Following the lead of our Complex Music fam overseas, we too will be giving props to the best rap verses of each month. From mixtape tracks and freestyles to carefully selected album sleepers, Complex UK will search far and wide to show you just how high the level of lyricism can be in the Queen's country, showcasing the versatile styles (and flows) within our forever-flourishing rap and grime scenes. For the month of September, we've put together a special MOBO Awards edition of The Best British Rap Verses Of The Month. Click through below to see our top picks.
Words by Tobi Oke
4. Wiley — "Standby"
Date: September 9, 2015
"Back up in the city where I should be, I ain't really winning like I could be, gotta do a whole lot of shows a year, so man ah cushty/ See me doing it again, you ain't gotta push, you see on top of the shelf, well that's a place I will never let an A&R put me/ Tried it before, one week it took me, and the following weeks the clubs wanted to book me/ Hey, I don't wanna boast but I can do, cos I burn tracks like how the sun tans you, people wanna smile up, smile in your face, when you're not around the people can't stand you/ I'm a Cowie, I'm Kylea not Andrew and I like what I hear like the fans do, the one thing you gotta make sure of, that it's you and your team who help brand you."
The MOBOs announced this week that Wiley—the godfather of grime—will take home the inaugural Paving The Way Award at the ceremony, which takes place in the city of Leeds on Nov. 4. Dropping "Standby" in the second week of September, the MC further proves why he's deserving of such high praise as he deliveres taut flows over an Eski-licked production.
3. Bonkaz & Avelino — "Shine"
Date: September 6, 2015
Bonkaz: "Forget the game and a match I keep setting it, that's some tennis shit, I got a nigga on my phone tryna sell a brick/ He must think I'm writing songs for the hell of it, my nigga I just signed on, no benefit, (just benefits), now all these bitches tryna Bond on some Etta shit."
Avelino: "But I'm too busy in the lab or on a set with him, I'm such an Oddchild that I can't relate to relatives, I'm rolling with my idols now I call em big bros, they just tell me heads high kill em with the flow."
Bonkaz: "Kill em with the fade, I can kill em with the fro."
Avelino: "Might do a Lil' Twist, this Young Money's gotta grow."
Bonkaz: "Coming with my Gs I ain't coming on my own, coming out of Heath, I'm the one that's on the throne, win, win, win, win, like a hundred in a row."
North-meets-South LDN, as two pioneers of the #NewGen connect for the swagged-out groove of "Shine". Released at random, Bonkaz and Avelino show surprisingly strong chemistry on the track, interweaving bars and each playing with different melodies. A video for this is said to be on the way, and Bonkaz is up for Best Newcomer at this year's MOBO Awards.