Ed Sheeran’s love for hip-hop has been well-documented over the years. Collaborating alongside artists like Eminem, 50 Cent, and The Game, he recently had the opportunity to express his fandom of Papoose personally at a Knicks game over the weekend. Sheeran described Pap as having “fantastic wordplay” while admitting that he was slightly starstruck.
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How far does Sheeran’s love for rap go, though? Sheeran’s latest appearance on the Breakfast Club found him diving into his love for Gang Starr’s music, specifically Guru’s bars. The UK singer began rapping Gang Starr’s “Rite Where You Stand” ft. Jadakiss word for word, leaving the morning shows host floored by his knowledge of American hip-hop.
“It’s everywhere in England,” Sheeran explained of hip-hop’s influence in the UK. “What’s wonderful now is in the 90s, early 2000s, U.S. hip-hop culture was English hip-hop culture. And people would dress and make music and sometimes rap in the same accent. Now — and I think it’s because of streaming services — that our number one music genre in English now is British rap, British grime, British drill, British R&B.”
Sheeran added that it’s similar to other parts of Europe, like France and Germany, who’ve adapted the sounds of hip-hop and made it something of their own. “U.S. hip-hop influences to a point of like, sometimes stylistically and blah blah blah and also now, European culture can also influence U.S. culture. It’s quite a nice full circle.”
Check out the full interview below.