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Welsh hip-hop

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Welsh hip hop (Welsh: hip hop Cymru) is a genre of Welsh music, and a culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in Wales.

Welsh hip hop
Stylistic originsHip hop, urban
Cultural originsWales
Typical instrumentsrapping
Other topics
Drum and bass, dubstep, grime

History

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Goldie Lookin Chain in 2019.

Goldie Lookin Chain was one of the first hip hop groups from Wales to chart.[1][2] The group from Newport, founded in the early noughties to produce songs with "incendiary beats" and "flammable-looking trackie tops".[2] The Cardiff-based hip hop label Associated Minds was founded in 2004,[3] but it has generally been difficult for Welsh rappers to gain attention outside Wales.[4]

 
Mr Phormula in 2014.

In 2012 a bilingual rap artist, Mr Phormula, became the first artist to rap in Welsh at the MOBO awards.[5]

In 2016, Astroid Boys, a Welsh rap rock band from Cardiff, emerged with a music style that has been called a mix of hardcore punk and grime music.[6][7][8]

Resurgence of Welsh hip hop in the 2020s

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By 2019, Astroid Boys were described as "undoubtedly leading the way for Welsh rap". MC Benji said “we play with a lot of different styles and ideas and don’t tend to conform to any set genre.”[4]

In January 2022, Welsh rapper LEMFRECK was announced in the lineup for "In It Together", dubbed the "Welsh Glastonbury".[9]

In May 2022 Dom James and Lloyd, two rap artists who rap in both Welsh and English, released the track "Pwy Sy'n Galw?" ("Who's Calling?").[10]

 
Astroid Boys in 2017.

In the summer of 2022, Sage Todz (Toda Ogunbanwo) from Penygroes in Gwynedd, emerged as a bilingual talent. He released the first-ever Bilingual language drill track called "Rownd a Rownd" ("Round and Round") which gained popularity in Wales.[11] [12] Sage Todz also released a single called "O HYD" ("Still"), sampling Dafydd Iwan's "Yma O Hyd" ("Still Here") anthemic hit. "O HYD" was played by the Football Association of Wales during Wales' 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign.[13]

Scene

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Much of Welsh hip hop activity occurs in the capital city, Cardiff.[1]

List of Welsh hip hop artists

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Drill

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Grime

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Hip hop

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Dubstep

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  • Mr Traumatik

References

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  1. ^ a b "The hip hop scene in Wales". BBC Wales Music. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b Bevan, Nathan (2019-09-21). "An oral history of Goldie Lookin' Chain". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  3. ^ "Associated Minds". Associated Minds. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  4. ^ a b Salter, Scott (2019-01-17). "The resurgence of Welsh rap". Ron Magazine. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  5. ^ Hughes, Brendan (2012-10-20). "Rapper Mr Phormula to make history with first Welsh rap at MOBO awards". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  6. ^ "A Look Inside Cardiff's Rap and Grime Scene". 4 July 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  7. ^ "Combining hardcore punk with grime might sound dangerously close to nu metal, but Cardiff five-piece Astroid Boys are looking ahead, not back". NME. 28 August 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  8. ^ Salter, Scott (2019-01-17). "The resurgence of Welsh rap". Ron Magazine. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  9. ^ "Latest acts revealed for the festival dubbed the 'Welsh Glastonbury'". Nation.Cymru. 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  10. ^ "Watch: Welsh language rappers find their calling with new single 'Pwy Sy'n Galw?'". Nation.Cymru. 2022-05-21. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  11. ^ Jones, Branwen (2022-03-14). "Rapper shares incredible Welsh-language drill music clip". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  12. ^ "Watch: First Welsh language drill track gets stunning music video". Nation.Cymru. 2022-04-01. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  13. ^ "Watch: Stunning new version of 'Yma o Hyd' by Welsh Drill artist Sage Todz released". Nation.Cymru. 2022-06-02. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  14. ^ "Introducing Juice Menace".
  15. ^ "Lemfreck: Y Gymru rwy'n ei hadnabod". BBC Cymru Fyw. 29 June 2021.
  16. ^ "BBC Wales - Music - Llwybr Llaethog - Biography". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
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