Lil Darkie

For the past three years, American rapper and producer Lil Darkie has been one of the most controversial and talked-about figures in newer hip hop.

For more than 50 years, hip-hop has provoked, outraged, and renewed the music world and forever changed popular culture. You think you've seen it all - guns, drugs, alcohol, and face tattoos - and damn if there isn't another new chapter that messes with what you thought you knew about hip hop. That's exactly what American "boy scout gone rapper and producer" Joshua Hamilton does.

Under the pseudonym 'Lil Darkie', he has built a unique style, sampling everything from country and pop to noise and older hip hop - a cocktail often referred to as 'trap metal' - and rarely has a rapper achieved so much attention for his expression as Lil Darkie.

His direct and violently provocative lyrics are only part of the explanation, for the challenging rapper has since day one portrayed himself as the animated character, Lil Darkie, who is eerily reminiscent of the disturbing and deeply racist toothpaste mascot from Hawley & Hazel. He does not identify with any race and rejects the concept of race altogether. He is bisexual and uses music to channel his anger instead of resorting to violence, and it is heard clearly in his aggressive flow and smashed beats, which have secured him an overwhelming start to his career.