They’re charming, volatile and confident. But it’s hard to argue that the contestants on the second series of the talent contest are the cream of the crop
Like one of those moody lads nodding along in a grime video, The Rap Game UK (BBC Three) seems content to fade into the background, while bigger beasts go head-to-head in the TV talent contest arena. It launched last year as a low-key version of the Jermaine Dupri and Queen Latifah-fronted US original, and it hasn’t got any flashier since. The second series is still judged by the rap duo Krept and Konan, plus 1Xtra’s DJ Target. It still takes place in Birmingham, still has the same recording-contract prize, and still eschews such crowd-pleasing conventions as audience votes and weekly eliminations.
This means the six MCs who line up in the show’s opening a cappella challenge will – bar a major upset – be the same ones to face the judges in the finale. An inauspicious fact, since three of them flopped so hard it’s a wonder they didn’t smash through to the floor below. This was the instantly forgettable Graft, Afro-trap specialist Micahh and daddy’s girl Lesia. They may well have each prepared an incredible 16 bars, but we’ll never know. When the moment came, they stuttered, stumbled and simply couldn’t get the words out. “I lose a bit of respect for an MC when they do that,” grumbled Shogun, the 22-year-old Scot who had successfully showcased his own ferocious flow. “I don’t want to be in clashes with people where I feel like I’m kicking an injured dog.” And nor would we wish to see it!
