The Best British Rap Verses Of The Month

We dissect the best bars of the past four weeks.

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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. This is The Best British Rap Verses Of The Month—​click through below to see our top picks from the month of October, 2015.

Words by Tobi Oke


 

5. Bugzy Malone — "Wasteman"

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Date: October 21, 2015

"I was on my way back from a big show then I seen 'Light Work' in a Facebook banner, man are tryna make EPs about me but let me explain why that don't matter/ People lie, numbers don't, people fade, numbers won't, numbers make people go broke, now we got a pop star talking like he's road/ How is it light work if you took five months, five months is a long time to be ghost, you look stressed out I hope he's not been drinking again, that's a downward slope."

On the night Chip and Bugzy Malone went back-to-back on diss tracks, it was perhaps Bugzy's first jab that seemed to make more of an impact than the second"Zombie Riddim". The Manchester man is right in the fact that numbers don't lie, and he's consistently been putting those numbers on the board.

4. AJ Tracey — "Naila"

Date: October 14, 2015

"Golborne Road is where I get down, man get bored up in the G-Town, last bredda went and got his door kicked in, all cos he tried duck man for the pounds/ Anybody getting chased down can't shout, walk where I wanna walk cos I got clout/ My blocks just like a double shot of vodka, your blocks just like a dragon stout/ Anywhere that I got beef, I skrr, man didnt really want beef don't stir, 45 turn his whole life to a blur, chicks show kitty I make the shit purr/ Chat to my cats like I'm lonely, my cats chat back, like Sylvester, know a ok ting but I wouldn't test her, test her, and you'll get left in Leicester/ YGs on the line from early, not from the East, nuttin ain't pearly, I'm from the West where the yatts sniff shirley and everybody's got a home gym and nursery/ Cos you don't like man, please don't curse me, call up to God, won't let a man hurt me/ I'm on a wave with the drugs, that's keys on the board, I'm moving qwerty."

A toss-up between AJ Tracey's "Naila" and Kano's "Garage Skank"—both employing the same Zeph Ellis (Dot Rotten) production—the nod goes to the former from West LDN, as he expertly rides the riddim like a real shell master. Come 2016, expect his name to pop on a whole different level.

3. Skepta — "Jumpman (Remix)"

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Date: October 31, 2015

"Roadman roadman roadman, what's these niggas smoking? Tattoo's on my skin meanS I ain't fucking joking/ Them boys tweeted Visions, them boys up to something, smoking with the Jumpman out in Paris, it was bait, you can't smoke with me cos you've got something on your face/ I hit that Ginobili with my right hand on my waist, talking to a topboy, look a topboy in the face, go uptown to Dyckman I got peng-tings on my case/ Roadman roadman roadman, I flew out the country, where were you when I was in the gully? Oh now you see the vision now you want some money/ Tryna send me emails I just forward them to Grace, tracksuit mafia we get the style from outer space."

Considering Drake recently went and got himself a BBK tattoo, the least Skepta could do was jump on this What A Time To Be Alive standout to reciprocate the love. 

2. Loyle Carner — "Ain't Nothing Changed"

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Date: October 16, 2015

"This is for the men of the house who were far too young, see your friends are growing up and feel you can't do none/ You're raising funds for your mother and your can't-do sons, up in the rubble raising trouble, what you can't do's run/ And trust I feel, I feel it, but can't conceal it, see, this inner city responsibilities' killing me/ I start to shiver when I think of all of the shit I need and see all my brothers burning paper on that sticky green/ Picking the thickest leaves stuck in a myth, saying this shit, I should have quit but couldn't fucking resist/ And now they sit with a lager, little luck and a wish, but trust still blow their mother a kiss/ They're living up in the bits and slip stagger through the puddles and the pain, somewhere beneath the rubble in the rain/ They ask why every fucking song the fucking same and I tell 'em it's cos ain't nothing changed."

An elderly Loyle Carner features in the excellent visuals for "Ain't Nothing Changed", produced by Rebel Kleff—a song about the ills of growing up and the responsibility that comes with it.

1. Chip — "Coward"

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Date: October 20, 2015

"Stand back enjoy the show, don't get involved, don't give a fuck about a million sold/ Whoever's still playing the numbers, safe, fuck off, play on your own/ Right now I'm doing music for the meaning, trust me, I don't wanna change this feeling, soundboys get in my way you'll get a beating, straight up ctrl, alt, delete ting/ You think just because you're famous, you're some Jigga or Drake, my darg, no, Jigga and Drake got bars, bro/ I don't give a fuck about Beemers, Benz's, Downing Street and tailored suits and chauffeurs darg, I'll spin you out of your loafers darg, I am not the one to approach with bars/ From Eskimo to Sidewinder, you never got a got a wheel up darg, even with all your money you can't buy a wheel up bar."

Chip aimed at Tinie Tempah (and Bugzy Malone) and scored like a true MVP. "Coward" is available on iTunes now, and Chip's Believe & Achieve: EP 2 is out on Nov. 27. 

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