I returned home today from my week long trek in NYC, and as promised – here is my other favorite grime artist, Kano. Now Kano to me is honestly a regular hip-hop artist with a British accent, which likely will make him more appealing to American ears. The two CD’s of his that I give the most spin are Home Sweet Home and his Beats + Bars mixtape.
Kano – “Fuck Intros”
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One of the greatest appeals to listening to British hip-hop is the occasional soccer reference – “I’m an up and coming star like Rooney”. It’s funny, just last week I was talking about the viability of the US becoming a legitimate world soccer power and a friend of mine said, “Once Kanye starts rapping about bending in a free kick from 30 yards out, then we’ll have a shot at winning a world cup.” While you may or may not agree with the statement, it does highlight the cultural preference of sports in each culture. Kano was actually a promising soccer player as a kid – and raps about it in one of my favorite tracks off of Home Sweet Home.
Kano – “9 to 5″
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The track is pretty short, and aims to exemplify Kano’s new found work ethic for hip-hop, that he evidently was lacking during his soccer career. Though it is not the explicit focus of the song, the lines about soccer are relatable to anybody who has had a love/hate relationship with a sport. The song that truly broke Kano onto the scene was “P’s & Q’s”. While it might be his track most similar to grime, it really doesn’t take a big stretch of the imagination to see an American rapper on this beat.
Kano – “P’s & Q’s”
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And last but not least, I just love this track from K-A.
Kano – “Sometimes”
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Posted by the Groove
