Joseph ‘JP’ Patterson is a music journalist known for his in-depth knowledge on the UK underground music scene. Currently serving as Editor for MTV’s urban blog, The Wrap Up, he also shares his time penning a monthly column for American hip-hop publication, XXL Magazine, and blogging for popular arts and politics site, The Huffington Post. Ear To The Ground is a new one to watch column for The Independent Blog.
Battle rapping has always played a big part in hip-hop culture. Starting way back in the 1970s, on the street corners of America’s inner-cities, MCs would regularly congregate to lyrically attack one another in a bid to win over a critical crowd – who would later determine the winner.
By Joseph Patterson | Arts, Music | Monday, 27 June 2011 at 10:27 am
Introducing English Frank, a UK rapper who currently has the online world eating out of the palm of his hand due to impressive wordplay and complex delivery. After accumulating hundreds of thousands of YouTube views in just a few months, does this south Londoner really have what it takes to last in today’s UK music scene? Joseph ‘JP’ Patterson finds out…
By Joseph Patterson | Music, Notebook | Monday, 18 April 2011 at 10:21 am
East London’s Maxsta has been causing a stir on the underground music scene for quite some time now, but after recently getting signed to Just Jam Records (a Sony RCA sub-label imprint), this 18-year-old grime MC is out to show everyone that he isn’t just any old ‘average kid’. Joseph ‘JP’ Patterson speaks to the rising star…
By Joseph Patterson | Music, Notebook | Monday, 4 April 2011 at 2:57 pm
“I make street music, and I’m proud to say it. I’m from the streets, I’m still broken, I still don’t have f**k all, so that’s what I talk about because it’s my life. Just real life street music…”
Exo is a rapper from Harlesden who has managed to come in the UK hip-hop game and become [...]
By Joseph Patterson | Music | Friday, 18 March 2011 at 10:02 am
East London’s Trim never ceases to fail when it comes to delivering an out-of-the-box grime CD. The ex-Roll Deep member proves on ‘Monkey Features Part 2’ that grime MCs of yesteryear can still be relevant in today’s ever-changing/growing underground music scene.
By Joseph Patterson | Notebook | Wednesday, 2 March 2011 at 12:52 pm
South London’s Smiler is an up-and-coming UK rapper who is planning on “bringing back that ‘95 rap sound into the post-millennium.” Having grown up listening to the likes of Nas and fellow rap stars of that era, Smiler was so impressed by the way they rhymed that he couldn’t help but pick up a pen and pad and eventually started writing some bars of his own. 2006 was the year when he launched himself into the UK music scene with his first video for the track, ‘Neighbourhood’.
By Joseph Patterson | Notebook | Friday, 25 February 2011 at 10:19 am
The grime scene, as we know it, is a very male-dominated scene and not many females have been able to share the same limelight as their male counterparts, bar a few (pun intended). Welcoming Lioness, a south London-born lyricist who came to the forefront of the London grime scene 4 years ago as the first lady of Mastermind Trooperz.
By Joseph Patterson | Notebook | Friday, 11 February 2011 at 6:00 am
UK rap music seems to be the talk of the town at the moment. With the success that Giggs has seen over the past couple of years, along with K Koke’s recent signing to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, UK rap might just be a genre of music to be reckoned with in the near future. Introducing Fem Fel, a south London-born lyricist who is currently making some major waves on the underground music scene. Known for his laid-back flow and thought-provoking lyrics, this artists’ name has now been placed high up in my ones to watch list for 2011.
By Joseph Patterson | Notebook | Friday, 28 January 2011 at 6:00 am
I first came across Birmingham-born RoxXxan in 2009, when she attended my club night, ChockABlock. She was surrounded by a very male-dominated audience, waiting patiently for her turn to jump on the microphone, something I hadn’t seen a female MC do in a very long time; it was definitely refreshing to see.
By Joseph Patterson | Notebook | Friday, 14 January 2011 at 2:49 pm
Jovel Walker, known to most as Random Impulse, is an electric-guitar-playing-grime-MC from north London. He’s been causing somewhat of a stir on the underground music scene recently with his ‘Refix’ series, which sees him remake and add his own twist on some old and new tracks by artists that he admires. Having sold an impressive amount of mixtapes, all 16,000 of them, Random Impulse has proven that he doesn’t need to sell out or change who he is, musically, to gain fans.
By Joseph Patterson | Notebook | Friday, 24 December 2010 at 10:00 am
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