Step aside Melz, the new LUU king of grime is here

In recent years, the story of LUU elections has not been just about obnoxiously earnest wannabe politicos promising more free printer credits, recycling bins, and an end to climate change, as they compete for that coveted seat on the Union executive.

No, the biggest legacy of #LeadLUU is undoubtedly its unrivalled contribution to the UK Grime scene by which I mean, its uncanny ability for spotting break-out talent and predicting future stars. And this year is no exception.

For the past two years, everyone’s favourite Education Office Melissa (Melz) Owusu has been delighting Leeds audiences with her campaign videos, including her now infamous Stormzy, cover which has since attracted over 42,000 views on YouTube and 600k+ views on Facebook. She’s even been booked for a number of performances on the back of this, supporting acts like Section Boyz.

Current LUU education officer and Grime star Melz

But following the recent release of Umair Saeed Chaudhary’s (AKA USC) campaign video, Melz’s throne looks under threat. Chaudhary is a Management masters student at the Business school and his cover of ‘Thats Not Me’ by Skepta featuring JME is sure to take the city by storm.

“We do, by god we do” cried the Leeds masses

The track begins with Umair fending off questions from his peers in what appears to be a mock-up husting, but it soon becomes clear that despite being an eloquent public speaker, Umair’s  prefers to explain his policies through the transcending medium of rap.

The video then proceeds to feature Umair in and around familiar spots on campus – a prudent choice of aesthetic given that brutalist architecture is perhaps the most vivid visual representation of Grime music which aims to convey the realities of contemporary urban living.

Umair is no stranger to grandiose comparisons, and at one point in the track he dabbles in conspiracy theorising, suggesting that both he and hip hop legend 2Pac are destined for immortality.

Trigger warning: some of Chaudhary’s lyrics might be considered inflammatory. For example, he pulls absolutely no punches when it comes to taking shots at our political rulers, declaring emphatically that “We don’t love no Tories in the end” and denouncing Theresa May and Donald Trump. And people say politically conscious hip hop is dead…

Umair also goes to great lengths to distance himself from a perceived conflict of interests. Despite completing a masters degree at the Leeds Uni Business School, he maintians that “he’s not repping the rest”, which we can only assume means he disavows corporate culture and rejects neoliberal economics. He is truly a man of the people.

Yeah, Umair did just mic-drop

After watching Umair’s video, Melz had this to say: “It’s a year on and another leadership race, de-throwning was inevitable. Big up my boy Umair for laying down da ting! Maybe we can collab some time and he can share his mad flow with me. If he wins, our handover will just be one massive grime sesh in the Union”.

With less then a week to go there’s no telling whether Umair will be victorious in the LUU leadership election, but whatever happens, he can take comfort in the knowledge that he has singlehandedly redefined the UK rap scene.