Gray-Z: The 66-Year-Old Retired Teacher Taking Britain’s Battle-Rap Scene by Storm

Joy France trades rhymes with Spider J. ’It showed me how I shouldn’t judge other people, just as they shouldn’t judge me.’

Sept. 29, 2023 6:46 am ET

Joy France has become a fixture on England’s battle-rap scene Photo: James Hookway/The Wall Street Journal

MANCHESTER, England—In the movie “8 Mile,” Eminem’s character breaks free from the trailer park to duel with the biggest names in Detroit’s underground battle-rap scene, rattling off put-downs and rhymes until he is eventually accepted as one of their own.

Retired schoolteacher Joy France is doing much the same.

Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Continue reading your article with
a WSJ subscription

Subscribe Now

Already a subscriber? Sign In

What to Read Next

Sponsored Offers