UK Hip-Hop, Grime and the City

Rap is arguably the most popular poetic form in the world today, yet many studies approach it purely as an art form. This book fills a large hole in the literature, looking at UK hip-hop culture and the social and economic relations that have produced it. Richard Bramwell demonstrates how working class youths aesthetically represent their conditions of urban dwelling, and how they adapt this culture to contribute to inter-racial collaboration. Drawing on original fieldwork, this book examines the role that rap plays in everyday life within the city, and how the form allows young people to negotiate their way through Britain's social and economic tensions.

Richard Bramwell

Introduction 1. "Revolution of a Next Kind": Building Black London from the Bottom 2. "On The Bus My Oyster Card Goes 'Ding De Diing De Ding Ding'": Transforming the Space of London's Public Transport 3. "I See the Glow in You": Summoning the Aura in London's Post Hip-Hop Culture 4. "That There Kind of Sumthin' Sounds Strange to Me": Social Representation and the Recorded Soundscape 5. From a "Junior Spesh" to the "Keys to the Bentley": The Routes of Grimey London. Conclusion: "Take Back the Scene"