Over the past few months, a bunch of Noisey staff, journalists, artists and friends of Noisey who know their music have sat together to bash out a list of the greatest UK MC talent of all time. We're sharing the results of those chats in a top 30 countdown this week, running through the pioneers, grafters and the odd enigma who've pushed the limits of British skills on the mic. We're not just commending great MCs in the traditional sense – lyrical flow, wordplay, freestyle skills – but bigging up those who've created a legacy, stamped in a cultural mark or paved the way for the new breed.
Advertisement
The British MC comes in a few breeds. There are the loose cannons, who crash into a track like an 18-wheel truck steams through a compact car on one of those Russian dash-cam videos. There are the perennial overlords, who guide their respective scenes with an influence rivalling Cleopatra's reign over ancient Egypt. There are the lyricists, the sound system warriors, the pop acts, the damp-looking Bristolians who sleep with fleece-lined trappers on their head and king skins in their pocket. Then there's Mike Skinner, the lone auteur and frontman of The Streets.Like grime's forebearers, Skinner was inspired by UK garage; and like most other MCs, his introduction to rap came from across the Atlantic. But somewhere between the two, he came across as the knight of the roundtable in your best mate's flat, dispensing nightlife parables and high-street narratives to a congregation of wide-eyed straight-through-ers. All of which is to say, his debut album Original Pirate Material is akin to the Bible for that nocturnal period in your mid-twenties where every night starts like an adventure to somewhere, yet ends no further than a dimly-lit living room and the crap conversations circulating around it. With this record, Skinner documented an ambiance that's existed as long as pubs and clubs have been around, yet hasn't been described with such poignancy before or since. It's for that reason he's here, in our top 10 of the UK's best MCs.
Advertisement
The albums that followed Original Pirate Material built upon Skinner's knack for portraying the beautifully nuanced minutiae of everyday British life. A Grand Don't Come For Free, his second record, is arguably his best work – and certainly the only concept album to centre on a plot involving some cash lost behind a television. His next three albums lost some of the initial magic, but they're also chapters in a story that's as unique to British rap music as it is honest: moving from fag-stained settees into celebrity culture and then escapism, with tales of spread-betting addiction, disease (Skinner has been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME) and loss of family along the way. It's worth noting, too, that as well as writing the words, Skinner is also responsible for all the sound on his albums – a not so rare yet still impressive feat in a genre awash with acts who bring in producers.Like most British MCs (and despite the fact Original Pirate Material was released on VICE Records over there!!), Skinner wasn't wildly successful in the States. Perhaps that's why we love him so much over here; his music has a DNA rooted in our streets, one-club towns, and Sunday afternoon escapades to the countryside. Tracks like "Dry Your Eyes" (which originally, and luckily eventually did not, feature Chris Martin), "Fit But You Know It" and "Blinded By The Lights" are rooted in the fabric of society. He is the Wordsworth of monotonous occurrences, the Gainsborough of the smoking area, the Attenborough of the habitats of nameless faces. But above all, he is Mike Skinner – honest to his own life and story, even on those latter albums. There is no other British artist like him.You can find Ryan on Twitter.Check out our top 30 to 5 so far of best-ever UK MCs here.