The whole UK rap scene owes Blak Twang and Roots Manuva a phenomenal debt.

Back in the mid '90s, the number of British rappers making a dent were few and far between, much less ones pushing an identity separate from what we saw in the States. Of course, Blak Twang wasn't the only one putting in work, but it was a difficult time for British rappers who weren't taken seriously by the press at home and more or less completely ignored on the other side of the Atlantic.

But with Blak Twang's 1995 debut single "What's Going On", came a shift. Then, a few months later, he collaborated with a very fresh-faced Roots Manuva on "The Queen's Head" and although the beat still felt quite US-influenced, it felt like the dawn of a new age. Roots himself wouldn't release his own debut album, Brand New Second Hand, until 1999, but even before that the pair were a dominant force in the UK hip-hop scene of the late '90s, laying the groundwork for early 2000s titans like Ty, Skinnyman and Sway.