Arthur Greene
They’re old enough to be grandads, but they’re rapping up a storm in the British rap industry.
Pete & Bas, 67 and 71 respectively, have been an increasingly central presence in UK Grime – a genre of British rap music.
Last week, they dropped their debut mixtape, Quick Little Mixtape, which they promise is “the best music you’ll ever hear”.
In 2018, they dropped their first single, “Shut Ya Mouth,” a comedic banger which made light of their age, while rapping about the classic rap themes of violence, drugs and sex.
Their lyrics hilariously contrasted their old age with the youthful and aggressive energy of UK rap, shooting music videos featuring flashy cars, expensive tracksuits and dark shades.
In “the old estate,” they rap “grab the wheel then the axel’s spinning, I’ve been in this game from my hairline thinning”.
Their bars land with as much punch as any rapper in the UK scene, while their gruff cockney tones perfectly complement heavy grime beats.
In their music videos they look like two fearsome London drug lords.
And the duo are notoriously secretive. Very little is known about their lives prior to their successful turn as gangsta’ rappers, fuelling online speculation.
They write their songs themselves, with their grandsons and a couple of their friends providing beats and production for them.
“They give us the beat, and we provide the words,” Pete told South London Press. “I am a South London boy so talking fast is not a problem.”
Watch their latest single, “Speeding,” here.
Picture source: @SheilaCather
Video source: Youtube
