Welsh hip hop

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
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

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

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

List of Welsh hip hop artists

Drill

Grime

Hip hop

Dubstep
  • Mr Traumatik

References
  1. "The hip hop scene in Wales". BBC Wales Music. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  2. 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. 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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