Genre

The genre I intend my music magazine to be is predominantly UK hip-hop and rap. Hip-hop originated in New York in the 1970's, and has spread to be a symbol of urban culture throughout the world. Pioneers of the genre included NWA, Public Enemy and Run DMC. Nowadays, American hip-hop is led by artists including Eminem, Jay-Z and Kanye West.

In London in the early 2000's, a new genre of UK hip-hop, based around the style of UK pioneers Wiley and Dizzee Rascal, was established on pirate radio stations and called grime. With the commercial success of albums such as Boy in Da Corner (Dizzee Rascal), grime developed a large following. One of the main details about grime is that it is mostly produced by the youth, with well-known artists such as Dizzee Rascal and Kano being only 16 when they hit success. Leading artists who have been involved in the grime scene include Chipmunk, Devlin, Wretch 32, Skepta and Ghetts.

Overall, hip-hop has received large amounts of criticism and bad publicity from the media, with violent lyrics and racial discrimination present in many songs. Reporters have even gone so far as to state that "killing is almost a fashion accessory" in hip-hop culture. Also, hip-hop artists have been known to include political messages inside their songs, both with US artists like Lupe Fiasco and Immortal Technique, to UK artists like Lowkey, Akala and Dizzee Rascal, who said in his lyrics, "I'm a problem for Anthony Blair".