Illuminattile said:
Agreed. He raps about going down the pub or the chip shop and people flip out like "He talks about shit I can relate to!!!!".
He doesn't just talk about that.
He talks about english "yooof". It's different to the gun culture that is present in all US rap and most of UK rap too.
I think he changed UK hip-hop, it's still poor but getting better. More money is being invested now by the bigger record labels. Videos are getting better and the records are starting to get on MTV. People like Mike Skinner more than the "garage" acts are helping to get this investment. He is also has complete control of the music and the words, other acts usually come with a crew.
It's true he'll never be mentioned in the same breath as Rakim, or any half decent US MC, but you're completely overlooking what he has contributed.