Rolling non-US rap thread 2015

Let's face it, no one outside of the states understands rap music properly.

And yet they keep on making it! Everywhere!

Or at least they make their own weird little versions of it. This thread is for celebrating the varieties of rap music across the globe.
Feel free to post stuff up even if you don't understand a word of it.

France:

PNL have a new album out, Le Monde Chico

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umF1kfVujhM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWEYLpG70AI

I like Spain's Yung Beef and his PXXR GVNG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWCxuDnVVkU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1gan3141Y4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOSp2bIUHLI

The Danes have a nice scene going right now. Here's Mellemfingamuzik:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2lCukXsBeY

Sweden's Michel Dida is having a hit with Höru Mej Bae, including the remix below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RkM9OnTGks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQrGJdRGbNQ

And here's Cherrie, who's on the remix:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhYPKRkXAPw

Erik Lundin - Araba
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpLf9lq3nJE

Norway:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTf8dDtqFug
Unge Ferrari & Arif - Bulmers

Unge Ferrari - Lianer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmJc_k-l0pY

Lars Vaular - DD EG gjør
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4Nxp4UvEwA

Lars Vaular - Det Ordnar Seg For Pappa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdCd60xAfwo

Yoguttene - Sånn Vi Levar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K-PR39YNTg

Yoguttene - Extrem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T7gGC73K08

Svai-Rex - Patrik $vaisi
https://soundcloud.com/basmobeats/patrik-vaisi

Sushi x Kobe - Flaskar på flaskar (Norwegian)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBm3r3-ghow

Hester V75 - Secta (Norway)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8RylZUCb3c

great thread idea longneck

Thanks.

South Africa:

Kuli Chana & Patoranking - No Lie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVBc6pnfs2o

AKA, Kuli Chana, Burna Boy, Yanga - Baddest:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmzRZ9NZs7E

*Khuli

All Eyes On Me by AKA is one of the best songs I've heard this year. Did it come out this year?

Last year I think, but there's a fresh remix of it that's really good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAl72T_xYLs

Stella Mwangi representing Kenya/Norway

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08suhLcc98A

More SA, L-Tido Dlala Ka Yona

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezArNHVP3WE

Riky Rick - Boss Zonke (SA)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKvYTikVVpM&list=PLTRKTsUqtjZwFRbql3dXz-fVn6YjzE3-g

uhhh, no need to post the whole playlist. Here's the song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKvYTikVVpM

This one's nice too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXosVJNmZhA

Denmark: Gilli - Orale

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXJEs7C6aLQ

England's J Hus is the shit, of course. I feel like he belongs in this thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuXwFqjYVNw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s00HrAFsMhY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO70BvZe17U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhMlrlqchog

Denmark's Emil Stabil:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntVMiHB6Nnc

Dutch rap crew Broederliefde (that I posted over on Rolling Afrobeats) definitely belong here. Different track though:

https://open.spotify.com/track/1VUBnozAZ9KRY9mYzaSWM1

Broederliefde ft. Kalibwoy & SBMG "Alaka"

…oh and this one too, last year's "Onderweg" (why they don't make videos for my favorite tracks I'll never know, could have been a (Dutch) smash imo):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FguztwWdVQ

Broederliefde "Onderweg"

Kenneth Engebretsen is the realest Norwegian rap dude:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv-q0KL2EP8

I like Kazakhstan's Skriptonit a lot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROCmxSoqlHY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juukc1Ykij0

Russia's Yung Trappa not so much.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7-XwfudZnE

There's a big Siberian trap scene atm which tends to be a bit better.

Germany / Poland's Schwesta Ewa is quite entertaining in her own way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWob6QZEIZg

There's also a bit of Russian / Belarussian rap in the

Rolling Eastern European Pop 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEyTe-QzyfQ

Egérie by Nekfeu isn't bad. He's one of the most popular rappers in France at the moment.

Good thread; I've built an ongoing spotify playlist to track it.

ILX's Rolling Non-US Rap 2015 Thread Spotify Playlist

Thanks!

New Sivas, Denmark's best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prbKswfQSEE

P cool video too

How do you keep up w this stuff?

By talking to people? Please contribute to the thread, Niels. We need some native danes in here.

A more traditional Dane:
Emil Kruse - Vågn opp (=wake up)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19F83vXmi88

Ismo, from Holland:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z35b42zoyMI

You must be talking to some knowledgeable people - seems you're more up to date with parts of the Danish scene than I am. Sivas, Ukendt Kunstner, Gilli and others all seem part of a wave/movement building on that contemporary American style they're emulating (what's it called?) - I haven't read a lot of interviews with them, but imagine they listen to a fair bit of Young Thug, Migos, Future etc.

First came across Sivas in 2008 when he released 'Hustler hele dagen', a somewhat corny cover of Rick Ross' "Hustlin'" which I found great fun, happy to see him reach the biggest Danish audience imaginable with ubiquitous smash 'DAUDA' though I initially thought it was too derivative to ever be a smash. Wrong. It's a very effective style, obviously, but I find it a bit hard on the ears, so can only enjoy it in small doses. My favorite song along those lines is probably 'Fucking Nummer' by Ukendt Kunstner (yes yes, 2013, I know) which has a Drakey subtlety and melancholy.

First saw Gilli featured in very gritty track 'Fissehul' (it's kinda like "cunt-hole") where I was a bit scared of him - but later realized he's probably a really nice guy, only a few years later both he and some of the other upcoming artists around him were featured in a high-profile video with all-time best selling Danish pop rap group Nik & Jay in 'Gi Mig Dine Tanker Pt. 2 Feat. Young, Kesi, Kidd & Gilli' (nice song too).

Out of that lot, Kidd had an unbelievably strong run in 2011 where he blew up bigger than any other urban act in Denmark I can think of, he's been taking it a bit easy since then afaik (at his peak he actually said on national tv in a primetime interview that he was calling it quits). I think Kesi was the first of the Danish "internet rappers" to sign with a major label, very promising but he's yet to deliver a proper smash imo, though last year's 'Søvnløs' had a strong hook.

There are not too many Danish acts I really like, but this year has seen strong releases from Paulo & DJ Cars10 and Khal Allan (under pseudonym Fede Poul). They're very lyric-oriented and maybe too backward-looking in their aesthetics for ILM. I'll recommend 'Spyt feat. Eagger' by Paulo & DJ Cars10 as well as the Fede Poul i Centeret mixtape which features a bunch of different rappers & producers from Danish underground/not-on-the-radio-type-rap.

Few years back Marvelous Mosell went from releasing funny homemade youtube videos with him telling silly stories in naive affected manner on top of disco&funk instrumentals to featuring on one of the biggest music award shows in Denmark - he's teamed up with Tue Track from GOAT Danish rap group Malk de Koijn, and they're set to release an album soon I think. Tue's also been working with former satire show hosts Peder & Simon Bonde(from Gramsespektrum) on the project Xtra Naan, their 'Malk Mig' single is fun if not great.

Natkat is a very talented rapper/producer releasing tracks with a strong east-coast-90s vibe, s/t 'Natkat' is such a jam. He's part of the Lagoon Digital crew/label but don't know much about them.

Finally I'll add that I contribute slightly myself since I have a rap duo with my friend, been a while since we uploaded a track but maybe you'll enjoy the video I made for 'Med på en lytter' though it's amateurish in production value.

(xp) Ismo's studio session is awesome too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy8YiCu70fs

Lots of great performances on the 101Barz channel anyway:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dAEhqeTRpw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUgxyXGdhO8
and this classic from last year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiBnZrbSqVU

xpost @niels

Ha ha, I enjoyed the Med på en lytter joint. Good fun.

Kidd was huge for a while - Kysset Med Jamel and Ik Lavet Peng are both classics - but he kind of lost it, imo. His new stuff is just there and I'd rather listen to someone like Lord Siva.
Also, Topgunn. His "21" is probably my favourite Danish album ever - so effortless - but everything he has done after it just brings me down.

I didn't know Marvellous Mosell was working with Tue Track though. He is fun and they were great, so let's hope something good is coming out of it. Thanks for the info on that!

glad to hear that!

I'll check that Topgunn record out, find him slightly disgusting but he's certainly talented and while both non-US and non-rap 'Kongens Have' was a very strong 2014 single

never been exposed to a truly great lord siva/dani toma/karl william/hukaos track but open to suggestions

Raske Penge should probably also be mentioned when talking Danish rap, he's sometimes regarded a dancehall x-over act but with jamaican/caribbean rhythms all over hip hop he's def urban - just released a 100 minute debut/retrospective album featuring among other good singles the first one that caught my attention back in 2011, 'Bor Her', still sounds good to me

Kongens Have was the beginning of the end for me, lol. 21 is a joy throughout.

As we move into December, I'd like to drop a quick note to encourage any readers / lurkers / ilxors to post their favorite as-yet-unmentioned non-american / non-UK hip hop tracks from this year to the thread so that I can hoover them into the ongoing spotify playlist. Last chance for any accessible stragglers that may not already be in the lexicon.

well, this Serbian video (the song starts at 1:30) only came out yesterday, but "Ideš za Kanadu", a previous 2015 collaboration between these artists, was the biggest rap hit the Balkans have had in years. the reason i prefer this one is that the guys rapping seem more appreciative of the melody driving the track. the dude in the hook is also the producer, and both songs' formula seems to be interpolating into trap a (different) semi-forgotten, very depressing late 80's/early 90's serbian folk song known to have been loved in serbia's criminal underworld around the turn of the millennium. it bangs in the whip though

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrT4MB-higA

Yeah that's a banger!

None of these are on spotify yet i think but I'm posting them anyway because they're great:

Sushi x Kobe feat. Larsiveli - Brenner ned alt (=Burning it all down) (Norwegian, prod. Kvamkollektivet)
https://soundcloud.com/sushi-x-kobe/brenner-ned-alt-ft-larsiveli/s-dLLnZ

Larsiveli & Kong Makko Makeba - Fingertuppa (=The Fingertips) (Norwegian, prod. Soul Division)
https://soundcloud.com/oslo/larsiveli-makko-makeba-fingertuppa-brenner/s-C8p7t

hey niels thanks; i might as well try explaining another p great thing happening in serbia for the 2 people interested-

https://vimeo.com/43739942
mimi mercedez - diamonds on my mind

this is one of mimi's oldest (from 2012) and in the meantime she and her still independent crew have accumulated a large following around the region, every show seemingly a trashy speed-and-E-fuelled all night event, with half-hour breaks mid concert so the audience - a disproportionate amount of whom (for a local hip-hop event) are young women, young gays and older rave heads - can have fun with techno and turbofolk songs side-by-side with current US rap, combinations unheard of around the balkans.
her thing when rapping is she's very class-aware and uses it in the most fun way to cut through the thick post-90s haze still obscuring the whole region. she's obviously smart and woke and likes playing dumb for the controversy, but even if we only know this 'dumb' persona she still comes off as opinionated, brave, non-judgemental, a lover of life, really funny, etc. or that's just me crushing on her. anyway she also held a stripping job up until this summer.

bonus: this other rapper's unbelievably trashy and potentially disturbing video, with mimi sitting next to him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY6sR1jJ-h8

South Africa Does Young Thug:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezArNHVP3WE

mimi mercedes pretty cool! that freestyle video is... something!

think the south african thugger works best on chorus but good find

who is Jimilian? wish there was some Danish mag that did proper coverage of popular culture...

anyway, I think he' a self-made youtube artist who used to do sentimental rap stuff and is now doing this years 4th most watched youtube video - a Snapchat video, p hilarious stuff actually

but it's his latest jam that's really propelled him into the Danish charts, Slem Igen is #10 on Danish single chart (currently p competitive with Adele, Biebz and Wham topping)

I find his style on that last one pretty offensive, both vid and song, a snippet of a lyrics translation: "I feel sorry for the guy who has to fuck you, he doesn't know how you're tripping" and I find the Lil Jon-ref kind of isn't earned but... it's a hit

I haven't checked this scandinavian rap/rnb 2015 mix yet but judging from the tracklist it looks legit:

https://soundcloud.com/gotestrangler/skandinavia15

http://dawnraid.co.nz/mareko-hong-kong-food-city-free-download/

Samoa-via-Manurewa-via-Sydney; being on an E-40ish dad-rap vibe suits Mareko p.well.

looks very legit! will check

Oh, I didn't know Slem Igen, but that one is hilarious. The lyrics are awfully misogynistic, yeah, but it's just fun with a mustard-ripoff taken half the chorus from Get Low. 'Jeg beskidt skidt med det' is a pretty smart line.

hehe, it is p hilarious :P hard to dismiss altogether, but he sure comes off a total jerk - and the imitation of a specific US aesthetic (naked women, sports cars, gold etc.) is off-putting to me, feels weird in a Danish context, but I don't wanna sound "old"

I LOVE the weird imitations in Danish rap. When at it's best foreign rappers manage to pilfer two or three sounds at once, without seemingly realizing what they are doing. It's all just music. In my favorite Danish rap-song it filters into the lyrics as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu_sOtINg3Y
Kesi - Ku Godt

The complete overload of elements in the production, more than half of which should have been removed for any resemblance of taste (like that edm-bass line thrown in half the time, there's no use for it, there's no coolness points in it, but hey, fuck it!), mirrors the lyrics, which is about meeting two girls at the bar, and not being able to choose. Seeing two good things, choosing both. Only thing left is to say 'Ku Godt' ('I could'). Jeg' Ku Godt Jeg' Ku Godt Jeg' Ku Godt. It sounds like a little guy who's just learned how to tie his shoes. I COULD!! And that childish exuberance is everything. It will never be 'authentic' anyway.

My #1 on my ilx-ballot that year. A milestone in non-US rap, imo.

haha I don't know how I missed that one

I'm sure it's a grower

http://dawnraid.co.nz/mareko-hong-kong-food-city-free-download/

Samoa-via-Manurewa-via-Sydney; being on an E-40ish dad-rap vibe suits Mareko p.well.

― etc, Tuesday

Posted this from my phone; had meant to say it's interesting seeing what Mareko's up to compared with his Deceptikonz crew-mate Savage who, after getting some Stateside and Aussie success after his solo track "Swing" was used in Knocked Up, is now working with the Aussie EDM scene. Cute video:

Savage - Like Michael Jackson

Much much older, but been revisiting Samoan/NZ rapper King Kapisi's debut Savage Thoughts a lot while I've been in Guangzhou ... bit of homesickness, bit of tapping into general anxieties re: impact of climate change in the Pacific Islands, current overstayer/migrant/refugee rhetoric:
King Kapisi - "2nd Migration"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjsCI_X7WtE

I'm wrapping this playlist for the year. It has been updated with a few new adds (Jimilian, MocroManiac, Yung Trappa, THCF, $ushi X Kobe) and includes every track mentioned on thread that is available via Spotify's US catalogue as of EOY 2015. If I missed something or if a track comes available sometime in the future, bump here to let me know and I'll add.

Rolling Non-US Rap 2015 Thread Spotify Playlist

Larsiveli & Kong Makko Makeba's Fingertuppa got a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUDkKcJhzY8

These guys have also done som production for US sub-Burn One type rappers before as Soul Division.

love the skrrt skrrts

are we doing a '16 list or running this?

I'm all for a '16 list!

Rolling non-US rap thread 2016