to be "the next big thing", BBB have been since performed at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend 2011 and had radio airplay by Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills. They played to a sell-out crowd at Newcastle's O2 Academy when launching their debut E.P. 'May Contain Nuts'. Their YouTube Channel has gained over half a million video hits and nearly 1,000 subscribers. So does it sound like hip-hop is dead for this rap group? I don't think so. What sets them apart is their ability to parry the notion of a gangster, and instead display characteristics that you would normally associate with their hometown of Newcastle upon Tyne i.e. lively, fun and exciting. They understand that to climb out of the underground hip-hop scene (which holds back so many talented artists), they must attain a wider audience. By doing so, Big Beat Bronson become the ideal candidates to commercially represent the Newcastle Hip-hop scene. Perhaps the success of BBB, or similar Newcastle acts, could eventually put Newcastle on the Hip-hop radar and attract the much needed attention that it deserves.
Tipped to be "the next big thing", BBB have been since performed at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend 2011 and had radio airplay by Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills. They played to a sell-out crowd at Newcastle's O2 Academy when launching their debut E.P. 'May Contain Nuts'. Their YouTube Channel has gained over half a million video hits and nearly 1,000 subscribers. So does it sound like hip-hop is dead for this rap group? I don't think so. What sets them apart is their ability to parry the notion of a gangster, and instead display characteristics that you would normally associate with their hometown of Newcastle upon Tyne i.e. lively, fun and exciting. They understand that to climb out of the underground hip-hop scene (which holds back so many talented artists), they must attain a wider audience. By doing so, Big Beat Bronson become the ideal candidates to commercially represent the Newcastle Hip-hop scene. Perhaps the success of BBB, or similar Newcastle acts, could eventually put Newcastle on the Hip-hop radar and attract the much needed attention that it deserves.
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| Baron Von Alias of Big Beat Bronson |
