5. Genre: Bounce
With the exception of K Gee’s minor success with his single “I Don’t Really Care”, bounce is generally unheard of in the UK. K Gee will also probably be aware that the success of his single had very little to do with the fans’ interest in the trans-Atlantic crossover of a new genre, but the fact that there were thongs in the video and the lyrics included: “BIG BOOTY GIRLS! BIG BOOTY GIRLS!”
The US reader may switch off here. All other readers, on the other hand, would be advised to seek out Juvenile’s “Back That Azz Up” and BG’s “Bling Bling”, both reasonably large hits in the US, as far as I’m aware. Distinctive for its deafening (in a non-volume sense) drum-machine beats and shamelessly materialistic lyrics, bounce seems to me to be ideal for the UK market, where similarly progressive genres (i.e. UK Garage et al) have little difficulty in achieving crossover success, and where a bit of talk about expensive jewellery and being a playa surely wouldn’t be a disadvantage among Oxfordshire’s wannabe playas.