There’s never much hip-hop featured on this feature. It’s not because we don’t like it and single the genre out like the kid at school who had head lice.

Unfortunately, it’s down to the fact that any sort of UK rap/hip hop that doesn’t get produced outside of London gets laughed at. Just look at Grandfather DJ Tim Westwood. He’s as ghetto as the local paperboy. But despite his achievements in championing many American artists, he still gets the piss ripped out of him. All for being the son of a vicar and sounding like something he’s not.

Dizzee Rascal, Lethal Bizzle and to a lesser extent, So Solid Crew all came from various pirate radio backgrounds before gaining our attention. Unlike other music genres which can be really made from a bedroom, these artists have to battle against fellow producers/MCs before getting a whiff of attention from record type folk. Early career mixtapes are always in high demand when an artist makes it big. Excentral Tempest is a young female London MC who will hopefully show the blokes on the circuit that the ladies can cut it.

Now we won’t lie to you. Although the hecklerspray inbox is constantly rammed with demands from PR companies to plug their artists, we genuinely sift through the internet to pick out stuff we think is good and you’ll like. Sometimes we do pick up on artists after they’ve been played on air. You know, it’s because we don’t have people sending us a copy of CD limited to 100 copies and only available in five London record shops.

Thanks to the lovely people at Radio 1, we heard Excentral Tempest showcasing a rhyme that almost felt like it belonged in a rally of some sorts. With a lot of hip-hop lyrics reported to be all about sex, drugs, guns, knives and other bollocks the lyrics brought out an upbeat message that will make Daily Mail writers maybe assume the genre isn’t all about the sadder issues in life.

Plenty of demos are up showcasing this lady’s talents and videos taken off YouTube show she ain’t phased by a live crowd. Sometimes rappers are put off by a crowd that may heckle and boo, but Excentral Tempest maintains her strong lyrical ability with a performance that doesn’t dip or falter.

A general gripe with the genre in the populist area is its fascination with money and girls. Taking the lyrical basis back to its core and talking about issues that affect the average person do more to get people interested then some beefed up American telling us how many cars he owns and what he’s going to do with his next $100,000 paycheque.

Have a listen, and you may be pleasantly surprised of the talent we have on our own back step. Hopefully it’ll stop people like fast-food battling artists like 50 Cent dominating the scene.

For more:

Excentral Tempest MySpace page