Welcome to JP’s UK Culture Picks, your one-stop monthly column for all the best in UK music and culture! Expect everything from my favourite tracks and albums of the month to random YouTube finds, fire food spots to club night recommendations. You can find me on IG: @josephjppatterson.
The UK vs US lyrical war is heating up, but let’s just get a few things straight…
An all-round great lyricist, in my opinion, is someone who can jump on any tempo and own it (we called them ‘tempo specialists’ back in my day). A rapper jumping on a grime riddim or a grime MC lacing a trap beat should not be a foreign concept. Flow-wise, you could even say that grime emcees have the upper hand as their beat choices often call for varying flow patterns, therefore enabling them to be more of a rounded lyricist.
Lately, there’s been some talk online about whether grime acts are qualified to send for/war with American rappers because grime and rap are different entities, and that, if anything, it should be UK rappers doing the calling out. I hear it; sometimes the lines do become blurred. But were we complaining about those lines during grime’s mid-2010s resurgence, when all eyes were on the UK globally, including the rap scene? A lot of today’s British rap stars benefitted greatly from that era, many of whom wouldn’t have been as visible to the wider music industry/commercial realm without grime’s assistance; these are just the facts. What Skepta and Novelist and those guys did should only be respected—but instead, we’re talking about if they’re worthy enough to step to US rappers on some healthy competition ish? It makes. no. sense.
In what began as something lighthearted, Skepta essentially started a war season by tweeting about #UKvsUS rap, where he bigged up British lyricism and pitted a load of UK acts against US acts—like Lancey Foux vs Travis Scott, Youngs Teflon vs Meek Mill, Blade Brown vs Pusha T and so on. He himself also offered to clash any US rapper—including his good friend, A$AP Rocky—and the first to bite the bullet was Joyner Lucas, who inserted himself in the convo by running old memes about washed-up comedians who have a gripe with UK rap, and claiming that he could win in a war against the BBK veteran. That then led Skepta to drop the first dub, “Friendly Fire”—produced by Novelist and M1OnTheBeat—which, to me, was more of a warning shot to let it be known that there’s bigger and badder ammo if he really wants the smoke. What I rated most about this dub was that Skepta laced a beat that US ears could understand, and used rhyme schemes they could understand but also learn a thing or two from. While it’s essentially a rap diss, the energy of it couldn’t be more grime if it tried—grime (and the art of clashing) a direct descendent of Jamaican soundsystem culture, not US hip-hop like some would like to claim.
Then came Joyner Lucas’ response: “Nobody Cares”. A decent, 6.5/10 reply. I haven’t followed Joyner Lucas’ career over the years, but this is definitely the most hype I’ve seen around his name in a minute. I’m sure he’s just happy to be here. Now, don’t get me wrong: he’s a decent rapper—not someone whose album I’d listen to from start to finish, but he’s a worthy enough opponent in this war of rhymes. However, Skepta won that first round fair and square. Charlamagne and members of The Joe Budden Podcast recently talked about not being able to overlook the UK accent when it comes to UK bars; but that, to me, is a complete cop-out. I’ve seen them hype up acts like Little Simz and Dave countless times in the past, with not one mention of accents being a problem. But because there’s this lyrical war going on, all of a sudden UK rhymers are now less than? And let’s have it right: if it came to it, Kano, Ghetts and Wretch 32 could easily spin US rap’s Big 3... I’d put big money on it, too.
Following Jonah Joyner’s diss, Lewisham don Novelist came to back his boy with “Everybody Cares”, and gave Joyner the vim Skepta probably should have given with his opener. Again using a beat (self-produced) and flows that US ears can understand, N.O.V. dropped some lines that will live with Joyner for a good while to come; “You look like an influencer from Dubai,” being the main one. More UK and US names will likely take part in this war season, but like Drake already told the entire planet: the world’s best lyricists are in the UK, so I have no worries about who will take home the belt when it’s time.
But before I wrap it up on this topic…
Big Zuu’s dub for Emimen was just banter. Relax!
Big Zuu’s send for Eminem, “Bun Em’”, was obviously some sorta skit. During Wireless weekend, whilst being interviewed by the BBC at his Drip Water takeover, the West London MC stated that out of everyone in US rap, he would clash Slim Shady because his ‘lyrical miracle’ style just ain’t cutting it these days. And I would have to agree. But I don’t think “Bun Em’” was intended to be taken seriously by us rap critics... But if it was? Then my bad, Big Zuu! I say this because it’s too comedic to be considered a proper rap diss, and from what Skep and Nov did with their Joyner sends, this is no time to be playing games. We need our troops to rep the UK to the best of their ability, and Zuu knows he could wash a few US rappers on a serious level if he wanted to. This just wasn’t that (I think, and hope).
Ambush vs everyone in the UK was… a choice!?
This came out of nowhere. The purpose of this war season was for the UK to battle the US, not UK vs UK. Random shots at Headie One, RV, Skepta and Chip (the latter two helped give Ambush his biggest hit to date with the “Jumpy Remix”) just came across forced. Ambush is a very cold spitter, and his beat selection is always top tier, but this confused the whole play. By all means, if it was a different season and you wanted to aim and shoot, I would say go for it. Rap competition is healthy, and that’s the whole reason Skepta started this thing in the first place. But to drop a bomb like this when we should be a united front was kinda clouty... I hope he can come back from this once Chip puts pen to pad.
Album Of The Month: Jim Legxacy takes Lewisham and black british music into the future
Can you remember when The Weeknd first stepped on the scene? There was a shroud of mystery surrounding the singer in a somewhat Sade Adu kind of way: elusive but seemingly everywhere. Now, the Canadian star is one of the biggest things in music; some stats will show that he is the biggest thing in music. And I believe that Jim Legxacy—a rising talent out of Lewisham, SE LDN—will have a very similar trajectory. The 24-year-old is rarely outside or “on the blogs” like the other cool kids of his day, some of his listed musical influences couldn’t be further afield (Bon Iver? Mitski?), and his aesthetic doesn’t always match his sound in ways that you would expect, but it all works in a seamless and authentic way. He’ll do one press interview every six months (or even longer), seemingly preferring to let his locked-in fan-base dissect his thoughts through his music. Jim has curated his career to a point where you’re curious to learn more and more about the one behind these musical masterpieces.
Squeezing in everything from grime and drill to R&B and indie into his sonic blender, on black british music—his new album-worthy mixtape on XL Recordings (Dizzee, Amy, Adele)—the singer, rapper and producer touches on everything from the Windrush Gen and their impact on this land, to dealing with a major loss in his life: the death of his little sister. There’s a perfect balance of light and dark throughout the set, which is what everyday life consists of anyway—especially being a young Black man in Britain. 2023’s homeless n*gga pop music was already ahead of its time, but black british music really takes the cake: the future is well and truly here. 5/5
Has Wireless… lost its connection?
Earlier this month, Wireless Festival celebrated its 20th anniversary with a 3-day Drake takeover and a line-up of supporting acts curated by the man himself—including Boy Better Know, Vybz Kartel and Burna Boy. A month prior to the festival taking place in Finsbury Park, I was told by a member of the Wireless team over email that, this year—arguably its biggest year yet—UK music media had to buy tickets through their newly-appointed “Industry Ticket Buy” team. In all my years working in this industry, I’ve never been told I’d have to pay to cover an event—one that most definitely needed the good press following years and years of missteps. This may go over some people’s heads as me moaning about having to pay to get in, but it’s far from that: it’s about them treating Black music media with respect. A brand paid for me to go to Wireless—I tried to attend the Sunday show, but after almost three hours of dealing with unprofessional staff trying to get in, I just went home. Again: never happened before.
But after the dust has settled, one question still lingers: where were all of the UK music-based streamers, like BillyTheGoat, and UK music tastemakers like Mimi The Music Blogger and Naz Hamdi? Any content creator or journalist that attended would have either had a brand pay for them to go, or they jumped on a performer’s guestlist. Why was there no dedicated list for them, though? Drake flew out a load of streamers from the States and had a guestlist of over 500 (fair play). But why did the Black British press have no dedicated guestlist? Mainstream titles like British GQ, The Guardian and The Evening Standard reviewed the Drake performances (not sure if they, too, had to pay, or if Wireless decided their presence was more essential), but where were all of the Black music media platforms, the ones who live and breathe this culture thing on the daily?
To reiterate: This isn’t me moaning about guestlist spots. It’s about a festival, which started out as an indie and pop festival, not catering to the people who over the years have lifted them up to be what they are today. They need to do better come 2026, that’s for sure. As Yemi Abiade wrote in this recent TRENCH feature (that I commissioned): “Wireless, don’t bury your heads in the sand hoping this all blows over because every year the festival returns, we’ll be reminded of the times you didn’t represent for us.”
Tracks Of The Month
Tracks added for July 2025:
Jim Legxacy f/ Dave, “3x”
Finessekid, “Linked In”
John Glacier, “Fly With Me”
Odeal f/ Leon Thomas, “Miami”
J Hus f/ Asake, “Gold”
Jim Legxacy, “New David Bowie”
Sainté & Oakland, “Lowkey”
Mahalia, “Instructions”
Kojey Radical, “Conversation”
The HeavyTrackerz f/ Subten, “Capri”
Streamer Spotlight: Samham
UK streamers are making all the right noise right now. Last month, I put the Streamer Spotlight on the ever-consistent MularJuice, whose star continues to rise (alongside his crew). This month, though, I decided to hand the Spotlight to one of the scene’s more popular streamers, Samham, to share his origin story.
Samham is name you will know in this realm, and yet you still might not have the full picture of how he got to this point. Likeability is a key factor in this thing, and this guy has it in spades. I caught up with the South London native to talk about his rise to streaming stardom, what it was like being the only British streamer at Kai Cenat’s Streamer University, what he thinks the UK scene needs to reach the next level, who he’s currently rating, and more.
JP: How did you get into the whole streaming thing?
Samham: After finishing college. I’d made the decision not to go to university. Even though I had strong grades, and could’ve landed a place at a top Russell Group university, the idea of spending several years studying for a degree with no guaranteed job at the end never appealed to me. I didn’t even apply through UCAS, despite pressure from my teachers. Instead, I pursued school leaver programmes and secured offers from EY, PwC, and Deloitte. In 2016, I joined Deloitte as a tech consultant. I had always been into video games, especially Call of Duty, and was known as the best player in my year back in secondary school. I was always the one dropping the most kills.
When Covid hit, and everyone was working remotely, I found myself gaming more than ever, especially with the release of Call of Duty: Warzone. I’d wake up early just to squeeze in games before work, then log onto meetings after dropping 30 bombs in Verdansk. My usual Warzone squad included Premier League players like Dominic Solanke, Kyle Walker-Peters, Dele Alli, Ademola Lookman, and others. With football on pause, we’d play for hours during lockdown. Around that time, I started watching FaZe Swagg, who streamed Warzone and brought such a good vibe with his friends. It reminded me so much of my own sessions with the boys, so I decided to hit the ‘Go Live’ button. My first stream had three viewers: all of my friends that I was playing with pulled up my stream on their phones to support.
I deliberately chose not to leverage my footballer friends’ platforms because I wanted to build an audience that was there for me, for my content, my personality, and my gameplay. After streaming consistently for a few weeks while still working, I started missing out on big opportunities, like collaborations with top CoD creators and tournaments with serious prize pools. So, I took a six-month break from my job to focus on streaming. It wasn’t an easy decision. I actually loved my job: the salary was competitive, the role was interesting, and I worked with great people. When I returned after that break, Deloitte offered me a promotion. But by then, I knew my heart was in content creation. I turned it down and officially left to pursue streaming full-time. It was a huge risk, but fast forward to 2025, and I haven’t looked back.
JP: How would you describe your channel to someone in, say, Alaska?
Samham: My channel is a mix of everything; variety is the name of the game! One day, I might be grilling BBQ in my bedroom to celebrate the 4th of July, the next I might be trying Filipino snacks live on stream. You might catch me at Wimbledon having strawberries and cream, or deep in a Chinese market learning how to make dumplings. No stream is ever the same. I’m what you’d call a variety streamer. That means I switch it up: gaming, chatting, reacting to internet content, or going outside with a camera and taking people on real-time adventures. The vibe is always positive, fun and energetic. I treat my stream like a safe space where people can tune in, laugh, unwind and forget about whatever stress they’ve got going on. If someone can come to my stream and leave feeling better than when they joined, then I’ve done my job.
JP: What was it like being the only UK streamer at Kai Cenat’s Streamer University? That was a pretty big deal. Congrats!
Samham: Being the only UK streamer there was definitely a unique experience. There was no one else who sounded like me, and that alone made me stand out. The UK and US have very different cultures, especially when it comes to humour, slang and the way we create content. But for me, that challenge was exciting. Luckily, I wasn’t new to the US scene; I actually hosted AMP when they came to London for the Sidemen Charity Match in 2023. I helped get them settled, found a place for them to stay, set up their streaming gear, hired private security, and even sorted chauffeurs to take them around the city. So by the time Streamer University came around, I already had a relationship with some of the team and knew how to navigate the cultural crossover.
That said, it would’ve been sick to have at least one other UK creator with me. Everyone knows collabs are where the best content comes from. If there had been another UK voice alongside me, we could’ve bounced off each other from day one, just like how Enzo and Shank—two Nigerian streamers—brought their own energy and culture to the table. I remember thinking it was surprising not to see any other UK names on the line-up. I actually brought this up to Kai and told him it would be great to see more UK creators involved if he ever runs it back. He was open to the idea, and I hope that next time around, more UK talent gets the spotlight too.
JP: How do you view the streaming space in the UK right now?
Samham: We’re still in the early stages of streaming culture in the UK. It’s a growing space, but there’s a lot of catching up to do. While the US has embraced streaming fully, many UK brands are still stuck thinking in terms of Instagram stories and TikTok deliverables. What they’re missing is that streamers offer real-time engagement, instant feedback from tight-knit communities who tune in for hours—day in, day out. It’s like a long FaceTime call between you and hundreds, or even thousands, of people. One area that’s gaining traction is IRL streaming. For anyone unfamiliar, IRL streaming is when creators take their audience into real-world experiences live, whether that’s at events, travelling, or just day-to-day life. I’ve streamed from places like Wimbledon, AJ Tracey’s bubble bath-themed release party, a Boy Better Know private event and, more recently, Wireless Festival.
Of course, there are challenges. Some people don’t fully understand what live streaming is and can be uncomfortable with cameras around. Access and permissions are still tricky in some places. But over time, as the culture grows, I believe more UK creators will tap into IRL. Something I’d also love to see more of is female representation in UK streaming. I really rate what GIRLVRSE are doing—a group of female UK streamers building their space—and I think there’s so much room for more women to be seen and supported.
JP: How do you think the UK streamer space can grow?
Samham: It all comes down to support, from every angle. Streamers need to lift each other up. Collaborate more. Be open to bouncing ideas, doing creative crossovers, and sharing the spotlight. That’s how we all win. Viewers are equally important. Showing love, tuning in and engaging with your favourite streamers helps them grow and gives them the motivation to level up their content. And then there’s the wider community, especially brands and industry decision-makers. Streamers can bring so much value to campaigns and events. I love what Kai Cenat did at the Grammys in the US. I’d love to see something similar happen here. Imagine live-streaming the GRM Gala, the MOBOs, or even the BAFTAs. The culture would go crazy for that.
JP: Which streamers are you rating currently?
Samham: There are so many UK streamers doing sick things, but often they get overlooked or labelled as “underrated”. I’ll shout-out a few names that deserve more eyes on them: AngryGinge, NYKChazza, BigBeno, JakeyDavies, Tyrone, LBMM, Tyrique Hyde, Caszy, BillyTheGoat, ProdByWalkz, DiligentCal, Kaysosa, MularJuice, Krimoe, DannyAarons RxzzLIVE, ReeClare, Kavsual, DCampion, MadisonMBT. These people are all contributing to the scene in their own way, and they deserve more recognition.
JP: What’s next for Samham?
Samham: Right now, it’s all about continuing to create for my core community, SFM (Samfam). They’ve been rocking with me from early, and everything I do is to give back to them through the content we create together. I want to travel more and do more IRL streams around the world. Sharing those experiences live with my audience is one of my favourite parts of being a streamer. If I can explore new places, meet new people and let the community experience that in real-time with me, that’s a win. Long-term, I want to be one of the biggest streamers to ever come out of the UK.
You can join Samham’s Twitch stream here.
Ravers’ Delight: STEPPERS
To witness the rise of STEPPERS has been something pretty special. From keeping us all entertained during lockdown to building something of an empire with these house music events, Birmingham DJ Continental GT has been non-stop, taking the party all over the country—from Brum to Manchester and London (and everywhere in between)—and even overseas to spots like Ibiza and Marbella. “Throughout my IG Lives, I kept on saying, ‘Steppers assemble!’, and it just stuck,” GT told Complex back in 2023. “We were due to come out of lockdown, and I got a date at [the nightclub] E1 in London. I put the date out to the people and said, ‘Listen! We are going to be stepping!’ I called the event STEPPERS. Once the tickets were on sale, we sold about 700 tickets in a couple of hours.” 700 tickets is light compared to what the brand is doing today—regularly selling out arenas and huge club venues. If you’re a house raver looking for a good time, let STEPPERS be your destination this summer (and beyond).