WATCH: Malta’s Hip Hop Renaissance Continues With Latest Shade-Filled Rap Track
If you’ve been following all the music that’s been coming out from all over the world, you’d know that 2018 (much like the couple of years before it) belonged to hip hop. And while Malta has its own tinge of sub-genres and styles, our tiny island has definitely been no exception to this trend. Well, it looks like 2019 intends to follow suit.
Kicking off the year with a brand new track, Ben Camilleri (no, not the reality TV star, but yes, the pepe parents impersonator) has released a song that’s equal parts inspirational banger and diss track.
Di-Vision might start off like the usual “I want to become famous and rich and buy everyone I love really nice things” rap song, but it quickly turns into something much more. Soon enough, Ben – nowadays going by the stage name Ben Miller – starts making very localised references, with his “I’m about to turn TVM into MTV” catchy chorus only the tip of the fireberg.
With barely a minute into the track, Ben Miller drops some serious shade on fellow local hip hop artists
“I don’t mean to bust your bubble, but I really pity locals, cause all you do is mumble rap with shitty vocals,” the young rapper boldly claims, repeating it for that extra effect.
“I put my time in my verse,” Ben continues. “Think you need a couple lessons in the way the game goes, instead of hippidity hoppidity you just got the same flows.”
And just in case that wasn’t enough, Ben Miller throws in one more shady diss in there: “Man I’m fucking confused, you dropped some shitty music, getting hundreds of views.”
Even as more and more hip hop artists emerge on the local scene, there are still not enough rappers in the game that fit this description for people to not be able to easily make out who verses like these might be about.
Sure enough, the comments section of the song – which was justifiably so very well received – quickly made reference to some current popular local names in hip hop right now, with some even going as far as tagging said artists.
With less than 24 hours since its release, the music video (which saw Ben recruiting the videography chops of Andrew Mercieca) is already sitting on over 3,500 views, and with the dozens of shares it’s been getting, that number is sure to increase very soon. Clearly, a lot of people – including fellow rap contemporaries like Shyli Rose – were here for Ben Miller’s bars.
“Today is the day the Maltese Rap Game changes forever,” one comment read.
As with nearly every other aspect of life, healthy competition really helps boost an art form (especially in a country like Malta), and we’re honestly so happy to see more and more rap artists emerge on the scene. And as for the shade, you already know we love us some of that.
In the Facebook post where he first shared Di-Vision, Ben thanked “everyone who’s been supporting me, especially my closest friends and family”.
From the many comments that have already been posted by both fans and the artist himself, 2019 is looking like a very busy year for the young lyricist-producer. And if the video’s final shot is anything to go by, local hip hop fans and artists alike best be on the lookout for the guy whose actual initials refer to him being one of the freshest since Before Christ.