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 November, 2015.

5. Skrapz — "Round Here" f/ Giggs

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Date: November 16, 2015

Skrapz: "Famous and dangerous, like some lions out the cage, cos they couldn't tame us, I'm whip, whipping in my whip, I'm whipping with the stainless/ And if I see him, due to whip a nigga out his trainers, little pussies, must have thought they could have contained us, nah man, we're the hardest niggas on the pavement/ Ni**as lying in their raps, talking this and talking that, to tell the truth it all sounds like prepared statements/ I'm in the game now all these rappers tryna holla man, this real ni**a rap, I had to shout my brudda Hollowman, and if a nigga diss the program and then make me whip the weapon out my pants, it's gonna mash up your tomorrow plan."

North meets south London as two road rap titans, Skrapz and Giggs, collide on "Round Here" from Skrapz' The End Of The Beginning LP. It's the former SLK member who takes things to another level though, with a menacing verse set off with his characteristically laid-back demeanor. We've got a feeling Skrapz will be everywhere next year.

4. Chase & Status f/ Novelist — "Bigger Man Bars"

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Date: November 26, 2015

"I don't care, I'm a g to the core let me make that clear, I'm not scared, I been on the roads, I know the roads, I know that you're not there/ Endz I'm from there, chat about mandem, I got bare, I'm that yout with the hightop, in Brockley I'm a don there, don't say shit about my endz if you ain't gone there/ Got a style that can't be written and I got a new flow that can't be be bitten, I'm a bad guy not a good guy, I'm a villain, you'll get murked on the riddim/ I'm a top boy, what boy, blood, you are not boy, play around with me you'll get boxed, right in your gob boy, I'm not having a bar, don't make me get dark."

The last cut from Chase & Status' London Bars series saw the duo call on south London's Novelist for "Bigger Man Bars". And it's a perfect match, with Novelist crafting rave-ready bars along with a tidy hook over their pounding bass and rhythmic strings. We're expecting huge things from both camps, as they prepare to drop albums in 2016.

3. Maxsta — "Mare Street Dickhead"

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Date: November 27, 2015

"You wanna know what it's like when you're carrying a knife on the street, I got my third eye locked for a pagan and nobodies hyping to me/ I can't ever lose my pride in the beef or take disrespect online in a tweet, even your girl knows I'm a badboy, bad girls don't fuck guys that are sweet/ Clip fully loaded, got the nine in my jeans, denim and supply jacket flyer than a bee, got the connect to the lemon in the ends, got more than a tens, now I'm higher than Khalif/ Fuck the messiah and the priest, I'm about to start a riot on the street and fuck the government too and the middle finger sign for police."

East London MC Maxsta came back ruff and rugged in November, first dropping "No Retreat" and following it up a day later with "Mare Street Dickhead", laying gritty rhymes over twitchy, minimal sounds courtesy of Boothroyd. He, alongside Maniac, carry the production on Maxsta's 100 Problems EP, which is out right now.

2. Stormzy — "Standard"

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Date: November 22, 2015

"They don't wanna go back-to-back, I'm the best here, all I gotta do is rap and they get scared, Best Grime Act 2015, rudeboy come and chat to me next year/ I ain't new to the hype, have you ever seen what I do to the mic, rap like a streetboy, sing like a sweetboy, yeah little nigga I do what I like/ I am the problem, hashtag, problem, if you want a problem, 079 me, you are not Skepta, you are not Wiley, man ah got bars, let a brudda come try me/ What you thought I werent grimey, (what), didn't know I get lively, brain like a wise man, heart like a pikey, why don't none of these MCs like me?/ I hear them talking, how did he win the award, man he don't deserve that shit, I tell man straight, I ain't here to play games, Lord knows that I've earned this shit."

Popping up in this column for the fourth month in a row is testament to the unrelenting year Stormzy's had. Just when you thought the MOBO winner would rest on his laurels, he fired out "Standard", with The Heavytrackerz-produced cut clocking up over 150,000 views in just 24 hours of being online. On this form, it wouldn't be wise to bet against Big Mikey putting out more heat before 2016.

1. Craig David f/ Big Narstie — "When The Bassline Drops"

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Date: November 7, 2015

Big Narstie: "Base, fill a bad girl like a sandwich, two bottles of Mo' we still standin', this one out to the Charlie Brown, I'm lovin' it, lovin' it/ Old school anthems, smelling like cocoa butter and Versace Blue Jeans, Ben Sherman top with blue jeans, going in, living my movie/ Bentekkers, I'm a steppers, it was ard how I dodged that badders, in the corner, smoking the madders, BDL (Base Defence League), ASBO Britiain, the sound of the streets coming through your aerial, Big Narstie (Craig David), all over your hmmmyeah."

National treasure Craig David returned this month, and he's back like he never left. Hooking up with Big Narstie, the unlikely duo served up a fresh slice of feel-good UK garage with "When The Bassline Drops". We also managed to catch up with Craig recently, where he laid out plans for his grand comeback scheduled for next year—check that out here.

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