Cardiff On The Come up
Recently an article in Time Out Magazine proclaimed “The UK’s most exciting rap scene? It’s 131 miles from London – and only getting bigger.” Some may still be surprised that the writer Rhys Thomas was talking about Cardiff. Hyperbole? Perhaps, but there’s no denying there is indeed something seriously exciting happening here.
My work with Amgueddfa Cymru puts me right in the middle of it all, and I'm a fan of all the acts mentioned in that article and more. However even I have just scratched the surface. There’s definitely something even bigger brewing amongst the next generation and thankfully there are a number of youth organisations here in the city to help nurture that talent and creativity. Sound Progression, Lab7, New Era are some of the main ones, all offering up free time for young people in performance spaces and studios across the city. Ministry Of Life is another, and they have gathered up the organisatons I mentioned, along with a whole bunch of other music and youth services across Wales such as Anthem, Radio Platfform and the North’s champion of all things rap in Wales, Larynx Entertainment - to put on an event called Cardiff Music Conference, across multiple floors of St David’s Hall.
There have been all kinds of talks, panels and performances happening. Since I've been back in the city. I’ve been to a few events such as Summit at The Gate organised by Beacons Cymru or the Power Up afternoon in the BBC, or the event put on by Radio Platfform and WMC before Souls Of Mischief, and it’s inspiring to see so many people coming together, to try and help both the city and the country as a whole to reach its potential when it comes to music.
CMC is the biggest event I’ve been to here so far, with a good few hundred people in attendance. I was invited to host the main stage, so much of my focus for the day was there. I saw little to no rock, indie or saccharine pop on display, rap music and rnb led vocals were the main event. There are headliners Mace The Great, whose new Splottworld album is the biggest event in Welsh rap music right now, and reggae singer turned BBC Presenter Aleighcia Scott - whose forthcoming album produced by Jamaican sound system legend Rorystonelove, is certainly one of my most anticipated this year. The rest of the performances were showcases of acts from New Era, Sound Progression and Ministry Of Life (Lab7 were upstairs I believe - although some of the artists work across multiple organisations). Here’s a few of my personal highlights from the day, some of which I knew already and have included on my Land Of Rap Spotify playlist previously, and others that were totally new to me.
First up is an artist I’d consider as being more established in the city, but perhaps that’s just because I have a few of her tunes (including collaborations with Sam Binga, Minas and Zippy) and have seen her live more than the others. Niques handles the mic like a boss over any beat and seems just as comfortable singing as rapping poetically or spitting fire over grime. This is a recent session she recorded for local YouTube channel Studio 45
New Wave (or New Wave Sound Ent. to give them their full title) I’ve managed to catch a few times recently and their energy is always on point. They definitely feel like they’re at tipping point locally at least and they seem to be one of the more popular artists amongst the younger audience. This is their latest video, Family Ties.
Khalil aka KS24 I first heard on Adam Walton’s show I believe. He has some of my favourite tracks out from this new generation of rappers. There was a healthy amount of people in the front row who knew all the words to his tunes too. His tunes are heartfelt and honest, with Destined probably being his biggest one so far.
Representing Splott and Adamsdown, Cass is another rapper whose lyrics are straight from the heart. His delivery is classic Road Rap and you can tell he’s got love on the street side of things. He’s definitely keeping it solid.
Although Mill$ has only been on the mic a year, she shows genuine promise and is definitely an artist to keep an eye on. There’s very little material out there but this is a dope freestyle she put out a little while ago.
There’s so many other artists I’d like to cover such as DFlexXx, Tia Sanchez and Jessika Kay but I'm pretty sure I’ll be covering all of those again before too long. Keep an eye out for all of these artists and if you’re in the city and involved in music then make sure you catch the Cardiff Music conference next year.
