Joseph ‘JP’ Patterson Sits Down With Jake Hanrahan, Talks Trap Lore Ross, UK Rap’s Rise & More

Over the past few years, Jake Hanrahan has steadily established himself as one of UK journalism’s most compelling voices, covering everything from politics and war reporting to pop culture and media, and he now has a new “talk show” called Hanrahan Live.

Recently, he sat down with Complex UK EIC Joseph ‘JP’ Patterson to discuss street credentials and how much an artist needs to have actually lived in order to speak on certain subjects. Does it matter? Is it valid to document as a witness? Where’s the line? Elsewhere, they dive into Birmingham grime, JP’s role documenting bassline for RWD in the 2000s, the kaleidoscopic world of alt-rap led by Lancey Foux and his peers, the ebb and flow of grime, and how voices from the North, South and Midlands have shaped British music in the post-millennium era.

Growing up in Wellingborough gave JP a unique vantage point, with one foot in the North and one in the South. He moved between the grime and rap worlds (and later, UK funky) of London and also up North, introducing southern audiences to names such as Trilla Jermaine Trilloski and Scumfam.

“When grime had that little dip from around 2009 to 2013, Birmingham was running it,” says JP. “Lady Leshurr, JayKae, all those guys—StayFresh as well—they were the front-runners keeping grime alive. People don’t really show love to that. They need to, though, because without them, grime wouldn’t be in the mix like it is now, as prevalent as it is.”

A lot has changed in the decade-plus since then, and some argue that one or two things have drifted in the wrong direction. It’s one thing to adapt to shifting media and markets, but have we lost sight of the fundamentals?

“I mean, it’s still got a long way to go,” JP says. “Even though we’ve been doing this forever, I just think we need to go back to the roots now. Everyone’s talking about a reset—big up Bouncer, big up Scorcher, because they’ve been talking about resetting the whole industry so we can go back to the roots, start again, build again. That’s what needs to happen.”

Self-described “hip-hop historian” Trap Lore Ross also comes up: “Don't get me wrong, the King Von documentary he did was cold. I thought that was good. But the way he’s romanticising gang culture, it’s like he wakes up every day and he’s excited to see who got shot! It’s weird, bro. It’s very dark and I’m just not with it, man. There’s a way of obviously talking about it and documenting it, but when you start laughing about certain things and you’re minimalising what the impact is, I don’t rate that. People have died.”

Watch the full interview above.