The Rise of South London Rap

I was watching a UK hip hop dvd the other day(I think it was streets wanna know)and something Killa Ki(SN1)said really stood out to me"what we do is different from what them Grime artists do cos in the ends no one don't really listen to Grime,what we do is called Southern rap and its a bit slower,so you can understand the words a bit better."
Now without being biased i can honestly say that I think South London has definitely got the crown as far as this UK rap thing goes,not saying no specific crew or artist have the crown,but that out of everything coming out of London at the minute it seems to me that all the top artists are from South London.Here's a who's who of who's of the frontline of the Southern takeover (and for your info,Giggs is probably the strongest contender for the crown!)
anyhow in no specific order

1.GIGGS -SN1

Here is an artist who dropped easily the most significant track since So Solid dropped '21 seconds'since the epic freestyle 'Talking the hardest'hit the streets about two years ago it seems the whole UK has gone Giggs crazy with Giggs mania still at an all time high and any of his mixtapes being a sure seller in shops and for bootleggers.There is no real need to

explain all the accolades Giggs has received with the highest being him winning the B.E.T award for best UK artist over more established acts(but you should already know that).Giggs has managed to master the slow flow and has really made it his own as he confidently gives listeners Ghetto stories,tales of hope and unashamed gangster shit whether in a freestyle or original track this has made him a firm favorite amongst listeners as well as spawned a whole army of copy cats,with even a few established artists slowing their flow right down,and some even trying to steal his signature ad-libs..ummmmmmmm!!!!

essential listening:Big Ryde-Best of Giggs1&2,Who said that,Another quick one,Walk in the park

2.BLADE BROWN(DEFENDERS)
Introduced to the world through the Defenders camp along with Corey Johnson,but has worked hard on his game and risen to become on of South London's most respected and in demand lyricists popping up on every one from S.M.S,Giggs,Fem-fel and many more.In a game dominated with a lot of artists talk about shotting and roadlife Blade manges to stand out as one of the more realist rappers as is evident in his verses which are a mixture of street stories,good living,bad living,drug life,escaping poverty and using your brains so as not to return,Blade also manages to convey a fair bit of emotion through his delivery and content,to be honest a few mcs could learn how to step their game up by studying him a bit.

essential listening:DJ limelight-Best of Blade,Hollow meets Blade,Defenders present Blade:nothing long

3.DUBZ -CREAM CARTEL
Probably the most musical of all the of all the mcs if not for his sing song verses or the experimentation with his voice and flow as well as having hard hitting lyrics and an eye for detail as well as a Witty sense of humor and extremely arrogant punchlines(these could be the reason Skepta tapped him for an album track and has recorded a few tracks with Dubz recently)useually heard spitting with his Cream cartel brothers Page and Youngsta as well as being highly in demand and popping up on tracks with Face Squeeze,Joe Grind and Giggs.Look out for freestyles by Dubz on most Street dvds as he never disappoints with a hard freestyle.

essential listening:ard doe,ard bodied(collaboration mixtape with Giggs)

4.SKWILLA DA GORILLA(SDGS)

Skwilla is single handedly responsible for keeping Stockwell relevant and although his back catalogue might not be the largest he has managed to drop 2 ghetto classics in his first two mixtapes as well as peppering every Mykal Million 'welcome to the city 'and other street dvds and mixtrapes over the past couple of years.Skwillas tracks deal with the harsh realities of growing up in the streets in the UK,cautionary tales for the youth and the odd tune for the Ladies,without compromising his artistic integrity and can go from topic to topic without sounding forced or fake as is one of the most sincere artists you will hear out of South London.Hopefully we will get more mixtapes from Skwilla as they are eagerly anticipated(the streets are hungry for some real shit!)

essential listening:For the love of Elizabeth,From a penny to a pound,any Mykal Million'welcome to the city'.

5.PAGE - CREAM CARTEL

One of the Souths most underrated lyricist,as a member of Cream cartel Page has consistently gone hard dropping hard and intelligent verses littered with tales of South London's underworld as well as tales of regret and caution another extremely realistic mc whom doesn't jump on hypes and bandwagons,this is probably the reason he has been a constant feature on the Souths biggest Mixtapes(welcome to the city&Big bad blu).Page spits from a more mature perspective and this has led to him being highly respected among his mc peers including Joe Black who collaborated with Page to bring about one of the most talked about and rated mixtapes of this year 'The black page'.

essential listening:The best of Page,The Page continues,The black page(with Joe Black)

part 2 coming - P.D.C,Tanna,S.M.S,PakMan,Fem-Fel,Cerose,Youngsta,Kyze.

Who do you think we have missed out,do you think the South is really taking over?