Hip Hop in the UK it would seem has never been so healthy.
‘South Coast’ is the latest release from Fractured Films and focuses on the Hip Hop scene in Brighton, covering its initial links with the US and how it matured in the UK despite being criminally ignored by a slew of British labels in the late eighties and nineties.
Shot in a documentary format the film is based around the commentary of the people who have grown up on the scene and essentially made it part of their lives. More than just a passing fad, the participants here are 100% committed to their craft whether that be rapping, production or graffiti/street art.
As a film it truly was an education, while I had some awareness of a scene further south, I confess I had no idea it was so pervasive, nor did I realise there was such a dearth of talent involved. Don’t expect the ‘bitches and bling’ rhetoric of their US counterpart, the material showcased here is intelligent, often funny and dealing with issues closer to home.
It’s not just a piece for the die hards either there’s enough here to whet the appetite of the casual music observer who might not consider this genre their first love. What the film does do is inspire you to look a little closer at a scene and a host of artists who deserve a greater degree of recognition than they have got so far.
Definitely recommended.
