The Rap Game UK 2022 contestants: Meet the MCs on series 4

The cast of contestants taking part in season 4 of The Rap Game UK in 2022 have been revealed.

The Rap Game UK will be back on BBC Three this summer with a new £20,000 cash prize and mentor scheme to help the winning artist create, launch and promote new music following the competition.

In each episode the up and coming MCs will be set two challenges as they try to impress Krept, Konan & DJ Target, as well as weekly guest mentors.

Series 4 of the talent search will start on BBC Three and iPlayer at 9PM on 11 August.

For now, meet the contestants taking part below!

The Rap Game UK series 4 contestants

Big Jest

From Croydon, South London

The self-proclaimed ‘punchline king’ says: “My start came from rapping on the playground – everyone used to rap in my school and the genre was mainly Grime, but that wasn’t my thing as much.

“I’ve got two older brothers who I really look up to, and they were also doing Grime; so I was in Year 10, about 14 years old and I had all these bars I’d written that no one had heard, but I wanted to do what they were doing, and I’d see how my dad would react when my oldest brother would spray his little eight-bar, and I really wanted that reaction too.”

JClarke

From Brixton, South London

East London Arts & Music (ELAM) alum JClarke shares: “For the most part, I come from a very musical background: my dad was a DJ, my mum knows how to play the piano, and my sister’s a singer, so it’s always been around me and something I just naturally gravitated towards.

“When I was younger, I was first introduced to rap with the early 2000s American sound, so Chris Brown, Jay-Z and all the notable names of that era, but it was more of an image thing of being in the spotlight than the music itself. But, as I grew up, I started to appreciate sounds from the UK more, artists like Kano, Stormzy, Ghetts, and Chip really influenced me.”

P3Lz

From Toxteth, Liverpool

The youngest contestant in the competition, 18-year-old P3Lz (pronounced P-Three-Elz) says: “I’ve always enjoyed music, like listening to it, and one day I just started writing and I’ll admit at first it wasn’t the best, it was quite bad [laughs], then for my 16th birthday my sister bought me some studio time and I liked it.

“She noticed my passion for it, and she could see I was getting better, so she encouraged me to continue and that’s basically how it got going.”

Mayo

From Scotland

Mayo (pronounced Mai-əʊ) says: “What ‘real rap’ means to me is that anytime I write a track, I aim to write it coming from a personal place and standpoint, and people usually can relate to that – especially when you’re talking about sensitive topics. ‘Real rap’ is a record that really helps you express yourself the best way you can in the music.

“That’s not to say I wouldn’t make club bangers or something that would get the people moving, but I’ve had a lot of life experiences because I’ve lived everywhere, so I’ve experienced a lot of things, you know, and I feel like a lot of people can relate.”

Mwangi

From Leeds

Mwangi says: “I love being from Leeds, it was just that the town I grew up in was very quiet, very small. I’m a city guy, I’m a DJ who’s trying to break into the rap world, so the busier life was always my thing. It scared me to have to fall into the usual pattern I saw around me: go to school, leave, find a trade, it was what everybody else was doing.

“Nobody around me was breaking out, and I didn’t want to do that. I want to do my own thing, set my own path and do something different – something special – and that’s what I’ve tried to pursue.”

Zoellz

From Birmingham.

Zoellz says: “My dad’s really into music, so I grew up with it around me. I’d wanted to drop music for a while, but I didn’t do it because I’m a perfectionist and didn’t want to put out something bad.

“Then we went into lockdown, and like everyone else in the world, I had more time to get into something I’d wanted to. So, I started going to the studio with my friends and I figured out I’m quite good, so I started to do it more.”

Series 4 of The Rap Game UK comes to BBC Three and iPlayer on 11 August.

For now you can watch past series online via the BBC iPlayer here.