Stirling’s vibrant music scene is home to lots of underrated gems, but perhaps most niche of all is its vibrant and growing rap and hip-hop scene.
Big names in the Stirling scene include rappers like Pro-Focus, IC1 Steven, and producer F:8 who put Stirling on the map with a drill remix of Adele’s Hello which has now amassed well over 7M views on YouTube.
Now, with rappers from Stirling, Falkirk and Alloa gaining more traction through rap-exclusive nights and social media platforms like TikTok sending careers to new heights, Stirling’s rap scene is blossoming.
One rapper leading the charge in Stirling’s hip-hop scene is Pro-Focus. Since moving to Stirling in 2018, Pro-Focus has seen Stirling’s scene die off during COVID and re-emerge post-pandemic with new names. He said: “The Stirling rap scene is mainly made up from people outside of Stirling and it wouldn’t be what it is without people coming from other scenes and cities.”
Pro-Focus is unique because he spits bars in an unapologetically Scottish accent, something he believes is a barrier other Scottish rappers need to overcome before Scottish hip-hop can break through into the mainstream. He said: “The sooner we hear more of our own voices on TV and radio, the sooner we’re gonna embrace our accents.”
Now, Stirling’s hip-hop scene is evolving thanks to rap open-mic night ‘Bars at the Bar’, which Pro-Focus and fellow rappers/producers IC1 Steven and F:8 helped set up back in 2022. Since then, it’s been a permanent fixture at local pub Nicky-Tams every second Thursday.
For Steven Pyatt, aka IC1 Steven, Bars at the Bar is as much about fostering talent as it is fostering community. He said: “It’s like going to the gym and training. It’s practicing your craft in front of people and getting an idea of what does and what doesn’t work.”
Scottish hip-hop is still small compared to English hip-hop, but there’s a growing momentum. Edinburgh rapper Nova won Scottish Album of the Year in 2020, meanwhile the Stranraer-raised Bemz has played TRNSMT countless times and Grime MC Shogun has racked up millions of views rapping in a thick Glaswegian accent.
Pro-Focus said: “It [Scottish rap] is chopping and changing as it always has, it fluctuates. But it’s never been as big as it is now and we are starting to see it grow in places like Stirling and Falkirk like never before.”
Featured Image Credit: Theodore Barrett-Marshall
Student journalist with a passion for music.
