Lethal Bizzle

British MC Lethal Bizzle built a large following in garage and grime circles throughout the 2000s with raw, explicit lyrics that chronicled violence and everyday street life in East London, sparking both heated debate and widespread popularity. Drawn early on to the charged atmosphere of raves, the artist (born Maxwell Ansah) developed a strong attachment to drum'n'bass tempos. Initial creative sparks came from Roni Size and Shy FX, while the gritty storytelling of Nas and the Notorious B.I.G., along with the intense force of the Wu-Tang Clan, shaped his approach to early-'90s New York hip-hop. After gaining traction on London's pirate radio stations, he abandoned college to form More Fire Crew alongside Ozzie B and Neeko. Their debut release, "Oi!," reached the U.K. Top Ten, yet the group was dropped by its label in 2002 after album sales fell short.

Several years passed before Bizzle regained momentum, launching his independent Lethal Bizzle Records label in 2004. Late that year he returned with the single "Pow! (Forward)," also called "Forward Riddim," produced by Dexplicit. The track debuted at number 11 on the U.K. pop chart, secured a MOBO Award for Best Single, and earned him a nomination for Best Newcomer. Despite its success, numerous major radio stations and clubs banned the song after outbreaks of fighting among crowds whenever it played. Subsequent singles such as "Uh Oh! (I'm Back)" continued to chart in the U.K. and led to his first solo album, Against All Oddz, which appeared in mid-2005. As one of Britain's leading underground figures, Bizzle absorbed much of the mounting criticism directed at grime by journalists and political commentators, including a public exchange with Conservative Party leader and MP David Cameron in 2006. The MC remained undeterred. He readied two projects for 2007: the sophomore LP Back to Bizznizz on V2 and the first recording by his new duo Fire Camp, reuniting him with longtime collaborator Ozzie B. After departing V2 in 2009, he signed with the independent Search & Destroy Records and issued the album Go Hard there. The compilation The Best of Bizzle arrived in 2011, followed by further singles that included "They Got It Wrong" with Wiley in 2013 and the Top Ten entries "Rari WorkOut" in 2014 and "Fester Skank" in 2015.