For 20 years Britain has struggled to find an authentic response to hip-hop stars such as 50 Cent who made fortunes by glamorising the “ghetto life” of America’s inner cities. Now trendsetters say that US rap music is creatively moribund after its stars became obsessed with conspicuous consumption.

The American underground has instead discovered Britain’s grime scene, the sound of shuddering low-frequency bass riffs set to rhymes spat out in a mixture of Cockney and Jamaican patois.

Its leading lights include Kano, Sway and Roll Deep, and they will battle 50 Cent, The Game and even the revived R&B diva Mariah Carey at next month’s Music of Black Origin (MOBO) Awards at the Albert Hall in London.

If Sway, whose real name is Derek Safo, 22, an MC from Hornsey, North London, who has yet to sign a record contract, beats the ten million selling 50 Cent to the Best Hip-Hop prize it would mark an international breakthrough for British rap.

“It’s crazy to be up against these guys who have so much money behind them,” said Sway, who came to the fore by distributing his own discs. “We are proud of our British heritage and if someone like me can get on MTV it gives hope to British kids. They are sick of American stars like Eminem cancelling tours. With the right backing the grime artists can take America like the Beatles did,” he said.

Grime club nights have been compared to the raw energy of early punk. The sound, originating in Hackney, East London, has spread across Britain and there are also nights in Paris and Munich. The lyrics detail tower-block life, gang turf wars and police harassment. But Sway and Kano, 20 — Kane Robinson, of East Ham — add humour.

After controversy surrounding homophobic reggae artists, the MOBO committee is hoping that the tenth anniversary event on September 22 will be remembered as a British musical triumph. Lemar, the former Fame Academy contestant, has confirmed his longevity with five nominations. Joss Stone is nominated for Best UK Act against Kano and Lemar.

NOMINATIONS

Best Album Common Be; Kano Home Sweet Home; Lemar Time To Grow; John Legend Get Lifted; Mariah Carey The Emancipation of Mimi

Best Hip-Hop Act 50 Cent, Black Twang, Roots Manuva, Sway, The Game

Best Jazz Act Abram Wilson, Lizz Wright, Madeleine Peyroux, Rhian Benson, Soweto Kinch

Best R&B Act Ciara, John Legend, Lemar, Mariah Carey, Terri Walker, Nate Jame

Best Single Amerie 1 Thing; Lemar If There’s Any Justice; Lethal B Pow (Forward); Mario Let Me Love You; Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell Drop It Like It’s Hot

Best UK Newcomer Kano, Lethal B, Nate James, Roll Deep, Sway

Best Video Jamiroquai Feels Just Like It Should; John Legend Ordinary People; Lemar If There’s Any Justice; Missy Elliott ft. Ciara Lose Control; Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell Drop It Like It's Hot

UK Act of the Year Estelle, Kano, Joss Stone, Lemar, Roll Deep

Best Reggae Act Damian Marley Welcome To Jamrock; I-Wayne Can’t Satisfy Her; Richie Spice Earth Ah Run Red; Sean Paul We Be Burnin’; Daddy Yankee Gasolina

Best World Music Act Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté, Amadou & Mariam, Daddy Yankee, Miguel 'Angá' Diaz, Zapp Mama

Best African Act (New Category Voting in Africa only) Baaba Maal, Femi Kuti, 2 Face, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Youssou N’dour, Yvonne Chaka Chaka

Winners will be announced at the tenth anniversary MOBO awards at the Albert Hall on September 22

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