i consider myself lucky.i live in a quiet part of the uk called the westcountry in the south west of england.the nearset cities to me are exeter and plymouth.like anyone else ive had experiences of violence.some quite frightening.and i dont think its anything to "big up".i know some guys in my town who have lived in london and ive heard some pretty nasty horror stories.one involved a london pub.the chap who told me is a respectable hard working family man who had to carry a bat around for protection.he was in a pub where a merry punter was happily singing to a tune when a local took a disliking to it and told him to stop.the man didnt.he carryed on until the other chap launched himself across the table and bit off his nose.real thuggism.brutal,harsh and vile.britain has some extremely rough brutal areas.i wouldnt even consider stepping foot in them.you wannabe gangsta rappers have got to take your heads out your arses and look at the facts.the only people profiting out of gangsta rap are sat in exec offices.its also stupid to think you have to be from some hard as fuck ghetto just to be credible.thats narrow minded.and when it comes to rap in general,rap is just one form of music.thats all it is.music.to say british rap is shit cos it aint hard is as arrogant as me telling you what your life is like or what you feel.britain is a different culture.and if you are a true follower of rap then you'll understand that culture is fundamental to rap music.not guns and ghettos.i wont deny that british hip hop is directly influenced by its american origins but given time it will get its own flavour.and besides,the real crux is i couldnt give a fuck if you were a pistol packing gansta,if you aint got skills then you aint shit in rap period.....sorry for babbling on but that shit really got under my skin...peace....