You might be forgiven for thinking that the once prophesised UK answer to hip-hop had graciously tilted its Nike Cap to the arsenal of hits it had accumulated since its birth in the early Millennium years in the heart of east London before catching the tube never to be seen again. The clash of Sony Erricson's tinpot speakers on the concrete jungles of the playground was just a memory, replaced by a youth Snapchatting and 'sliding into DM's' listening to Iggy Azalea.
Grime music was a movement set to take over the UK music scene, that if we're honest never quite reached the heights that many had hoped for. It never became a nationwide, let alone a global movement that its forefather, Hip-Hop could boast, it remained restricted. It broke the scene but never took over. The underground sound that Grime was creating ended up amounting to nothing more than mainstream noise, as artists sought more radio-friendly solutions, rather than the rowdy, raw and, well, aptly named sound that its birth had promised.
It was not without success though. Artists such as Skepta, JME, Lethal Bizzle, Dizzee Rascal, Ghetts etc. all rose to prominence on the UK Grime scene; I even saw Lethal Bizzle cause mayhem at Reading Festival, a renowned Rock festival. Grime infiltrated, but never conquered.
And so, Grime was cast out into the cold, beaten down and contained by the commercialised majorities never to return.
What d'you mean? What d'you mean?
It's been 2 years since Skepta released Blacklisted , and with it his damning verdict of UK Grime looking towards the US for inspiration in Ace Hood Flow.
And if ever there was proof that Grime is very much alive and kicking, you wouldn't have to look much further than your favourite board game...