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.
As a guest in Black music culture, Trap Lore Ross MUST do better…
I said some things on Twitter recently that hit the blogs, and I feel the need to expand on it: Trap Lore Ross—the rap superfan-turned-content-maker, from the English seaside-town of Bognor Regis—needs to seriously reconsider how he covers UK rap, because his current “reporting” is doing more damage than good.
As I wrote in my August column on ‘UK rap media’s new wave’, what Trap Lore Ross is doing now is NOT journalism, despite always calling himself a journalist. By definition, a journalist’s role is to “ensure stories include multiple viewpoints,” and that “facts are always presented.” However, Ross has repeatedly missed this mark, making it impossible for me—or anyone else committed to journalistic integrity—to take his work seriously (I doubt he even cares). TLR is evidently a hip-hop nerd, one who managed to catch a break through his obsession with the darker side of rap: the tragic cycle of violence and killings sparked by beef that often begins on wax through disses to the dead. Documenting Black pain in this way isn’t something I would ever want to do, myself—firstly, as a Black man who understands that side of the coin; and secondly, as someone who prefers greatness over negativity.
Yet Trap Lore Ross has amassed over a million YouTube subscribers for his documentaries on mostly deceased American rappers, his most notable being the King Von documentary. Now, did I watch the entire thing, and I was impressed? I did, and I was. Highly, in fact. That was journalism—albeit sprinkled with sensationalism. But if we’re going strictly by the definition of journalism, he did what was necessary and it was an intriguing watch.
If I’m being honest, though, I’m not concerned with what he does with American rap—that’s not really my lane, and I’m sure they’ll have their say when it’s time. But when it comes to UK rap and its culture, I feel obligated to speak up when I see things that are harmful to the scene. “But who are YOU, JP?” I had a few of these comments thrown at me off the back of my rant, so let me quickly answer that: My name is Joseph ‘JP’ Patterson, and I have been documenting Black British music for almost 20 years. I started out as a club night promoter—working with everyone from Giggs to Skepta early on—before settling in the field of music journalism as a writer, critic and editor. So I think I’ve earned the right to call out foulness when I see it, and I feel that Trap Lore Ross’ recent content has been just that—foul. Him making a four-hour-long video putting into question Central Cee’s gangsta was a bit weird because... why? Were you around him to know that he didn’t spend nights in the trap, and that he didn’t wake up with spots on his face from germs? Going off your own perceived notions and “opp” hearsay is, once again, NOT journalism.
But the Cench thing isn’t even my issue here. It’s about Trap Lore Ross sitting on livestream with 6ix9ine—branded hip-hop’s biggest snitch—and laughing about guns and knives with a picture of Loski in the background, knowing full well he has a case in motion right now; it’s about Trap Lore Ross being adamant that “Body”, the chart-topping UK drill song by Tion Wayne and co, is about killing people when, in fact, it’s about getting lit with some baddies; it’s about Trap Lore Ross’ constant need to mention Digga D as this big, bad gangster from West London, when the rapper just got home from prison and is having another go at this positive life thing.
I’m not here to excuse any rapper’s behaviour, but what Ross is doing—maybe unknowingly—is almost taunting them back into a life of badness by having these negative headlines constantly linked to their name. Documenting Black British music should always be handled with care, because it deserves that much. Myself and others have spent many, many years lifting our culture up to a point where it is taken seriously in spaces that never wanted to accept us but now have no other choice but to. This work isn’t about to be undone by this guest of the culture, who clearly doesn’t care about the literal blood, sweat and tears it has taken us to get here. I can’t stop anyone from doing what they want on their own platform, but even if Trap Lore Ross were to review or discuss the music of these rappers critically—instead of making light of their dark situations—it would be a major improvement.
Risky Roadz is STILL putting on for grime!
Twenty years on, Roony ‘Risky Roadz’ Keefe—the trusted filmmaker from East London—continues to cement grime’s legacy with his debut book, GRIME: Documenting The Scene’s Rise & Reign. This 288-page offering captures the people, places and moments that shaped the early scene up to now, featuring writers like Hyperfrank, Chantelle Fiddy, Hattie Collins (and me!), photographers Vicky Grout and Simon Wheatley, and iconic emcees including Skepta, Wiley and Kano. The book, out now on HarperCollins, offers an insider look at the clashes, characters and energy that propelled a generation forward. Filled with firsthand stories, rare visuals, and deep cultural context, GRIME is an essential read for anyone interested in the history of this important musical movement. Long live it!
Mixtape Of The Month: On ‘blair babies’, South London’s Ceebo gives Gen Z a dose of social lyricism that Akala would be proud of.
UK rap is in safe hands with Ceebo. 4/5.
Wiley’s not done yet.
I wouldn’t be where I am today without grime (and God, of course). This genre gave me my first break at anything to do with the music biz, so I will forever be indebted to it.
I will also forever be grateful to Wiley for creating this thing, all those years ago in East London, that we can call our own. So when he put out a video recently saying that he was “broke”, and that he had to move back into his mum’s house at the age of 46, it upset my soul. This is WILEY you know: the living legend who made a sound and cultural movement that has changed lives and made a lot of people rich, and yet he’s no longer that himself? This is also Wiley—the prankster. And while his broke won’t be the same as our broke, he has yet to come out and say that he was joking, so we have to take him at his word.
Poor money management aside, while his off-mic controversies are significant and cannot be ignored, the politics of labels, streaming services and live agents has definitely played its part. Still, his musical legacy remains a cornerstone of UK culture, history, and its ongoing development. From what he’s been sharing from his production suite lately, it’s clear that Wiley’s next phase is going to be something great. Eskiboy’s the reason why everybody’s here; never forget it.
Tracks Of The Month
Tracks added for November 2025:
Diligent Dotty, “First Day Out”
Nia Smith, “Limit”
Odeal, “Children Of Yeshua”
Odeal, “Blur”
Knucks, “Pure Water”
Digga D, “DPMO”
Nemzzz, “Miss Them Days”
Micofcourse, “Hi, Bye”
Armor, “Wotless”
Mala f/ Magugu, “Militant Don”