England riots. Photo credit: Nico Hogg, http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicohogg/6018692165/
It’s not every day that UK hip-hop lyrical content is appreciated on left-wing political blogs but, then again, cerebral Plan B (real name Benjamin Paul Ballance-Drew) is not your average UK rap star and his new Ill Manors is not your average UK hip-hop track.
To a pulsating, menacing beat provided by Grammy-winning producer Al Shux, Ill Manors addresses the causes and consequences of last summer’s England riots and expresses fury at the UK government and its inability to appreciate the concerns of the underclass. Prime Minister David Cameron and the privileged public school educated political comrades come in for some heavy stick. “I’ve had it with you politicians, you bloody rich kids never listen. There’s no such thing as broken Britain, we’re just bloody broke in Britain. What needs fixing is the system not shop windows down in Brixton. Riots on the television, you can’t put us all in prison.”
Plan B achieved critical acclaim when his second studio album – The Defamation of Strickland Banks – went straight to number one in 2010.
Explaining the explosive lyrical content, he told BBC Radio 1, “I feel it has been swept under the carpet and forgotten about and it still needs to be properly addressed. Since the riots happened I haven’t heard enough people within the public sector asking the two most important questions; ‘Why did it happen and how can we prevent it from happening again?’ Society needs to take some responsibility for the cause of these riots. Why are there so many kids in this country that don’t feel they have a future, or care about having a criminal record? If you’re born into a family that’s has enough money to educate you properly, you are privileged. You’re not better than anyone else you’re just lucky. Certain sectors of middle England, not all of them, but the ignorant ones need to wake up and realize that … and stop ridiculing the poor and less fortunate. That is what this song is about.”
“So, @4PlanB is my hero … class politics meets rap,” tweeted socialist commentator Owen Jones.