Music
Rebel MC's sound derives from his focus on blackness from various angles. Rather than solely celebrating Afrocentric motifs, his music hearkens back to the African diaspora. The lyrics embrace a wide range of approaches to blackness and black-pride, bringing a different understanding of tradition by combining the different voices, themes and styles drawn from all kinds of sources of "blackness", creating a "playful, vibrant, postracial utopia". This amalgamated version of modern thought has allowed for the emergence of a uniquely London version of politically charged hip hop. Paul Gilroy argues that Rebel MC's message prevents the existence of "the trope of race as family." Instead, Gilroy states that the London hip hop culture allows for a healthy competition between African-American and Caribbean sounds to gain exposure.As recently as 2009 Joe Rankin' Rattigan described the song Street Tuff as "the birth of UK grime", a view supported by Dizzee Rascal also.
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