The second series of BBC Three’s The Rap Game UK is back with another episode and this week’s offering ups the stakes once more.
Last week, DDroid, Graft, Lesia, Shogun and Zones battled it out in the infamous clash challenge and we also saw the departure of Micahh who made the decision to leave the competition.
With the addition of Reading hailing Bajan Boy D Live who ruffled feathers on his arrival, the battle for the coveted Play Dirty record deal continues and the contestants give their all in two testing challenges.
The first challenge sees the six hopefuls head to Birmingham’s Summerfield Studios to write a track about their musical influences and inspirations in just 60 minutes.
Fighting against the clock, the artists do their best to deliver a quality track and guest judge D Double E is left impressed by the performances.
As one of the pioneers of Grime and the UK music scene, D Double E is the perfect artist to offer guidance, mentorship and feedback.
Later, the contestants are tasked with their next challenge – DDroid, Graft, Lesia, Shogun, Zones and D Live are asked to write 32 bars about an important social issue.
With rap and hip-hop frequently giving a voice to the underrepresented, this challenge asks the rappers to pay homage to the origins of their chosen genre.
As the rappers begin to prepare for the challenge, the reality of the global COVID-19 pandemic hits and due to national lockdown, the battle for the record deal has to be paused.
Five months later with an increased hunger for success, glow ups and more, the artists return – all except for one who is forced back into lockdown after ignoring quarantine rules.
Jme arrives as guest judge and the BBK legend is left flawed by the performances from the artists which cover several topics including racism in the media, homelessness, police brutality, colourism, mental health and more.
With such strong performances all round, the judges are given the difficult task of deciding this week’s rankings and their decisions leave more than one hopeful disappointed.
With next week’s episode promising appearances from one of the scene’s biggest hitmakers, a leading voice in the UK female rap scene and one of London’s most prolific artists, you cannot miss the next episode of BBC Three’s The Rap Game UK.
DJ Target’s The Rap Map UK is live now and gives you the chance to put your hometown on the map.
Upload your rap, show off your skills and then catch up with BBC Three’s The Rap Game UK on BBC iPlayer.