5. An American Boy and an English Girl
How did a British soft drink end up on one of hip-hop’s biggest US/UK collabs?
Amongst all the references to alcohol in hip-hop, one drink reference stands out… Ribena. How did it end up getting namechecked on one of hip-hop’s biggest US/UK collabs?
In the 90s and 00s, the UK hip-hop scene was still quite small. Estelle cut her teeth freestyling in record shops before moving to the US. She ended up collaborating with Kanye West on American Boy – a tune that would become iconic.
The road wasn’t easy, from leaving the UK in the first place to battling people’s perceptions of how a Black British girl should break the States… Ashley reflects on his own experiences with 50 Cent and on some of the other British rappers who have tried to break the states.
In this episode, we hear from Estelle, hip-hop journalist Elliott Wilson (Rap Radar), rapper Cookie Pryce and rapper and YouTube reactor Scru Face Jean.
Archive used in this episode:
Jay-Z at Glastonbury, ĢƵ
Presenter: Ashley Walters
Producer: Emily Dicks
Written by Emily Dicks
Technical production: Ant Danbury
Additional production: Dari Samuels, Tommy Dixon and Zayna Shaikh
Editor for ĢƵ Audio: Andy Worrell
Commissioning producer: Jonathan O’Sullivan
Commissioner for ĢƵ Music: Will Wilkin
A ĢƵ Audio production.
Last on
More episodes
Previous
Next
Music Played
-
D‐Block Europe
Pakistan (feat. Clavish)
-
Stormzy
The Weekend (feat. RAYE)
- 0207 Def Jam.
Broadcasts
- Mon 7 Aug 2023 03:20ĢƵ Radio 1Xtra
- Mon 13 Nov 2023 02:20ĢƵ Radio 1Xtra
- Sat 18 Apr 2026 02:20ĢƵ Radio 1Xtra