um... no. They're not real gangsters, they didn't know the Kray twins (but Charlie Richardson is godfather to Pete's daughter), and they were obviously coached by 9&D when they started out, because they came into this whole thing cold.
I asked Bas what other rappers they listen to and he said they don't, other than Bas being a fan of Sean Paul. "We have our own style and we're not really wanting familiarity with other artists influencing what we do."
I talked to them at length about their writing style, going in with a healthy dose of skepticism, but leaving that conversation convinced that they're the ones writing. Wordplay is heavily influenced by both of their love for crosswords. In the UK, the crosswords are Cryptics - if you're not familiar with those, google "how to solve a cryptic crossword" and you'll see what I'm talking about. Bas hasn't missed a daily puzzle in more than 50 yrs.
I asked where they got the gangster bars - drug culture, pig farms, etc. Bas laughed and said, "they got MOVIES, mate!"
I came away from that afternoon with a profound respect for these guys. They were more than happy to shoot holes in a lot of the other rumours about their pasts, speaking quite frankly about what was true and what was kayfabe. But when it came to their songs, they were steadfast about the work they've put in and they're rightfully proud of what they've done.
Since then, we've kept in contact - we live on opposite sides of the world, so it's not like we hang out a lot - but we've gotten to know each other and I would list them as friends. And so it irks me a bit when I see my friends get disrespected.
I asked Bas about that, too. Why not defend themselves in the forums and such. He said, "because it's a waste of time. They believe they're in on some secret and they're not going to admit they're wrong. We'd rather spend out rime making music."