What Do You Call It? : From Grass Roots to the Golden Era of UK Rap

Friday 28 July 2019: 11 years after Jay Z became the first hip-hop artist to headline the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, Stormzy finally became the first English rapper to follow suit. The South-London-born rapper, wearing a customised stab-proof vest designed by Banksy, put in an explosive performance and finished his set by thanking many of the 'legends for paving the way,' name-checking the likes of Wiley, Dizzee Rascal, and Giggs. Yet British rap has a nuanced, rich, and often misunderstood history factoring in socioeconomics, gender, identity, music industry disruption, and innovation. What Do You Call It? charts the journey of UK rap music over two decades, exploring the origin stories of classic albums and the artists that made them, and changed the course of British music and culture despite the systemic racism and infrastructural challenges faced.