The story of Grime is revolutionary. Back in the 2000’s (When Grime was born), it was a way to keep youngsters off the streets. Now, 17 years later, it is one of the fastest growing genres in music. But who knows the full story, other than those who lived it? The simple fact is no one does. Until now…
This Is Grime by Hattie Collins tells the tale of how talented youths overcame odds to become stars in the music scene, while inadvertently creating a music genre. Hattie Collins tracks down Grime’s most respected MC’s, past and future, to tell the tale of how they became worldwide artists, with and without labels. From the beginning to the present, This Is Grime, is a must read for anybody.
Grime Music is characterised by 140bpm instrumentals, which evolve from UK Garage and Jungle. In addition to the instrumentals, Grime is complemented with raw and hard hitting lyrics from UK bred MC’s. Pioneers including: Dizzee Rascal, Kano, Wiley, D Double E, Skepta, JME and Footsie all recall their memories from the birth of Grime, such as appearing on pirate radio and competing in clashes. New scene smashers such as Novelist, Stormzy, Wretch 32 and Chip also appear in the book, telling their stories of how they emerged from a scene filled with competition.
Lyrics from the Grime scene are hard hitting and very topical. A listener will instantly be able to relate to lyrics. Politics, haters, competition, and many more come into lyrics of Grime. Grime lyrics can also be very coarse and some can be extremely hilarious. It's a mixture of everything. Some my favourite Grime lyrics include:
Jaykae - “Certain man will go jail for their boys, but won't go shop for their mum”
JME - “Your new fans, come like tans, they only want to bred man after I got hot”
Skepta - “I don't know why man is calling me family all of a sudden - My mum don't know your mum, stop telling man that i’m your cousin”
Chip - “Torn Ligament in my knee - I can't bend it like beckham, but you can get a toe punt out of the scene”
Stormzy - “We all know you're a good child, so pull up your jeans, get off the streets and do your mum proud”
Wretch 32 - “How do they expect musicians to stay afloat, when all of our songs keep going down the streams”
Grime has produced many stars. One in particular is Skepta. An independent artist from North London, released his album, Konnichiwa, and it was a success. Konnichiwa won the 2016 Mercury Prize (Beating David Bowie!) and Apple’s best album of 2016. This from a man who was born in North London, and came from pirate radio sets. Many more belong in the stardom category, which are all showcased in This Is Grime.
Hattie Collins makes my dream come true by hearing the story from the people themself. Great book for those who listen to grime, or anybody without a screw loose.
***** - Great Book
Maninder Ram
