The Rap-Up: Mazza L20 recorded tracks on a prison phone
The rapper from Liverpool, Mazza L20, is one of the fastest-rising names in UK rap. His tracks have hit millions of streams and views, and have even captured the attention of rap great Eminem. But his journey started behind bars, recording verses on a prison phone. The 28-year-old was sentenced to 11 years in 2016, and served nine years and six months before being released in May last year.
In a recent YouTube interview, Mazza explained how he first laid down his tracks from inside: “Literally on a jail phone. I’d phone me bird’s number, yeh, and I’d say when I phone ya, button me so it goes to the O2 answering machine. Then I’d rap down to the O2 answering machine. She’d save it somehow, send it to my man … That’s how we done ‘Real G’s Say Please’.”
Since then, Mazza has dropped a number of tracks that have gone viral and charted, with his raw delivery and unfiltered lyrics resonating across the UK. He has already forged an exciting rap career from his prison cell, and it feels like Mazza is only just getting started.
Slick Rick’s Victory
Slick Rick’s new album Victory marks the legendary rapper’s first full-length project in 26 years. Recorded between London, his birthplace, and France, and accompanied by a visual album filmed across the USA, UK, and Africa, Victory showcases the storytelling mastery that made Rick an icon.
But things haven’t always been victorious for the south London-born rap legend. In 1990, a year after his solo debut album, ‘The Great Adventures of Slick Rick’, went platinum, the rapper shot his cousin and a bystander during a heated dispute. He pleaded guilty and spent more than five years in a New York prison, before his release in 1997.
After getting out, he faced the threat of deportation from the United States due to his conviction. In 2008, the New York Governor granted him a full pardon, primarily to prevent his removal back to the UK.
Featuring guest verses from British rapper Giggs and hip-hop legend Nas, and executive-produced by Idris Elba, Victory blends past and present, and reflects the rapper’s dual nationality, in a celebration of identity and artistry.
At 60 years old, Rick’s return to the studio proves he’s still got it, and he’s still the godfather of storytelling rap.
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