Stand Up Black Britain [Part Two]

Directed by long-time collaborators THE REST, on "Footsteps", Radical speaks on his position as a poet in the music industry, his hopes and the struggles of his surroundings.

Released in 2002 as a hidden track, featuring Ms. Dynamite and her younger brother, Akala, "Stand Up" gives an early insight into his mind and a precursor of what was to come later in his own discography over the next 20 years. 

Released in 2002 by Lewisham rapper, Blak Twang (and boasting a remix from The Street), "So Rotten" was based around the riddim "Politics" by Jahmali on Penthouse Records.

Released in 2007, "Black Boys", produced by Naughty Boy, paid homage to rap and grime pioneers, and is credited as an important moment in Black British males finding an identity of their own.

Looking at the depiction of Black women in the media directly inspired ‘Peng Black Girls’, Enny and Amia Brave's breakout hit from 2020. Jorja Smith unsurprisingly jumped on the remix.

This heart-warming hood classic, released in 2005, by So Solid Crew member Swiss, actually features a cheeky sample of Michael Jackson's 1979 single, "It's The Falling In Love" 

Taken from his album, The Worst Generation, "My Block" is inspired by Julian Cole, a teenager paralysed in Bedford in 2013 following a violent arrest by the police. The song aims to spread aware of institutionalised racism and police brutality.

A celebration of inner city life and estate living, "My Hood" is a love letter to Ray's South London home. 

In the song, which samples Tony Orlando and Dawn's "Lazy Susan", Estelle talks about her childhood in London. Now a certified anthem for Gen X & Y. 

FKA Twigs captures the plummet into self-consciousness on “home with you,” from her album 'MAGDALENE'.

Producers Bodhi reworked a spoken word performance of George The Poet's "My City" - a bittersweet ode to London living - into a smooth piece of house in 2014. 

A sonic discussion on women's lives in different countries, Simz penned "Woman" as a thank you to all the women who inspired her.

With an initial focus on heritage, his connection to Jamaica and meeting collaborator Popcaan, the second part of the video features Kano’s own family members. 

"Taking My Baby Up Town" is a song about a couple who are shouted at in the street but keep walking arm in arm and since its release in 1978 has become a gay pride anthem. 

Written as part of a trilogy in and about Liverpool 8, on Stanhope Street, which connects Toxteth to the docks. Many years later it became a huge hit for Phil Bailey of Earth, Wind and Fire, Courtney Pine and later, Mary J Blige.

This song, from 2021, has Cleo Sol reassure the listener that they are loved, regardless of their own self-perception, promoting self-acceptance and the significance of unconditional love from others.