Victory Lap is bringing back raw cyphers for UK rap’s next generation

It’s now been over 20 years since grime throttled itself into the public eye. And thanks to seminal MCs such as Kano, Wiley, D Double E, and Skepta, just to name a few, the genre’s legacy has continued to live on even now, inspiring a generation of UK rap stars who are capturing audiences all across the globe. And while we’ll always look back fondly on classic projects like Dizzee’s Mercury Prize-winning Boy in da Corner and Kano’s Home Sweet Home, there’s one aspect of the culture that arguably captured the genre’s raw, unfiltered, and frivolous energy better than anything else: the clashes.

During grime’s infancy, BBK member Jammer would curate the now legendary series Lord Of The Mics. Across eight separate instalments, grime’s flagship clash series would see MCs go head-to-head in Jammer’s basement, sparking beef, controversy and endless debates with friends on who really won between various contenders. 

While the essence of a clash may be long gone in the social media era – nowadays, a clip of a rapper being lyrically humiliated by one of his peers could prove understandably disastrous for their career – the showcasing of skill and sense of community that came along with it is still very much present today, in particularly from online radio platform Victory Lap.

Taking just as much inspiration from grime cyphers as it does the DIY pirate radio stations of days gone by, Victory Lap is ushering in a new generation of British talent, pulling from its inspirations whilst creating something unique in our current musical landscape. The hallmark of the platform is its fish-eye lens, polaroid-covered studio, in which rising artists like Rushy, JayG and Kibo flex their lyrical muscles. It’s not entirely serious, and it’s not supposed to be. It encapsulates the off-the-cuff freestyles you and your mates would embarrassingly partake in after one too many drinks, albeit with much more skill and charisma.

Victory Lap was founded in 2019 by Joseph McDermott (@joekid) whilst on a trip across the pond to New York, where he was joined by a number of friends who rap, sing, produce and DJ. “Whilst we were there, we did Half Moon Radio and The Lot, and were trying to get other bookings as all of us were DJing together,” McDermott tells HUNGER. “We kept getting asked what to name the episode after it came out, and so we needed to come up with a name. At the Airbnb that night, we argued for hours, and I landed on Victory Lap being a cool, braggadocious, celebratory name that worked.”

“Once we came back to London, I got in touch with Balamii [the London-based music platform] and showed them my previous mixes to see if I could get a monthly slot using their studio, and it started from there. The main goal was just to create a platform for my friends to be able to jump on and showcase their music and to keep trying to get new and varied guests month to month, and it just snowballed from there.”

One key aspect that McDermott pulled from the cultural impact of Pirate radio was the uplifting of fresh and undiscovered talent, something that mainstream radio would often shy away from and still do to this day. “I think they paved the way to showing and understanding the cultural impact you can have at ground level playing underground and sometimes obscure music,” he explains. 

However, while highlighting unheard talent will always be the driving factor for Victory Lap, on June 8th, they would release their most popular cypher to date when arguably the two most prominent names in UK rap hopped onto the platform. Reaching over 1.6m views on YouTube, Dave and Central Cee’s appearance would bring Victory Lap onto the radar of casual listeners, creating one of the most significant culturally captivating moments of the year. “To see it get to the point where artists like Central Cee and Dave want to come and promote their new tape together solely on my platform is very rewarding,” says McDermott of their appearance.

“But the most rewarding part of it all is being able to put artists like Kibo, Rushy, JayG, Kirbs, etc. in a room together with artists like Central Cee and Dave – connecting those dots and it making sense, that is why I do it and to create a bridge from underground to the overground that isn’t forced. There’s mutual respect there.”

The rise of Victory Lap comes in direct conjunction with the growing UK rap scene. While Dave and Central Cee may be killing it on the charts, there’s a whole host of rising underground talent pushing the boundaries of what the genre can be. Artists such as Len, Fimiguerrero, BXKS, and Jim Legxacy are all breaking boundaries in their own right, even picking up listeners overseas – and Victory Lap is doing the same, highlighting just how far UK rap can go. “My audience and fans are worldwide. When we make t-shirts, it’s a 50/50 split between international and UK orders,” he states. “A lot of people have eyes on us right now and are looking at the UK rap scene and cyphers and wanting more, so I think we’re in a good place right now.”

As Victory Lap continues to expand, resulting in bringing the cyphers to live audiences, higher viewership, and improved status in the culture, its founder is keen to ensure its DIY nature remains at the forefront. And overall, it’s that commitment to authenticity that will continue to cement the platform as one of the most pure representations of the scene we have today and for years to come.

“I have lots of grand ideas of where we can go next in 2024,” concludes McDermott. We have a lot more radio shows, live events, and merch coming, and I would love to venture into releasing music projects, maybe opening our own store/studio in London and a lot of other stuff. But for now, just expect us to be going bigger and better with what you know us for more consistently.”