Akala - Fire In The Booth (part 1) (REACTION!!) 

to my british ear his flow, timing, lyrics are perfection.

Akala has transcended rap. He's an activist, community philanthropist, public speaker and hopefully will become recognised as a national treasure.

Every British person is (quite rightly) fuming in these comments... Akala’s pen and flow is UNMATCHED

He’s not trying to catch up with the beat or going too fast for the beat. It’s just the style of UK grime and it sounds fast because of the accent.

Its not rushed, its Grime

That delivery is classic UK hip-hop/grime flow. Ain't no problem there. I can understand it sounds strange to an ear used to classic American hip-hop though

His flow and timing is perfect absolutely perfect, it's pinpoint broken down into note values and thats why it fits.

The style Akala is spitting in is more common to UK rap, which are typically on 140bpm beats with sort of dark hard af beats - so a very aggressive tone of spitting has developed. Akala's style is great to the ear of someone who loves UK rap, but I get that kind of spitting might be weird if you don't hear it often.

We're all about bars in the UK, that flow he did was deliberate, so many rapper's so we respect uniqueness, even if it means sacrificing the flow to get your point across. Reverse rolls And we burgle the burgelers We burn clothes When we murder the murderers Point blank with revolving revolvers We don't pray on weak We assault the assaulters

Akala is the master of knowledge and I 10/10 recommend his 4th fire in the booth if you want flows but his 3rd one is also very good. However, if you want slick bars listen to "Wretch 32 & Avelino - Fire In The Booth". On everything that i love, you will be able to see UKs lyrical ability in a way Americans can fully appreciate. I don't usually comment so I hope you see this.

secondary is high school, so around 12yrs old

love how you guys study the lyrics in depth too, so few reaction videos even listen properly to lyrics. Props to you from UK

Lowkey - Fire in the booth, one of the very best ever in the UK and is a must see

Akalas flow is 10000000% deliberate. Rhythmically he is lightyears ahead of most. And the 'stacatto flow' is all part of his unique talent. I happen to love his flow. A lot of UK artists are influenced by MC's like Skibadee (dnb) and the way they deliver lyrics and so use their vocals more like an instrument.

Every time I listen to Akala you can feel the third eye opening

Come on guys its been forever since you did this! Please react to akala's FITB 2,3 and 4, yes I know you don't wanna do fire in the booths, but this not just some guy trying to be conscious, Akala is a big deal, spreading his knowledge at Oxford, and conventions alike. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER! (Oh and not to mention that he did all this without being signed)

By secondary he means secondary level of education i.e high school so in uk he would be around 13

Listen to his FITB part 4 - it's a madness

I like you guys, but you really messed up with this reactiuon and analysis. You clearly misunderstood his flow and timing. This FITB is pure perfection.

7:19 - the moment they realise Akala has total control of the beat

Race in th UK is not a big deal (for the most part) We have more of a class problem in this country.

Fam is a commonly used term of endearment in the UK so I wouldn't worry about using it Also great to see such an in depth analysis of UK rap/grime from a US perspective. There's a lot you could react to. Similar to this is Lowkey's fire in the booth, for less political stuff try Skepta, Stormzy and Aj Tracey

You need to do a reaction to part 4, part 1 was 12 years ago now and his development as an artist since then is incredible. Part 4 is hands down the most mind blowing fire in the booth performance I've ever seen, Charlie had to pick his jaw up from the floor after.

The UK rap style is very inspired by old school jungle and garage which has a lot of emphasis on rhythm . It's basically like the flow and cadence was it's own drumset.

Secondary is from aged 11 to 16

Racism is everywhere, but imo, for how multicultural it is, England is the most tolerant country in the world. My family consists of Irish, Jamaican and Indian and we've never experienced anything serious. I suppose there are more prominently white cities in England that are less tolerant, just goes to show people are able to get along when we integrate properly.

i was always disappointed you guys didn't go and check out his FITB Pt4. He's ten years into his career at that point and his flow is on point. He rides the beat crazily in that one and still spits as much knowledge. Hope you guys might go try it.

Akalas flow is amazing!! This fire in the booth was 10years ago!! You need to check out 2,3 and the most resent - No 4 is just incredible.

Race in the UK is very different to the US for a variety of reasons. For example, the black population in Britain did not end up there directly through slavery, after WW2, there was a huge immigration drive from british colonies in the Caribbean and Africa, especially places like Jamaica and Nigeria. As a result of this the black population in the UK has more of connection to somewhere they consider their homeland, a culture they can appreciate and engage in, whereas in the US because of the realities of the slave trade and the eradication of their languages and identity when they reached the USA the black community is "lost" in a certain sense. Most black people in the UK can point at a map and say I am from this island or here in Africa, in the US most black people can point to Africa and say i'm from here but they can't say if their from Sierra Leone or Angola or Nigeria etc. Also the UK has never had an offical policy of segregation like the jim crow laws and thus there isn't an ingrained idea in the white population that they are superior to black people. Also the UK is 4 countries and the race relations can differ in them all, England is the home of the majortity of black Brits and is where youd see any black/white/south asian racial issues. Scotland and NI have such tiny non-white populations that discrimination and violence between ethnic groups has had to find a way to survive and thus, the major ethnic issues there are between different white ethnic groups, in Northern Ireland Irish and British ethnic groups discriminate and clash with one another and in West central Scotland there is a similar dynamic between those who would consider themselves irish Scots and those who consider themselves British. tl:dr race relations in the Uk are very different from the US

Primary and secondary, secondary is your high school. As for the delivery, this is grime, not typical rap. Grime is essentially bouncing off the beat, riding it. Not just flowing with it like generic rap. It's goes from slow to fast at various points. You can even skip a beat and gain it back double time afterwards.

This man is not a rapper he is a black poet, and artist a leader.

This is UK freestyle in a nutshell. I assure you the delivery of the "e-conomics" line is completely deliberate.

You guys have done this perfectly with the lyrics together. Please react to Lowkey - Fire in the booth if you can!

Its 140bpm. Its grime. Hip hop is like 90bpm so grime is alot quicker. We do rap on beats same tempo as say a bonethugz,twista,nolimit n them

His giving young blacks a history lesson , show respect

you NEED to watch part 4...seriously, its mind blowing, I honestly cannot believe you have not done it yet, you really need to do it...not for us...for yourselves...its that good

This is straight up one of the greatest things that has happened in UK music.

i don't usually like it when reactors break the video, to talk to much, but this is something else i like.

You missed the part where he said "I've got half the hood screaming knowledge is power!!!" Before that "power" scheme at the end 💯🤯🔥

The edgy delivery is his style. This man is amazingly intelligent, educated, and can teach you...end of.

React to lowkey fire in the booth

Day 6: Mural Lupe Fiasco takes 2 lines to realize you're listening to a lyrical masterpiece.

We are woke in Britain guys, we fight for justice and equality EVERY day.

The pause after a word in his cadence is for emphasis. The man is delivering a message, not just rapping. He is stressing the point he's made in the last bar, and wants you to pay attention to that message. Genius, but not always obvious

Avelino & Wretch32 fire in the booth, unmatched.

I clicked on this video so fast haha. Great reaction. Love it when you react to British artists. 👍

His flow and delivery is absolutely flawless. It's because you're not used to hearing it, that it may sound off. But this man is one of the greats. He knows his shit!

I’m late to this party but if you don’t think every syllable of this flow was deliberate you’re crazy. He is so in control of that beat he can play with it any which way.

YEEEEEES! been waiting ages for you fellas to react to this.

Yisss! thankyou! i hope yall watch the rest of them aint even watched it yet lol Grime is generally faster though so i hope you get used to the faster flow

Akala is ridiculously intelligent which makes him the full blown genius on the mic that he is

Please, please.... PLEASE! Do his part 4... It's arguably the greatest freestyles of all time. I'd hate to think you gave up on part 1

Please React To the other ones.. Part 2,3 & 4 .... you wont be dissapointed.

I saw this and dropped EVERYTHING! Mic Righteous Ms. Banks Stormzy Kamakaze Lowkey and Logic all have dope Fire In The Booths to listen to

Cant believe my ears ! Akala is weaving and skipping around the beats in which he has total command. I really hope you guys have read the comments and now appreciate his style. He's a wordsmith and a beatsmith . Proper x

6:20 what are u talking about, that's just his flow.

React to Akala fire in the booth part four. Different level. God bless !

Avelino and Wretch 32 fire in the booth

I'm from the UK and I think these guys were respectful and honest with there comments

Akala is a college professor with a PhD. He regularly appears on political and news programmes and is also an author.

Keep analysing the lyrics guys that's what makes it a great vid❤️

"economics" its said that way to keep perfect timing and to rhyme better, its his flow.... If u hear his flow, u expect to hear economics said the way he said it

I would highly recommend listening to Akala part 4 if you want to see technical ability, there isn’t anyone the same. He’s a poet, never sold out and spreads knowledge.

"Secondary" secondary school, high school basically

yooo, his part 4 is where his flow is fucking incredible, that was when he was alot younger. His flow has been praised by charlamagne: "it was retarded".

Yo guys! Love the reactions, but I noticed when you pointed out he seems "rushed" when he's delivering the bars, not emphasising the punch of the bar - I felt like mentioning, that Akala bases it all on flow. With the "Eco-nomics" bar where he pauses on Eco, he pairs that with the first part of that line. Where he drags out the "IF" and takes a slight pause before "We" so it's more about his flow than his punch line emphasis - Akala has always been about matching up the structure of a bar to the beat, weaving on and off tempo, more than he's about smashing home a killer rhyme with a punchline that's emphasised. Anyway, love the reaction keep it up! You should do Akala FITB part 4 as it's off the charts on lyrical content Edit: A good comparison to this would be Eminem's opening on Syllables, if you've heard that. Where it's all about the structure of words and how you can make them sound. Rather than a scheme with a heavy punch on it :) Edit 2: Just got to the part where you said you feel it may be deliberate, it is - I get people might not be a fan!

finally a reaction video that analyses the lyrics. Thanks guys

Akala is a prophet of truth in this country (UK)

i enjoy this channel first and foremost because the reactions and discussion is great, and i think that was on point with this video, you dudes pretty much said what i was thinking. the second major reason i really like this channel is because it exposes me to some great artists that i haven't heard of and probably wouldn't have heard of otherwise. this guy was really good, albeit having a flow that i didn't think much of. the flow to me was pretty solid for like 70%, but when he chopped it up, like you said, sounded awkward to me. still, dude was pretty dope, definitely going to check out more of his music.

Just to give you guys some info, that's and old freestyle so his flow is strange. His most recent ones are a lot better. He has a PhD himself, in Egyptoloy. Also, as you heard in the freestyle he owns business and property. One business he founded is call Hip-hop Shakespeare. He takes kids overseas and educates them on knowledge and truth. Great dude. I'm happy to see a reaction from you guys on this video, Wasn't expecting that at all! Hope to see more Akala reactions in the future! Good job. Best reaction channel.

I know this is a few months old now but I had to comment. This is Akala through and through, the flow is reminiscent of early 00's grime and pirate radio. If you havnt already, then I recommend looking into Akala's work in, and out of the booth.

Akala fire in the booth pt 2 , 3 , 4 Come in guys have been wanting you do these for ages

The flow thing is also a throwback from 70's 80's regea. Of course reggae would have been a lot slower though

I agree with the flow comments you've made. In his FITB part 4 his flow is untouchable. He's well worth checking out IRL

primary school is age 4/5-10/11 and secondary school is age 11/12-15/16 Those who are or aren't into reading but love Akala's work need to get his book, Natives. One thing though, whether you like his flow or not, Akala is all about spreading knowledge and it's all in the lyrics.

The whole point of akala fire in the booth is knowledge not to make a hot track , he has a set time to say what he needs to say and this was his first big stage moment

This video is like 7 years old! Listen to Akala - Fire in the booth PART 4! Released much more recently! Flow has improved and it's much better

Lowkey fire in the booth is one of the greatest - 2010! Ocean wisdom - Walkin ridiculous flow and wordplay

Guys, whilst I get that you don't feel his cadence but that's how we flow in the UK. He double times, explodes the plosives and uses rhetoric. He's a master.

Yall need a reaction to part 2,3 and 4 ASAP, been sleeping on Akala; his progression is like fine wine

Am I detecting a little UK hostility from the dude wearing glasses? Lol . We are all one guys :) Akala is creative genius at work. As also are y'all who are doing this. Exercise the right brain ❤

his delivery is just different...pay attention to the content! you misunderstood his style and flow.....!

It is a deliberate flow. It’s a British thing, there’s a few dope brits doing it.

Akala is our Treasure here in the UK. He is unique, a highly intellectual individual who has written many books, given lectures in Oxford university like Malcolm X and travels all over the world campaigning. His style is perfectly different from one's regular negative beat. I so desperately want to join his movement but with all the racism in the world and social media, it is so difficult to connect or reach out to him. If anyone knows of his official contact details, please respond to this message. In the mean time, I will continue to read his books and study everything he has to throw at me. Absolutely fabulous Akala. I also have to give thanks to the security guard at Lewisham College in London who described Akala to me (4 years ago) in every single way possible but just couldn't quite remember Akala's name. However, I took on board the information provided and did some intensive research online, found Akala and have never looked back. Now I have a few of Akala's books. Thank you, thank you, thank you Akala because you speak for me and so many others in the world and you are I believe simply one of the greatest!

I'm subbing. This is the best reaction I've seen. Please check out Mic Righteous Fire In the Booth and Akala part 4 (very different from this one)

Hi guys, one of your British watchers here. Secondary is what we call High School. Also, racism is still a big problem. You find a lot of black communities living nearer the city centres (I assume it's the same over there), however as guns are completely illegal here, it's Knife Crime that is the big problem. I'm up in Manchester so there was a big issue in the 90's where a lot of gangs managed to get hold of guns and the press coined the term "Gunchester" for the city. I might be wrong but I don't think this was specifically black people, it was all people on the wrong side of the law. London is still suffering a lot from racial issues I think. I must say it's great to see a channel of two clearly educated guys thoughtfully breaking this stuff down. I'm 33 and I feel like I'm constantly watching kids reacting to this and not really listening. You've got yourselves another subscriber anyway. Keep up the good work gents. I wrote this on my phone on the train so forgive me if there's a ton of spelling mistakes. Have a good one guys.

That's his style.. he's not rushing anything

Akala FITB pt. 4. 10 years later you will see the evolution of the flow.

Racism in the UK.. I'm a 41 year old ' father of 4 from Manchester . I grew up on a council estate (projects to yourselves ' regarding housing).By a single mother.. 3 boys 1 girl.. My youngest brother and sister are black (or mixed race as it's classed these days.) my younger brother was born in 1980 and my sister in 1991..stark contrast.. My brother was called all the names (which I can't relay as I have never used such words ' and won't) my sister wasn't.. Yes people could argue that my sister had 3 big brothers to whoop anyone's arse if they uttered such horrible shiznit. True.. But she was only called a couple of times.. My brother it was a weekly or sometimes daily. I know because I was the one that whooped there arse,s for letting that detrimental shite flow outta there mouths.. Now it's more ignorance than racism I believe.. Forefathers have a lot to answer for.. Akala is one of my favourite poet's.. 1💛 USA.. #Trumpisajokestill

Secondary refers to our schooling system, we attend infants and then juniors leave juniors at age 10/11 and then go to secondary school :)

No criticism warranted! Just his style.Bullshit he can't stay on beat... open your ears and feel that beautiful balance across the bars

Akala's adding layers with his delivery. He sees the beat and he manipulates it with his cadence. Don't think that's a weakness, it's actually done on purpose and shows how he can body a track. On a completely different note, the lyrics,...well, they speak for themselves!

Yes there certainly is racism in U.K. But not compared to us, maybe my view is rose tinted because I'm from London

The rhythm he is using is more U.K. Grimme than U.S. Rap.

Akala is super intelligent with his spits. Big Love. Mans got sillz. UK Love

He is even better now...FITB PT4. This is actually deliberate, all of it.

Starting secondary you are 11 so what ever grade meets that age

Secondary as in secondary school which is high school. That's my guess anyway, I'm from the UK.

These are only the genuine American reactors to Uk music because they actually dissect the bars, and give their views. Some views I don’t agree with but I see the real ness in these brothers keep this shit going brothers

Part 4 is a must guys. Love from the UK