Grime: struggle and commercial success
41 min read
Introduction
“This all came from a bad place: people stabbing, robbing, guns, young people hustling drugs, bad parents. You name it. This whole thing, it came from these kids rising out of the ashes.”
Grime first emerged in the early 2000’s, from the streets and council estates of East London, a new generation creating a new sound, one that provided them with hope, so they could escape the harsh reality of their background. The music developed from existing UK genres, jungle, garage and bashment, whilst also taking inspiration from hip-hop, ragga and dancehall. The style consists of loud and aggressive lyrics with accelerated breakbeats generally around 140bpm which in certain ways represent the sounds of the estates.
Grime is an honest, angry and unapologetic sound with fundamental messages of the political, economic and social struggles the pioneers of the genre and those around them have experienced. These issues have predominately stemmed from a society that has ignored inner-city London communities and even created barriers preventing them from opportunities and success. For the purpose of this paper it will be pertinent to analyse the context of each individual issue and discuss the effect and influence it has on the grime genre.
Despite these hurdles grime succeeded in creating its own ‘DIY’ music scene through pirate radio, street clashes, underground raves and more recently social media.
Through the power of these platforms, the determination of the artists’ and the truth in their writing, grime has now made a name for itself in mainstream media as a voice for the younger generation. With grime MC, Michael Omari, stage name Stormzy, releasing his album Gang Signs and Prayer (2017), becoming the first grime record to reach No.1 in the UK, artists such as Wiley and Giggs headlining UK festivals and Skepta introducing grime to America, the genre is at its tipping point.
Aims & Objectives
The key aim of this dissertation is to explore the various socio-political struggles of a disenfranchised youth and analyse how these shared experiences have influenced grime and the commercial success it is now receiving.
The first objective is to critically assess the inspirations and motivations behind the birth of grime including how the music sonically developed, the role the community played in the genre and common everyday socio-political struggles that affected the scene. It will also be crucial to critically assess the role the media has had on the growth of grime and evaluate the technological softwares and platforms that have been gradually introduced. The final objective is to explore grime’s movement into the mainstream and analyse the significant factors that have contributed to its now, commercial success.
Literature Review
To many, grime may appear as if it has only existed in the last few years, because it is only recently that mainstream media, major labels and leading brands have decided to take notice of the art form and the rapidly increasing following it has been obtaining. However, in reality it has been emerging over a number of years and, in order to fully understand the struggles the genre has been through, and analyse how they have influenced the success, it’s fundamental to examine the birth of grime and follow this through to its emergence in the mainstream media.
Hattie Collins’ (2016) work, ‘This Is Grime,’ provides a detailed and exclusive insight into the artists and influencers who are responsible for the development and nurturing of the genre. She documents the revolution of grime through compiled interviews with leading MCs, providing an intimate timeline from the earlier generation of Wiley (Richard Kylea Cowie), Jammer (Jahmek Power) and Dizzie Rascal (Dylan Kwabena Mills) to more recent artists such as Stormzy, Novelist (Kojo Kankam), Skepta (Joeseph Junior Adenuga) and JME (Jamie Adenuga). Through ‘This Is Grime’, Collins highlights the significance of the grime movement in British culture and how the music was created out of the reality of the lives the artists were living.
One common theme agreed upon by each artist, is that they came from poor backgrounds surrounded by violence, drugs and a lack of guidance and opportunities. Through writing lyrics and producing music, based on their experiences, they were able to channel their struggles into something creative, providing them with an escape from reality. The music possesses a raw, aggressive energy and offers a different sound to a new generation in a commercially dominated world of music. ‘This Is Grime’ provides deep, personal stories from the creators of the grime scene, discussing their experiences of poverty, violence and racism whilst also highlighting the importance of faith and religion in their art.
Similarly, in Wiley’s autobiography ‘Eskiboy’ (2017) he expands on this theme discussing that council estates are difficult environments to grow up in, speaking of his personal experience of being stabbed, and the temptation to get involved in drug dealing. The book is split into numerous short chapters, some narrated by others close to Wiley, such as his father, who was a musician himself, his sister and MCs, Flow Dan (Marc Veira) and Wretch 32 (Jermaine Scott). He addresses various issues within the grime scene, including black on black crime, the police and the lack of women in grime. Throughout the book, Wiley references his experiences of being a young, black, working class man living in Britain with a society that sets itself apart from black minority communities.
A recurring theme throughout ‘Eskiboy’ (2017) and ‘This Is Grime’ (2016) is how Wiley (Richard Kylea Cowie) has not only adopted the title of ‘The Godfather Of Grime’ but also his unconditional support and generosity to existing artists and those new to the game. The latter implies that along with his own success, Wiley was focused on the future of grime and nurturing the younger generation to continue representing the genre. This is demonstrated in the chapters written by those close to Wiley that he was a driving force, shaping the direction of modern music not only by producing his own successful sound, but also by cultivating the sound of others.
Halfway through ‘This Is Grime’ is a chapter based on the moment the genre delved into the pop scene and began receiving commercial recognition and success. It’s evident that this represented a fundamental change in the art form and one that was necessary in order to spread the scene worldwide. At this stage Tinchy Stryder (Kwasi Danquah III), Ironik (James Christian Charters), Tinie Tempah (Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu Jr), Dizzie and others comment that they were at a stage where the business aspect of their music was becoming more important; writing a pop song was almost essential for them to provide the financial stability necessary to continue growing the scene.
Wiley makes a similar reference in Eskiboy, talking about releasing ‘Wearing My Rolex’, which reached number two in the charts, and later releasing ‘Heatwave’ that went straight to number one. He suggests these songs saved him financially, providing his family with a comfortable upbringing, something he was never fortunate to have had. Wiley continues to describe grime’s rise to the mainstream through focusing not just on the music industry, but the wider entertainment industry. Through Skepta he learnt that working with leading brands, opens more opportunities and reaches new audiences, spreading the music to the wider population.
Jeffrey Boakye’s ‘Hold Tight’ (2017) builds a timeline of the scene through a selection of key songs, set out in chronological order, that represent grime’s progression from the genre’s roots up to present day. He explores the meaning of each song and its relevance to the growth of grime in two different contexts; black British masculinity and millennial culture. By essentially forming a playlist, focusing on individual songs, he has been able to document the genre’s origins in jungle and garage, right through to the mainstream success it is now receiving through artists such as JME, Skepta and Stormzy.
Although Hold Tight isn’t necessarily an autobiography, Boakye grew up in Brixton,South London and references his own experiences throughout the book, making it possible to relate to Wiley’s Eskiboy, as it is told in an autobiographical manner and they share a similar age. With this, he avoids claiming any expert knowledge, but instead creates an insider perspective for the reader, opening a discussion upon the songs he has included.
Further into this source Boakye suggests that one of the reasons for grime’s recent success is partly due to political recognition gained through #Grime4Corbyn, a campaign by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. This campaign provided young people, from all backgrounds, with a platform where their voice could be heard within politics, something that had failed to come before and, as a result, led to further exposure and understanding of grime culture.
Ticketmaster, Disrupt and University of Westminster put together a report named ‘State Of Play, Grime’ (2017) that focuses on public opinions towards grime and analyses the impact the music is having on the mainstream scene, as well as its direct involvement in British politics. This is grime’s first comprehensive report providing data about the genre that demonstrates it is now achieving commercial success through record sales, ticket sales, radio play, TV and brand partnerships.
Research Design
The primary research for this dissertation has mainly focused upon qualitative methods because they allow for participants to be studied in natural settings, resulting in a clearer insight into the reality and environment of the individuals and cultures involved. Unstructured interviews involving six or seven open-ended questions were carried out with two separate participants from different generations, both of whom have grown up with the grime scene. McLeod (2008) states that adopting this method allows the interviewee to talk freely, and in-depth, about the subject matter, helping the researcher to build a genuine understanding of an individual’s situation. The use of open-ended questions is also supported by Gee (2017) who claims that they are less threatening for the respondent to answer and draw greater insight into their experiences and attitudes towards the subject matter.
As unstructured interviews can be time consuming, the first interview was carried out over a recorded Skype call with Sunny Hundal, a British journalist and editor of a political blog Liberal Conspiracy. Sunny Hundal came to my attention through secondary research involving a feature in a short documentary, The Police vs Grime Music (Noisey, 2014), where JME interviewed Sunny about his campaign against the use of Form 696 in 2009. This form is a risk assessment requirement introduced by London’s Met Police in 2005 for live music events that required details of each live show that features DJs and MCs, who perform to a backing track, including names, addresses and phone numbers of all artists and promoters involved. Hundal grew up during the birth of grime and experienced first-hand the negative effects the Met Police and Form 696 were having on music events in London.
Form 696 created a political barrier, preventing some grime artists from performing. It was therefore important to gain a better understanding of this issue, and the struggle it caused, through an interview with a key advocate in the appeal to remove it. The questions were mainly focused upon the impacts of the form, the opportunities now it has been scrapped, and grime’s more recent, prominent role in British politics, giving a voice to the younger generation. Interview transcripts can be found in Appendix 1.
The second interviewee was Grace Shutti, a freelance journalist who works for The Guardian and is also assistant Music Editor of gal-dem magazine. As she was shortly travelling abroad, the interview was carried out over a recorded phone call. Gal-demis put together by over 70 women and non-binary people of colour, with the aim of engaging people from different backgrounds and sharing their stories to a larger audience. The magazine has focused a number of their articles upon grime, discussing issues around the genre relating to its mainstream success, involvement in politics, gender roles and the new, but largely ignorant audience it has attracted.
Grace grew up into the grime culture and has witnessed the scene flourish, so it was pertinent to adapt the research questions to particularly address the various social, political and economic aspects relating to the genre’s struggles and successes. The interview transcript can be found in Appendix 2.
Chapter 1: Inspirations and motivations behind the birth of grime.
This chapter will explore the key motivations that started the grime movement analysing the social, political and economic context of the movement and the effect it had on the people involved in the art form.
Collins (2016, p.10) defines grime as a voice of a generation that emerged in 2002 from underprivileged areas of East London, at the peak of the economic boom and in the shadow of Canary Wharf’s financial power. A fundamental inspiration behind the music stems from the experiences of, growing up in these areas where there is a lack of guidance and exposure to violence, gangs and drugs. This is illustrated by Wiley (2017, p.28) when he states that ‘we came from the ashes’ where people were exposed to a lot of peer pressure and no one to turn to for help when making important life choices.
It’s also pertinent to discuss inspirations for grime from already existing musical cultures such as hip-hop, which similarly was initiated by inner-city youth from deprived areas of New York including the Bronx in the 1970s. Hip-hop created a cultural revolution that could be suggested as one of America’s greatest creative outputs spreading from the streets of suburban New York to the streets of East London. Mohdin (2016) concludes that grime is the ‘UK’s homegrown answer to hiphop’.
During the same decade there was the rise of the punk era, a look and sound of antiestablishment that was inspiring youth culture, similar to the effect grime is having on younger generations today. Ticketmaster (2017) suggested that grime is as loud and powerful as punk, with both genres coming from the disenfranchised youth who were channeling their anger towards a government that continually rejected them from society.
It took a number of years for the genre to discover its identity and be labelled as ‘grime’, hence Wiley’s track ‘Wot Do U Call It?’ (2004) that has a central premise explained by Boakye (2017, p.119) as being the new sound ‘that people can’t quite define’. The sound first developed through MCs rapping over garage beats, talking about everyday struggles that everyone around them could relate to. Garage influenced grime heavily with key pioneers originally coming from garage crews such Pay As U Go and So Solid but these groups were creating something new, a darker, more aggressive sound that was a reflection of what was happening in their lives. Jermaine Sinclair, stage name Wretch 32 (2016 cited in Collins, p.24) stated that artists were writing to escape and if you focus upon the lyrics ‘there’s probably a lot of cries for help in there’.
As grime began gaining momentum, the people in the garage scene felt threatened. They decided they didn’t want anything to do with MCs anymore and so prevented them from playing at live shows. Mason (2016 cited in Collins, p.40) supports this writing that garage promoters and DJs formed a committee to stop MCs playing at shows because they were worried that grime, outlawed at the time by Form 696, would cause venues to be shut down. This is the moment grime’s DNA was naturally formed leading to artists feeling motivated to start something of their own, not American, not garage but their own British rap scene. It’s evident that the feeling of rejection, not just by garage but other music forms, that will be considered below, created a stronger motivation for the birth of grime.
From the beginning, one of the inspirations of grime came through the expression of political issues. It allowed artists at that time (the late 1990’s, early 2000’s) an outlet to highlight the key issues of New Labour’s ‘wealthy and modern’ Britain. Hancox (2016) discussed how this regime discriminated against people from working-class backgrounds and labelled them as ‘ASBO kids and hoodies’ responsible for knife and gun crime ‘epidemics’. However, as pointed out by Shutti (2018), party politics aside, grime has to be political because of where it originates from. Many MCs couldn’t go to certain areas of London because they could be putting themselves in danger, through postcode (territory) wars. Artists would then be inspired to talk about this through their music, predominantly directing their blame on society as whole.
It’s necessary to explore the role the community has had on motivating and nurturing the grime culture because, ultimately it has been built on shared experiences between likeminded individuals, who can understand and relate to each other’s realities and struggles. This is supported by Ratcliffe (2017) who concludes that ‘the collective experience of hardship and navigating it fosters community’. At the time, areas of East London, Bow in particular, a community that founded grime, was one of the poorest boroughs in the UK with high levels of deprivation and illegal activity.
Wretch 32 (Noisey, 2016) commented that ‘community spirit is second to none, we literally go through each other’s pain and each other’s joy’.
Through being brought up on these council estates and being excluded from mainstream further education with rising tuition fees, the grime community began to form through young guys hanging out in the same environments ‘spitting bars’ (rapping), which became part of their daily routine. Wiley (2017, p.78) describes a lack of guidance from parents and elders who were dealing with their own struggles, so many of them were left to it, working together to create a cold, dark sound that was growing from their situation. Riley (2017, cited in Ticketmaster) summarises that once grime had established its identity, it became recognised as more than just a secondary product of a disenfranchised generation, it was ‘the creative output of Black Britain’s youth’.
The common pressures and deprivation on the council estates have resulted in a natural segregation from the rest of society that in turn has produced an angry but positive energy and spirit for the younger generation, who for some, have directed this into their music. Wiley (2017, p.23) refers to this energy, claiming that it should be used as a release but channeled into something positive that people enjoy doing.
Shaun Barker, stage name, Bruza (2016 cited by Collins, p.24) explained that there was no platform, or mic to share to the world what was happening in their lives and no-one could hear them as they ‘were trapped on this block, on this estate’.
A key social element that is referred to throughout grime is the artists’ experiences with criminal activity on the estates, being on the front line daily to drug, gun and knife culture. Wiley (2017, p.78) describes having ‘drug dealers, prostitutes and murderers on our doorstep’, clearly showing that the grime community was
developing around high levels of exposure to crime. However, for some MCs when growing up, it wasn’t just about witnessing this activity, they actually got involved in it, some through a need for financial stability and others who were dragged into it through friends and family. Maxwell D (2016 cited in Collins, p.26) stated that coming from this harsh background inspired artists’ with their music, as they found a real passion and were able to stop being a criminal and turn it into an art form.
Pirate radio played an instrumental role in the birth and growth of the grime scene with stations such as Rinse FM, Heat FM and Channel U all being set up as a response to being ignored by mainstream radio and giving a platform for MCs to spread their music amongst the community. Collins (2016, p.154) claimed that pirate radio was the incubator of the scene and that without it, grime would not exist, a statement that is supported by all MCs that played on pirate radio. Pirate radio motivated artists because it provided a venue for them to practice, improve and clash (rap battle) with other MCs, helping nurture the genre into what it is today. There is no doubt these stations provided a community service by making the music accessible to the people so they could then talk about it and therefore inspire the creativity of a younger generation.
The concern of the New Labour government, to be seen to be controlling the actions of ‘hoodies’ and ‘ASBO’ kids, coupled with the association some MCs had with criminal activity led to concern about unsavoury elements being drawn to live shows.
This resulted in London’s Met Police introducing Form 696 referred to above. The form understandably caused huge controversy and was seen as discriminatory, because as stated by Hundal (2018) it initially targeted certain types of music such as grime, garage and R&B and required specific information about whether there would be any ethnic minorities attending.
Hundal however, makes an interesting point, that the Met Police were already disproportionately shutting down urban gigs, where they thought violence could occur, before the form was even introduced, so therefore all the form was doing was legitimising the actions they were already taking. McDonnell (2016 cited in Collins, p.251) stated that ‘Form 696 basically killed off grime for about half a decade. It stopped grime taking off by killing the live music’. The introduction of the form only added to the feeling of oppression felt by the grime community and as such, almost certainly acted as a catalyst to strengthen the genre’s roots and further inspire the more political influences that have emerged within the genre.
Chapter 2: Media and the growth of grime
This chapter will explore the growth of grime and how different forms of media have contributed to the genre’s coming of age, examining the effectiveness of radio, TV and the internet with a particular focus on social media. These technologies have provided essential platforms for bringing grime to the forefront of the UK’s music scene, allowing artists to directly connect with their counterparts and fans. It will also be relevant to analyse factors influencing the rise of grime outside of London and the growing gender diversity within the scene with female MCs becoming an increased driving force behind the music and the artists.
Early days of software technology allowed music production applications such as FruityLoops to become accessible through cracked copies being shared on illegal download platforms such as LimeWire. Fintoni (2015) quoted London MC Skepta who highlighted the significance of FruityLoops in grime, claiming that ‘as long as there are 12-year-old kids turning on their mum’s PC with a cracked version of FruityLoops making their own DIY sound, there’s grime’. It’s important to appreciate that this was the first time it became possible to produce music from your bedroom without any incurring any financial costs. This therefore became a key factor in the growth of grime.
As previously discussed pirate radio contributed hugely to the exposure of the scene, as it provided artists at the time, with the only platform to share their talent, before the days of file-sharing and streaming. Wiley (2017, p.82) considers pirate radio to be responsible for giving him his identity and states that mainstream radio was never going to invite MCs to play on their stations. Instead, they built their own and created a culture and fan base through this. The illegal aspect to pirate radio is an element that kept the scene growing because it was all underground, in unknown locations that were constantly changing. This added to the excitement and contributed to the interest in the growth of the movement. Although grime has now been accepted onto mainstream stations, the music has been diluted due to adverts and news, therefore taking away a crucial element of pirate which provided unlimited airtime to artists to practice and improve (Anderson, 2015).
A further significant factor in the growth of grime was the introduction of YouTube, an instant online video platform, allowing anyone to share videos almost instantaneously. The most well-known grime YouTube channels that have been monumental in the rise of the scene include SB.TV, GRM Daily, Link Up TV and many others that have been regularly uploading music videos, exclusive interviews, live sets and more. Abiade (2018) defines these channels as an opportunity for enterprising, young black boys to document a scene and culture they love ‘with the graft to showcase what the mainstream had yet to understand’.
Jamal Edwards, founder of SB.TV (2016, citied in Collins, p.170) stated that it was pirate radio, Channel U and early DVDs that inspired him to create his own YouTube channel and begin visually documenting the scene. He builds on this by claiming that he just wanted to discover new artists, allow them to share their experiences and spread the culture worldwide, localising it in new areas and ultimately help it grow.
YouTube almost single handedly wiped out the DVD industry as it allowed for instant, daily and free access to current and new artists on the scene (Rooney, cited in Collins 2016, p.169). It has allowed for artists to connect directly with their fans on a personal level. Fans can now put a face to the name of their favourite MCs and be kept up to date on not just the music, but the scene as a whole, including backstage interviews and exclusive material.
With the rise of technology came mobile phones with mp3 players and Bluetooth that revolutionised the way music is consumed and shared, allowing people to send music from one device to another, wirelessly in a matter of minutes. Shutti (2018) describes that when growing up, grime ‘permeated all levels of culture’ and that at school everyone would be sending the latest grime sets to each other via Bluetooth, consequently contributing to the following of the artist and the overall popularity of the genre. Nowadays, smart phones are able to readily connect to the internet through 4G and wireless networks, enabling consumers to send, receive and listen to music via email, social media and streaming services almost anywhere in the world at almost any time. A report into music consumption by the IFPI (2016, p.8) shows that ’55% of internet users listen to music via a smartphone’, an increase of 10% from 2015 which is an important aspect to consider in the continuing growth of grime.
It’s pertinent to explore the development of the internet further with the increasing use of social medias such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter helping to increase accessibility and connectivity all over the world. The first social media platform that was utilised to help build the scene was RWD (rewind) forum which enabled artists and fans to engage in conversation and, as identified by Donne-Johnson (2016 cited in Collins, p.172) allowed for the scene to grow naturally into a self-sufficient community. More recently these social platforms have all become interconnected so any material, be it, news, photos, music videos, interviews or other content can be shared across all platforms at the same time. Social media is one of the key reasons for the rise in urban music as it has provided platforms for socio-economically deprived communities to emerge, taking control of their own nurtured culture and deservedly making a profit.
Mason (2016, cited in Collins, p.173) outlines that ‘Grime was the last thing to happen before the Internet and social media really became the dominant platform for all emerging music and culture’. This confirms that the grime industry has grown up with these forms of media and consequently has been able to take advantage of all the benefits these platforms provide, essentially creating the path for the genre to flourish. According to an annual event attendance study carried out by Ticketmaster (2017), it is more common for grime fans to discover events through social media with 45% of attendees finding out about events through these platforms, usually through the artist or promoter’s page. This is illustrated when Collins (2014) stated that Justin Clarke, stage name Ghetts, organised a surprise show in London through a Facebook post with only an hour’s notice that attracted an audience of 200 people.
Music streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Google and Amazon have played a significant role in the growth of grime. They have enabled artists to release and promote their music without the need for any big financial backing or industry involvement. In a study on Spotify, published by Ticketmaster (2017), it was found that in the year between 2016 - 2017, grime streams more than doubled from 89 million to 206 million clearly representing the accelerating growth of the scene.
Not only has streaming changed the way music is consumed, but also the way music is discovered. Streaming services create specific playlists, based on new releases, genres and moods. Gaining inclusion in these playlists has become crucial to the growth of an artist in the digital age.
With grime having been around for nearly two decades, it is important to discuss how the first generation of the genre have helped grow the scene by helping to teach and inspire the next generation of MCs, some of whom are now achieving commercial success. Janaya Cowie (2017 cited in Wiley, p.160) stated that for Wiley, success wasn’t measured in what he could get for himself, but how much he could do for others. Further support for Wiley being instrumental in growing the scene comes from Anderson (2016 cited in Collins, p.88), who points out that ‘he’s always only ever been for the people and about pushing grime forward and being progressive’.
A second key figure in nurturing grime, through his own music and supporting others is Joseph Junior Adenuga, stage name, Skepta who highlighted, from his own experience, the importance of having youth clubs and centres to provide a venue for creativity and a distraction from common struggles felt by the community. Scott (Noisey, 2016) states that these centres offer an alternative to the failed education system and help to cherish and grow talent in an organic way.
Grime was born out of East London but having since grown to outer London boroughs like Tottenham, and Croydon the scene has now expanded further to communities in cities such as Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester and many more around the UK. Bray (2016) noted that in order to showcase the widespread talent, beyond its birthplace, Red Bull Studios organised a clash competition between eight groups of grime MCs representing different UK cities and towns. Each stage of the competition was filmed and uploaded on YouTube and Red Bull’s social media pages. Both have a huge following and undoubtedly played their part in contributing to the national growth of grime.
The genre has now established a new environment where there is a growing number of female DJs, MCs and presenters who are diversifying grime and becoming the driving force behind the music (Anderson, 2016). Cassandra and Camille (2018) states that ‘female talent in the grime scene is boundless’. The interesting factor to consider here and one that at times goes unnoticed, is that a large proportion of grime’s growth has come from female talent in grime journalism and radio, be it pirate, online or national. The growing number of female presenters and journalists are providing their perspective on the music, sharing it with the masses through popular platforms such as Beats 1 and NTS Radio, and consequently giving females in the scene someone to relate to.
Chapter 3: Movement into the mainstream
The focus of this chapter will be to explore the transition grime has taken into the mainstream with number one albums, awards and commercial brand partnerships. The chapter examines the development of grime from its early days of mainstream recognition in 2003/2004 to its present day success, where grime has asserted its position as a British culture ‘on the brink of world domination’ (Sinclair, 2017).
Although there is a polarisation of opinions when it comes to grime and the mainstream, it’s important to recognise that it has managed to protect its authentic nature and culture.
Grime first hit the mainstream with pioneering MCs such as Dizzie Rascal (Dylan Kwabena Mils), Wiley, and Lethal Bizzle (Maxwell Owes Ansah), all releasing albums that attracted mainstream attention. Dizzie Rascal’s album ‘Boy in da Corner’ was one of the first grime albums to achieve such success that subsequently earned him a Mercury Music Award in 2003 and a UK top 40 single, a defining stepping stone in the genre’s journey to the mainstream. Boakye (2017, p.100) explains that whether or not Dizzie planned for this to be the start of an underground movement, it has ‘laid the foundations for the potential of grime’.
The momentum for grime moving into the mainstream then slowed down, partly due to the introduction of Form 696 in 2005, which as described by Shutti (2018) was brutal and persistent, causing decimation of a whole culture and industry. It could also be suggested that the initial mainstream success caused the scene to come to a halt when some British rappers such as Tinie Tempah (Patrick Okogwu) and Tinchy Stryder (Kwasi Danquah III) moved away from their grime origins and delved further into the pop world for a chance in the top 40 charts. This was a movement that was frowned upon by some grime fans and MCs with Ghetts (2016 cited in Collins, p.227) stating that he would ‘rather mean more to the culture than the mainstream’. On the other hand, it’s important to consider that at that time grime wasn’t as profitable as it deserved to be and therefore as suggested by Gibbins (2015) ‘grime MCs felt the need to compromise their credibility in order to pay the bills’.
Grime then experienced an apparent resurgence in 2013 that some have dubbed the ‘grime revival’ with the likes of Stormzy, Skepta and Giggs (Nathaniel Thompson) to name a few, all reaching new levels of success and confirming Grime’s identity as a true British culture and genre (Sinclair 2017). In 2014 Skepta, won a MOBO award for his low-budget music video, ‘That’s Not Me’, the first grime MC to win an internationally recognised music award. The following year saw American rapper, Kanye West perform at the BRIT Awards with 40 British grime MCs, all dressed in black tracksuits. Boakye (2017, p.243) points out that although this is a benevolent moment from Kanye, there is an aspect of cultural profiteering where he is using ‘the most credible scene’ in London to promote himself. Despite this it is a fundamental moment in grime’s movement towards the mainstream because until then, there had been no recognition at the BRIT Awards for the talent in grime artists.
It’s important to analyse the further commercialisation of grime through international brands, which recently have become aware of the power behind the grime culture and the effect it’s having on the masses. Ticketmaster (2017) outlined that grime provides a cultural platform that allows brands to communicate with a growing young audience in the UK, all who are influenced, culturally, politically and socially by the music. An example of a creative brand partnership was between Skepta and UNIQLO, a Japanese fashion brand specialising in street wear working with an upcoming grime artist who’s album is titled #Konnichiwa, a Japanese word used for greeting people.
In addition to this is Stormzy's long term collaboration with Adidas who have supported him from day one and, as a result have gained ‘over 27 million impressions for the brand through his music videos alone’. It’s evident that grime is very much in the mainstream being brought to people’s attention through various commercial channels consequently reaching a new audience. However, there is an issue highlighted by Platt (2015) surrounding the appropriation of working class culture which is worsening due to new, middle-class fans who are following mainstream ‘trends’, listening to grime music, attending the shows but failing to recognise the cultures’ social importance. This can also be related to high-street fashion stores such as Topshop and Urban Outfitters who similarly are following the ‘trend’, selling brands that are associated with grime artists which a few years ago were perceived as being of a particular social class.
With grime achieving mainstream success in the UK, it was only a matter of time before it would spread to America and that is exactly what Skepta and other MCs are now beginning to do. After a sold out tour of East Coast America and Canada in 2015, involving a performance with world renowned, Canadian rapper Drake (Aubrey Drake Graham), it was evident that Skepta had successfully planted the seed for grime’s international potential. Blakie (2016 cited in Collins, p.210) stated that, after speaking with local American people at a US festival, it was clear Skepta had made his name known as the majority responded with ‘Yeah, I know that Skepta. Boy Better Know’.
Subsequently this aided Skepta’s decision to sign Drake to his UK grime collective and record label Boy Better Know (BBK), later commenting that ‘We’re putting together an official worldwide BBK label’ (Renshaw, 2016). This has helped give London its identity with Stryder (2016 cited in Collins p.288) commenting that despite Drake being one of the biggest artists in the world right now, it feels like he is the one reaching out to Skepta and wanting to represent UK grime throughout the world.
Although grime has yet to make a seismic shift out of the UK, it’s clear that these artists are being thrown into the spotlight and the foundations have been laid for potential worldwide success.
#Grime4Corbyn in 2017 is a key movement to explore when considering grime’s transition into the mainstream. This campaign, backed the Labour Party was spearheaded by prominent grime stars on social media such as Stormzy, JME and Novelist, aiming to motivate youth engagement in politics and the need to make the voices of the younger generation be heard. Results from research carried out by Ticketmaster (2017) showed that ’58% of grime fans voted for Labour during the 2017 elections’ with 24% being influenced by the #Grime4Corbyn campaign. Hundal (2018) suggested that it’s a great confluence of various elements coming together, grime, social media, politics and the music itself becoming more popular and therefore mainstream.
No doubt this campaign induced further consideration of grime and politics, with it only being a matter of a few months before the controversial Form 696 was scrapped by London Mayor, Sadiq Khan who commented (2017 cited in Nerssessian) that it unfairly targeted and affected specific music genres and communities. This will only contribute in helping grime to flourish in the UK, reaching new heights of mainstream success as supported by Shutti (2018), who claimed that it’s already had a positive effect on festival line ups, with a huge increase in grime artists on the line ups and in a growing number of cases headlining.
Following Wiley’s award of an MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for his instrumental work in pioneering ‘one of the most important scenes in UK culture’ (Srih, 2018) he features on two London festival line ups in 2018; Wireless, a mainstream pop festival aimed at a younger generation that has become increasingly grime orientated and American Express’ Somerset House Series, a festival aimed at more middle-class and perhaps older generations who wouldn't necessarily have experienced grime before.
A defining moment that establishes grime’s movement into the mainstream was the collaboration between Grammy Award Winning Producer, Fraser T Smith and Stormzy that saw them produce his debut album, Gang Signs & Prayer. Sherwin (2017) stated that the aim of working with Smith, a producer with six UK No. 1 singles, ‘was to create a record that would introduce Stormzy to an international audience that listens to Adele and Ed Sheeran,’ but maintain his grime origins. Stormzy released the album through his own grassroots record label #Merky Records, later achieving its aim and becoming the first No.1 independent grime album in UK chart history.
This led Stormzy to new heights of success winning two BRIT Awards; best British male and best British album for Gang Signs & Prayer. A key element to these achievements however, was Stormzy’s performance at the award ceremony. He took an opportunity on the biggest night in British music to publicly freestyle rap about socio-political issues to a live UK television audience of 4.5million (Paine, 2018) and that’s before counting YouTube and other digital platform views. Snapes (2018) describes that he invoked national conversation by specifically singling out current prime minister, Theresa May’s poor response to the tragedy of Grenfell Tower, the hostility towards young black British men and the bigotry of the Daily Mail.
The fact that Stormzy won two awards and was invited to perform at the BRITs signifies a pivotal moment in grime’s journey to the mainstream, but it’s crucial to appreciate the bigger picture of what he is achieving through his musical success.
Snapes (2018) comments that he is not just a groundbreaking musician, but an agitator and inspirational figure’, giving a powerful voice to a younger, disenfranchised generation. The strength of his voice was proven when his performance at the BRITs sparked a response from the government who specifically addressed Stormzy’s message, agreeing with him that the response to Grenfell Tower was too slow and that more needed to be done. Shutti (2018) described this as insane because it showed just how powerful his message was, gaining respect from the whole nation.
As grime has now reached its place in the mainstream with the spotlight on every aspect of the genre, it is noticeable female grime artists now starting to gain prominence. However, it’s important to be aware, as Shutti (2018) pointed out, that there have always been talented female grime MCs but, as women, they have struggled to come to the forefront in a male-dominated scene. Support for this is shown by Melesha O’Garro (2018 cited in Abiade), stage name Lady Leshurr suggesting that women have to do at least twice as much as men, just to get noticed. The fact that the artists are predominantly black may also be said to have been a further hurdle that women in the genre have had to overcome. Leshurr (2017 cited in Wolfson) commented that although ‘in some ways the situation for women has improved, the double standard about physical appearance, and skin colour in particular, has gotten worse. It’s appears only now that grime is in the mainstream and gender equality is rising (slowly) has the opportunity finally been given for women to showcase their talent.
On the other hand, as positive as this recognition is, female MCs were not in supportof the way the industry and mainstream media portrayed their talent. Isabell Fender, stage name Lioness (2016 cited in Collins, p.285), commented that ‘as a girl, you’re put in boxes like “yeah, you’re good for a girl”, immediately creating a feeling of inferiority. Shutti (2018) stated that terms like women in grime and girls in grime cause frustration because realistically, if an MC has talent why does it matter what gender they are? It’s unnecessary to put that gender specific label on an MC, the only element that matters is their talent so, if they’re good then that’s what people should be talking about and, if they’re a woman then more power to them but really it’s irrelevant (Shutti 2018).
Conclusion
The birth of grime came from a generation brought up on council estates in East London in the early 2000s who created a ‘brittle sound of disillusionment, resentment and despair, but also the voice of hope’ (Collins, 2016, p.1). There are inner-city communities experiencing social, political and economic struggles on a daily basis, often blamed upon a narrow-minded society and government that only serves to widen the social class gap. Grime emerged as is the honest and angry, creative art form responding to the struggles and providing a voice and identity to Black Britain’s underground youth.
Key inspirations and motivations that contributed to grime’s development include the need to escape from a reality of social deprivation and a lack of guidance and opportunity. One of the main musical influences alongside jungle, hip-hop and bashment was garage which at first, embraced MCs rapping over their beats but then became threatened by the power of their bars (lyrics) consequently disassociating themselves from the scene. This added to the feeling of rejection felt by the movement but actually served to motivate grime to become its own independent genre. Hodges (2015) writes that ‘grime style was born out of frustration with garage’s ritzy elitism’. Nevertheless, pursuing its response to the socio-political issues, grime has persevered and constructed its own DIY culture with a strong spirited community built on shared experiences.
It’s evident technology and the increasing number of digital and social medias have played a fundamental role in the growth of grime and spreading it to the masses beyond its London roots. The most significant platform responsible for the initial growth and nurturing of the scene is pirate radio with Stryder (2016 cited in Collins, p.154) commenting that ‘Pirate radio is so key; to do grime, you have to have done pirate radio’. The introduction of smart phones and their widespread availability significantly increased access to grime with the continuing development of cellular networks and wireless internet meaning that music could be consumed almost anywhere.
Social media has provided a disenfranchised youth with a vast number of platforms enabling grime to emerge into the music scene and inspire younger generations to continue cultivating the art form. Burrell (2018) concludes that ‘grime’s existence has happily coincided with the rise of social media which have allowed native rappers to refine their narrative and take control of it’. The rise of online streaming services such as YouTube, Spotify, Soundcloud and Apple Music have provided a free or low-cost distribution service allowing anyone to release and promote their music independently.
Grime’s movement into the mainstream started with the recognition of the pioneers of the genre, Wiley and Dizzie Rascal, who paved the way for the emerging artists to flourish within the commercial music industry. Hagan stated (2016 cited in Harris) that with the huge youthful following grime artists have created, brands naturally want to connect with this fanbase and therefore ‘associate themselves with the music because they can get direct access to the consumer’.
The powerful contributions from the likes of Stormzy and others and campaigns such as #Grime4Corbyn have given grime a political dimension that is contributing to the shape of British politics and giving a voice to a generation. Reflecting on gender equality, grime has not perhaps fully demonstrated this to date, but with mainstream recognition, perhaps it is improving. However for real progress to be made, there needs to be more recognition in the industry of the talent of black women.
‘Grime has taken a hold of the UK, and is reaching an increasingly wider and more diverse audience that transcends cultural boundaries’ (Ticketmaster 2017). With grime now making waves in America, encouraged by international support of the scene from Drake and Kanye West, the appeal of the genre is now building beyond the UK and it will be fascinating to see if the ‘trend’ catches onto the mainstream, worldwide. To conclude, grime culture undoubtedly has been influenced by a variety of shared social and political experiences that have created an energy, channelled into the music, which has inspired a generation as it forged its place in the mainstream.
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