Krept and Konan: We Are England

Original version

BBC One

BBC One Yorkshire

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands

BBC One North West

The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

BBC One South

BBC One Cambridgeshire

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

BBC One South West

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

BBC One East

BBC One West Midlands

BBC One Oxfordshire

The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One South East

The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

BBC One West

BBC One London

London

Simulcast of network BBC One in high definition. From 03/11/2010

BBC One HD

BBC One Channel Islands

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

Simulcast of BBC One Northern Ireland in high definition. From 24/10/2012

BBC One Northern Ireland HD

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One Northern Ireland

BBC One Wales

Wales

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

Simulcast of BBC One Wales in high definition. From 29/01/2013

BBC One Wales HD

Simulcast of BBC One Scotland in high definition. From 14/01/2013

BBC One Scotland HD

Krept

Konan

Ashley Walters

Jaimie D'Cruz

Kari Lia

Jack Rampling

Acme Films

Documentaries

Factual

Music

Sport: Football

BBC Three - Krept and Konan: We Are England

Rappers Krept and Konan explore Englishness while creating a Euros football anthem.

Rappers Krept and Konan explore Englishness as they create a football anthem for the Euros, seeking advice from England players, manager Gareth Southgate and fellow rap artists.

As we emerge into the sunlight from the long shadow of lockdown, the UEFA Euros Tournament in June is one of the world’s most highly anticipated sporting events. And, with the final on 11 July taking place on the hallowed turf of Wembley, football really is coming home this summer.
 
In We Are England, Krept and Konan, two of the UK’s most talented and successful rap artists, are setting out to mark what is sure to be a huge shared cultural moment by making a track to celebrate the England football team. But first they need to investigate what Englishness actually means in 2021. It’s never been a simple question for those of non-white British heritage, but it’s a question they’ll need to tackle if they are going to create an authentic track to celebrate the national squad.  
 
Because instead of the traditional cheesy sing-along, featuring a former soap actor or long-retired left-back, Krept and Konan are going to create an anthem for our times: representing the modern diversity and forward-looking culture in which our chart-topping rap stars and the young stars of the England team are cut from the same cloth. Rap culture is the culture of young Britain, and today’s top-tier teams now move to a whole different beat than they did when the Three Lions anthem of Euros 96 had them tapping their toes in the changing rooms and their fans chanting on the terraces. The lifestyle, attitude, slang and swagger of rap culture is replicated in the national football team – itself now one of the youngest and most diverse it has ever been – and many of the country’s biggest rappers came up honing their football skills and their rap lyrics on our city streets and in the ‘cages’ of the UK’s estates, just as top footballers grew up surrounded by hip hop culture, looking up to rap stars.  
 
So if they’re going to create a track to celebrate the pride of a new nation, it’s these stories that Krept and Konan want to tell, and this bold, aspirational culture they want to reflect. On their journey into exploring national identity, they hit the road, striking out beyond the streets of the capital as they get to know the England squad, meeting players including Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings and West Ham’s Declan Rice as well as retired Lioness legend, Eni Aluko. They also seek advice from fellow artists including chart-topping Manchester rapper Aitch who they meet at Old Trafford, and west London rapper Big Zuu as they watch some football anthems from days gone by to see just how much our national culture has changed. They also go to St George’s Park, home of the England team, where they get an exclusive audience with England manager Gareth Southgate to find out what ingredients he’d like to see making it into the final song.

BBC Three

A multi-platform service for 16-34s, featuring comedy, entertainment and factual content.

The BBC’s multi-platform service for 16 to 34s, innovating with breakthrough comedy, stand-out entertainment, brave documentary and intellectual factual content.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Krept and Konan: We Are England

Contributors

Genres

Formats

BBC One Yorkshire

About BBC One