Stand Up Black Britain [Part One]

This song was dedicated to the 13 young Black people who were killed during a house fire in 1981 in New Cross, south-east London. Although denied by the local police, this fire was motivated by racism and led to massive protests of the Black community.

Handsworth Revolution was the debut album by British reggae band Steel Pulse. It is named after the Handsworth district of Birmingham, England, the band's home district to which the album was dedicated.

According to interviews with Kiwanuka, "Black Man in a White World" came as the result of meeting his predominantly white fanbase in the United States and became something of a statement. 

Sierra Leonean Black British artist Brother Portrait explores the duality of migrant identity in ‘Seeview/Rearview’.

One of the early British MCs who spoke on the Black British experience, "Police Officer" became a hit in 1984. With lyrics like "Police officer no give me producer" becoming a playground ­catchphrase, Smiley Culture quickly became a household name. 

Originally released in 2008, to celebrate the iconic status of cuts like ‘Coloured Souls’, Natty went onto re-record the album in 2018 (Man Like I and I… X), with additional vocals coming from Maverick Sabre. 

Released in 1980, Johnson's political poems relate his experiences as an African-Caribbean in Britain, including vivid stories of Brixton street life, Black working-class politics, and police brutality. 

According to Smith, this song was influenced by what she grew up around in Walsall, UK. "Blue Lights" is built around a sample of "Amour, émoi... et vous" by Guy Bonnet and Roland Romanelli; the lyrics contain interpolations of Dizzee Rascal's "Sirens".

Using the words emblazoned on Novelist's placard, painted by Grey Marco for a Black Lives Matter march (See playlist cover image), the song protests about the endemic of violence on London's streets.

"Black Steel" is a cover of the Public Enemy track 'Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos'. Starring the vocals of Martina Topley-Bird, Tricky made a political manifesto into a more sultry cut. 

The first solo Black woman to win the Mercury Prize in 2002, "It Takes More" speaks out on materialism and empowers her fellow women.

From the representation of Black people in the media alongside the disproportionate number of Black individuals arrested for minor crimes, Dave also reminds people of their beauty and power on this cut from 2019.

Released in 2014, Skepta and Young Lord channelled vintage N.W.A in this US leaning cut that shook the sonics of expectation as well as reflecting the continuing hostility faced on 'the block' - whether at home or overseas. 

The Mitchell Brothers' début single, which featured Kano and The Streets (whose label, The Beats, they were signed to). It is a response towards the racism of the UK Police's 'Stop & Search' policy.

From being a stalwart of the Manchester club scene through the ‘00’s, to releasing alt R&B under the moniker Murkage Dave, with lyrics like "I feel like I’m cracking up/ Am I rapping like I'm Black enough?", this track on identity, self-doubt and grief is to be treasured.