Mr.B The Gentleman Rhymer

Jim Burke, known professionally as Mr.B The Gentleman Rhymer,[1] is a British parodist who performs "chap hop" — hip hop delivered in a Received Pronunciation accent. Mr.B raps, or "rhymes", about good manners, dressing with style and dignity, sophisticated society, pipe smoking and cricket while playing the banjolele. The character is described as having grown up in Cheam and attending Sutton Grammar School for Boys.[2]

Mr.B The Gentleman Rhymer
Birth nameJim Burke
OriginUnited Kingdom
GenresChap hop
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
Websitewww.gentlemanrhymer.com

Background

Mr.B The Gentleman Rhymer is an alter ego of Jim Burke, a rapper with the Britpop group Collapsed Lung whose most famous song was 'Eat My Goal'.[3] Burke started performing as Mr.B in late 2007, playing at cabaret clubs, and venues across the UK including the Glastonbury Festival and club NME in Paris, and performed as part of the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[4] He has performed on radio including the Steve Lamacq show and "Introducing with Tom Robinson" for the BBC. He has also been named as a 'Band of the Month' on the Kooba Radio podcast.[5]

His debut album "Flattery Not Included" was released in 2008 for the Grot Music label, which includes the track "Chap-Hop History" which is a Received Pronunciation reworking of some well-known hip hop classics. Its accompanying video has received over 1.5 million views on YouTube. Another track from the album, "Timothy", is about the unique vocal style of BBC Radio's Tim Westwood. Perhaps his best-known track, "Straight Out of Surrey", is a parody of N.W.A's "Straight Outta Compton" and purports to show "the extent of [his] cricket knowledge."

Mr.B has appeared as a guest on the Zero Day album by MC Frontalot, playing the banjolele and providing additional vocals on the track "Better at Rapping".[6]

He and fellow "chap-hop" artist Professor Elemental were jokingly engaged in a feud for some time.[7] However, Professor Elemental had a short appearance in Mr.B's music video for the song "Just Like a Chap", of which Professor Elemental said "Much as I hate to admit it, I bloody love that video and am jolly glad [Mr. B] let me gate crash."[8] The "feud" was settled on Professor Elemental's 2012 album Father Of Invention on the track "The Duel," on which Mr. B appeared, and they have made occasional appearances together since.

As well as his work as The Gentleman Rhymer, Burke has also released works of "chapstep" under the name Mr.B The Gentleman Selector, and self-described "terribly English electronica" as The Major.

The Gentleman Rhymer claims to be the best Sparks support act since Queen.

Discography

Studio albums
  • Flattery Not Included (2008)
  • I Say! (2010)
  • The Tweed Album (2012)
  • Can't Stop, Shan't Stop (2013)
  • Mr.B's Christmas Album (2015)
  • There's a Rumpus Going On (2016)
  • Dandinista (2019)
  • A Thoroughly Modern Existential Crisis (2020)
  • Chop Happy: Mashups And Bootlegs Volume One (2021)
  • Quid Pro Flow (2023)

Compilations
  • O.G. Original Gentleman (2011) (Digital release / Released on CD in 2013)
  • Acid Ragtime: Chapstep Volume One (2014)
  • Chapstep, Vol. 2: Olde Jack Swing (2017)

Singles & EPs
  • Oh, Santa! (2012)
  • The Chap Trilogy (EP) (2016)
  • Paper Plates (EP) (2018)
  • I'm Getting The Blame For Christmas (EP) (2020)

References
  1. Collins, Robert (30 August 2009), "The golden age of novelty rock continues", The Sunday Times, UK, retrieved 5 July 2010.
  2. Henderson, Jamie (10 July 2010), "Cheam rapper set to take Fringe by storm", The Sutton Guardian, UK, retrieved 30 July 2010.
  3. Pegg, Warren (3 June 2008), Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer, The Hope, Brighton, June 5, UK: The Argos, retrieved 6 July 2010.
  4. "Meet our artists", Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer, Wychwood festival, 26 April 2010, archived from the original on 18 July 2011, retrieved 6 July 2010.
  5. "Band of the Month", Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer, Kooba Radio, 1 July 2011, archived from the original on 20 April 2013, retrieved 1 August 2011.
  6. MC Frontalot, Zero Day, Album Lyrics and Credits Archived 1 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 6 July 2010
  7. Frances Robinson, In 'Chap-Hop,' Gentlemen Rappers Bust Rhymes About Tea, Cricket, The Wall Street Journal, 4 April 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  8. Alborough, Paul (22 October 2012), Twitter / prof_elemental: @SvenTSexgore Much as I hate ..., retrieved 22 October 2012.
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