Bob Vylan

Bob Vylan (pronounced "villain") are an English punk rap duo based in London. Their work merges elements of punk rock, hip hop, grime, and hardcore, and features criticisms of the British establishment, inequality, racism, sexism, and homophobia. The band consists of vocalist Bobby Vylan on guitar, and Bobbie Vylan on drums, which are stage names the duo use to maintain privacy in what they describe as a surveillance state. The group has released four albums, their self-released 2019 debut EP Dread, We Live Here in 2020, Bob Vylan Presents the Price of Life in 2022, and Humble as the Sun in 2024. They have received favorable reviews from NME and The Guardian, among others.

The duo are outspoken in their opposition to Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, Israel's actions in the Gaza war and the Gaza genocide. Their leading the crowd in a chant of "death, death to the IDF" during their performance at Glastonbury Festival 2025 was condemned by a variety of sources and resulted in the cancellation of some shows, while their visas for an upcoming tour in the United States were revoked. Following the controversy, their most recent album, Humble as the Sun, (2024) topped the UK Hip Hop and R&B Album Chart and reached number 8 on the UK Independent Albums Chart. They repeated the chant at a September 2025 concert in Amsterdam, along with insults towards Charlie Kirk, who had been assassinated days prior.

History

The band was formed in 2017 by singer–guitarist Bobby (Bobby ending in y) Vylan (real name Pascal Robinson-Foster) and drummer Bobbie (Bobby ending in ie) Vylan (real name Wade Laurence George) in Ipswich. They refer to themselves as "the Bobs". The band's name is a pun on Bob Dylan and "villain". Their first concert followed just two weeks later. Bobby took part in slam poetry as a teenager under the name Nee Hi, receiving coverage from the BBC in the mid-2000s.

In its first year, Bob Vylan released four singles and two EPs, Dread and Vylan, via the band's own label, Ghost Theatre. Following the DIY principle, the musicians personally delivered their albums to various record stores and booked their own shows.

The band released their debut album on 5 June 2020, We Live Here, which was self-released after the band said they were told that it was "too extreme" by the music industry. Bob Vylan then toured supporting the Offspring and Biffy Clyro and performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2021. The band released its second studio album on 22 April 2022, Bob Vylan Presents the Price of Life, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number 18. The band released two singles from their third studio album, Humble as the Sun on 27 October 2023. The album was released on 5 April 2024.

A NME review of We Live Here (2020), noted the band's frustration with systemic injustices in the UK, including police brutality and "fear-mongering in the media". Their third album, 'The Price of Life' (2022), became their most successful, debuting at number 18 on the UK Albums Chart. Their subsequent album, Humble as the Sun (2024) received a favorable reviews in Spill magazine and Everything is Noise. NME said the album was "electrifying, experimental and empowering".

Bob Vylan sued the publishers of the Manchester Evening News after it published a story in October 2025 falsely alleging that a guided stretching and meditation routine performed by Vylan contained Nazi salutes. Vylan was awarded substantial damages and an apology from the publisher.

Musical style

Bob Vylan combines grime rap with punk rock. Singer Bobby grew up listening to rap, grime, punk and indie rock. After learning the guitar, he wanted to incorporate all of his influences into his music. Their music is also influenced by Jamaican genres as a tribute to Bobby's Jamaican heritage; songs "Wicked and Bad" and "Health Is Wealth" on their album The Price of Life contain elements of dancehall and reggae. Their music also contains elements of spoken-word poetry, like "Intro" on We Live Here and "Interlude" on The Price of Life.

The Sex Pistols' Johnny Rotten and Akala are cited as two of their musical influences. Rappers Dizzee Rascal, Stormzy, and Skepta are cited as influences by Bobby in particular. Despite their stage name, the pair do not cite Bob Dylan as a musical influence. In a 2024 interview with DIY, lead singer Bobby attributed a lot of his lyrical influence to the late Whitney Houston, with drummer Bobbie adding "Whitney was everything to me when I was a kid".

Far Out describes Bob Vylan as a London duo blending punk, grime, and hip-hop into a "distinctive" and "scintillating" sound, pairing "righteously furious" energy with sharp, often humorous lyricism led by frontman Bobby Vylan.

The American magazine Alternative Press recommended Bob Vylan for fans of Idles, Fever 333 and Turnstile. Ian Winwood from UK magazine Kerrang! called Bob Vylan the most exciting and important punk band in the United Kingdom in 2022.

Musical themes

Common ideas found in the lyrics include social and political issues such as racism, police violence, economic inequality, access to healthy food, gentrification, mental health, fatherhood, late-stage capitalism, homophobia, toxic masculinity, Britain's political hypocrisy, and the pharmaceutical industry. The theme of the struggles of being a black man in Europe are recurrent in every album, and include the mental health struggles of black men, institutional racism that contributes to poverty in black communities, the threat of police, and the struggles of being a black parent in a world that threatens your children.

Bobby described the duo as "violent punks" at the Glastonbury Festival in 2025, stating a need to get their "message across with violence", when they feel that is "the only language some people speak".

Some of Bob Vylan's messages were considered too extreme by the contemporary music industry. Their lyrics and on-stage talk often contain explicitly violent language, and an article in Recherches anglaises et nord-américaines described them as treading "the fine line between insight and incitement". For example: one song says "kill the fucking queen" and another says "burn Britannia, kill the queen"; another song, titled "Lynch Your Leaders", has the line "come and see the hanging", and its artwork is an image of Queen Elizabeth II and a noose; and in a music festival in Blackpool in 2023 Bobby said about the police: "The only good pig is a dead pig".

Political activism

The band's lyrics consistently address social and political issues, including racism and police violence, particularly those faced by Black men in Europe. In an interview with Rocksound, Bobby discussed how their music references economic hardship, police interaction, and racism in the United Kingdom. In an interview with the Guardian, Bobby Vylan explained that he uses his music to promote a "positive self-image". He recites affirmations with his daughter about his Black identity.

Palestine

Bob Vylan has been outspoken in their support for Palestine, a stance that has been central to their public identity. In a 2024 interview with The Guardian, frontman Bobby Vylan revealed that his support for Palestine is long-standing, stating that he attended his first pro-Palestine protest at the age of 15. They criticised Idles and Sleaford Mods at a November 2023 show in Dublin, alleging that both groups called themselves left-wing but would not speak up for Palestinians.

The duo were one of several acts at Glastonbury Festival 2025 to make statements in support of Palestine and against Israel during their sets, alongside the Irish acts CMAT, Inhaler and Kneecap. The duo performed in front of a screen that displayed "Free Palestine: United Nations have called it a genocide. The BBC calls it a 'conflict'."

They gave a speech in Barcelona on 1 September 2025, praising the participants of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which aims to break the siege on Gaza, as "brave individuals" acting where governments had failed.

Achievements

Bob Vylan has received significant recognition for their work, particularly for their 2022 album, Bob Vylan Presents the Price of Life. The album's impact was marked by significant chart success, debuting at number 18 on the UK Albums Chart and simultaneously topping the Official Vinyl Albums Chart, making them the first independent band to land a self-released album in the Top 20. This achievement was complemented by major award wins, including Best Album at the Kerrang! Awards and the inaugural Best Alternative Music Act at the MOBO Awards that same year, with a subsequent nomination in the same MOBO category in 2025. The album was met with critical acclaim and the band's politically charged lyrics and fusion of genres have been praised by publications such as Clash, The Guardian, and NME.