By Gary Suarez in Newsletter — Mar 2, 2026

The British Are Coming Correct

Tony Bontana and more UK rap highlights in the year so far. +reviews of MC Paul Barman x Kenny Segal, Chyna Baejing

Tony Bontana. Photo credit: Jago Stock

In times of anxiety, despair, and uncertainty, it seems only natural–if a bit cliché–to reach for what's comfortable and comforting. Most recently, for me that has translated to relistens and rewatches of albums and movies long lovingly burnt into my brain like on a slowly decaying CD-R/DVD-R.

Revisiting MF DOOM's Doomsday and Dr. Octagon's Dr. Octagonecologyst rarely requires justification around these parts, but easing back into those seminal indie rap classics feels as reliable and right as ever now. Likewise, my repeat viewing choices currently skew towards the surest of sure things, with Martin Scorsese's prestige mafia desert drama Casino and Steven Soderbergh's star-studded heist caper Ocean's Eleven each hitting the ol' pleasure center once more with assured accuracy. Brad Pitt's role in the latter promptly prompted a truly gratifying rewatch of one of his most memorable flicks, Snatch.

Coming relatively hot on the heels of the commercial successful Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Guy Ritchie's second feature film returned to the various and sundry types who operate in the colorful UK underworld, adding in new chaotic criminal elements from outside in the form of American Jews and Irish Travellers. And with all due respect to the late Dennis Farina, who makes every moment of his screen time as the volatile Cousin Avi worthwhile, Pitt rightfully stands out as the largely inscrutable amateur pugilist whose thick-as-thieves morality offers viewers both comic relief and third act satisfaction.

One of my favorite film subgenres is the British gangster picture. From 20th century hallmarks Get Carter and The Long Good Friday through more modern iterations like Gangster Number One, Layer Cake and Ritchie's latter-day universe-expanding The Gentlemen, few formats keep me quite so firmly glued to the tube (or Tubi), admittedly with the captions on to capture all the nuance and slang. I'll watch pretty much anything where Vinnie Jones or Ray Winstone are up to something, and my enduring appreciation for Jason Statham stems from this cinematic wellspring. And while American crime movies certainly win on volume, even fairly low budget UK fare like Jesse V. Johnson's Avengement manages to lure me in.

I wish I could say the same for British hip-hop, the majority of which largely fails to resonate with me.

In the early-to-mid 2000s, Dizzee Rascal, M.I.A., and The Streets made names for themselves beyond their borders, but the subsequent American appetite for further exports hardly proved insatiable. Yet I think even the most dedicated of the country's rap defenders would have to concede, albeit grudgingly so, that there's an insularity inherent in the form that gives their localized interpretations an aura of impenetrability for outsiders. Much of that stems from the culturally regional nature of the homegrown rap that reaches the UK mainstream, its intended audience. Parallels exists on either side of the pond, to be sure, but as hip-hop history shows, rarely does what emerges from there translate to success over here.

But to be transparently fair, I'd also add that perceptions and prejudices stateside mean that Americans in particular scarcely give sufficient credit or credence to some of the exceptional artists that have emerged out of London, Birmingham, Sheffield, or other English locales.

If UK drill hadn't provided New York with a sonic blueprint, we might never have seen the likes of Pop Smoke or Sheff G, let alone the subsequent sexy drill boom headlined by Cash Cobain, Chow Lee, and Ice Spice. A Drake co-sign may not carry the weight it once did, but his "On the Radar Freestyle" alongside Central Cee thrust the London-bred rapper onto the Billboard Hot 100, priming him for future American singles chart appearances and a historic Top 10 placement here for his debut album Can't Rush Greatness.

All of this is to say, for those willing to open their ears, the UK has something to offer hip-hop heads worldwide. Here, then, are three new projects that exemplify some of the best coming from that particular corner of the global underground.

Tony Bontana, My Name

An evident auteur of avant rap vibes, the Birmingham rapper/producer puts his immersive "splayed" style on display with this refreshing half-hour album. Sample degradation in the service of hidden bitrate beauty characterizes the beats, while the individualistic verses cover thematic ground including grief and identity.

Sonnyjim & Sumgii, Chinatown Chicken Tour

The always captivating Birmingham emcee locks in with the impressive London-based producer for a sonically diverse outing led by casually luxe lyricism delivered in a deceptively low-key flow. And while the guest list skews local, ATL phenom Tha God Fahim plays well over a jazzy groove with his "Mandy & Rosé" feature.

Sniff, Caneva & Hush One, One Night On Earth

A Cult Of The Damned mainstay pairs up with a comparatively newer rapper and dope producer to form a bespoke Sheffield trio whose collective effort sounds more lived-in and solid than it seemingly has any right to. Cineaste panache aids this new bap noir, marrying Michael Mann with the Wu-Tang Clan in the twilight.

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MC Paul Barman & Kenny Segal, Antinomian Pandemonium

(buy it / stream it)

Propelled into indie hip-hop consciousness with the Prince Paul produced It's Very Stimulating for WordSound, MC Paul Barman cropped up intermittently over the next two-and-a-half decades. Coming roughly a year after Tectonic Texts, his first album in seven years, this Kenny Segal-helmed set suggests he's not planning on leaving again quite so soon. As before, his flow is conversational and comedically timed, rejiggering parenthood platitudes on "Congrats On Your Firstborn" and spiraling through on the cognitively discordant "Borderline." He recites bizarre near-future fiction on "Anarchist Bookstore, Part Zero" and rattles off moderately iffy dating advice "Fullproof Datenight." Linked lately with the serious likes of billy woods and R.A.P. Ferreira, Segal seems to revel the opportunity to soundtrack something more whimsical on jaunty cuts like "Rumrumrumrum" and the lawless "Train Basics."

Chyna Baejing & Boneweso, BAEJING BALLAD

(buy it / stream it)

Just when you thought Lynn, Massachusetts couldn't possibly produce another high quality street rapper, in walks Chyna Baejing. Building off the momentum of her 2024 project THE NINTH WONDER with producer Rod Roche, the Estee Nack affiliate connects with his go-to beatmaker Boneweso for her breakthrough-worthy BAEJING BALLAD. Her compounding bars on "B.O.N.D." and the ominous "BETHDUTTON" demonstrate a practiced honing of innate skills, as do her poetic performance opposite Writeous on "MURDERATTHEOPERA." Other guests here include THEHIDDENCHARACTER, who stands strong with Baejing on the empowering, salacious single "HELLOKITTY," and the aforementioned Nackman, who imbues her dramatic closer "GAMEOFBONES" with extra weight.