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THE WEEKLY PLANET THE GRIME MUSIC EDITION WEEKLYPLANET.COM
Generation Grime Grime Is The New Punk Music Of The Streets
SKEPTA LIL WAYNE STORMZY J HUS JAY Z
It’s Not Just Grime Face The Music Skepta, Enjoy the show, Flickr, (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Generation Grime
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t became clear on June 9 that Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision to call a snap election was ill judged. This election has highlighted the disregard for the “many” that government should serve, and after an election in which the youth turnout was around 72% of those aged 18-24, the impact of the youth in Labour’s surge of popularity is obvious. Of particular note is the role of a series of influential grime artists, who are not traditionally known for their politics yet came out in full force, working to galvanise the youth to vote and specifically supporting Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. In a 2003 radio interview, then MP Kim Howells laid into the grime scene, calling its artists “macho boasting idiots”. In the aftermath of the election, who are the macho boasting idiots now? Those in power should never underestimate the collective power of the masses. This is particularly true of the grimy kind
Underground Scene The relationship between grime and politics has been an interesting and evolving one. Grime is a genre of music that emerged at the turn of the 21st century in London’s inner boroughs. Early on, its sound was most closely likened to US hip hop and rap. But those in the know appreciate grime’s deep connections to its UK predecessors, which include music from the British underground scene such as garage and jungle, in addition to Jamaican dancehall, electronic/experimental music, and British punk. The grime “sound” developed as it grew, eventually being acknowledged as its own genre at the MOBOs in 2015 and iTunes in 2016. But grime has always been more than music. It is a culture, and this is key to its significance in this last general election. Although now considered trendy in many strata of society, grime is a working-class scene. It originated from the very people and places government legislation has hit the hardest in its austerity measures over the last ten years: the bedroom tax; underfunded schools; PAGE 1
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tuition fee rises; zero-hour contracts; dwindling prospects of owning a home; and increased job insecurity. From this perspective, the relentless spread of gentrification and London’s role as a global financial capital can make David Cameron’s profession that “we are all in this together” simply farcical.
Black British Grime originated as a predominantly black British musical form, yet appeals to young people irrespective of race or ethnicity. The common ground in its appeal was the focus on class based oppression and British cultural references. While racism remains pervasive and impacts young people in different ways, we live in a time of diverse multiculturalism, particularly in the inner city home of grime. There is a level of commonality in the British working class experience. This is all the more powerful given the collective nature of the grime scene. Success achieved by individuals in the scene is viewed as success for all. Individual achievement produces collective pride. This collectivity contributes to the solid sense of identity and culture that grime promotes. The collective experience of
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this work.
Future Prominent grime artists openly supported Labour and worked hard to encourage their supporters to vote: in response to their lived experience; the government’s disregard of their future; and the disconnection they felt to this government. Stormzy was one of Corbyn’s first grime supporters. In a 2016 interview, he said: “I dig what he says. I saw some sick picture of him from back in the day when he was campaigning about anti-apartheid and I thought: yeah, I like your energy.” JME, Akala, and Rag’n’Bone man, all influential artists to generation grime and all of whom admitted to not voting before or having little interest or faith in the political system, also got behind Corbyn. Recent protests about government decisions which affected the future of generation grime led to minimal change and kettling, heightening apathy. This election offered a new approach. For scene members and fans not politically minded or disengaged from political processes, grime artist endorsement was the much needed push to
Prominent grime artists openly supported Labour & worked hard to encourage their supporters to vote.
hardship and navigating it fosters community. And middle class youth also see their futures in less certain terms. Grime, as with the appeal of other genres of music, is also a method of identity formation, which helps them to separate themselves from “older” generations, most notably parents. Quite possibly for the first time, this election provided what I term “generation grime” (those predominantly under 30 who have grown up with it as a soundtrack to their lives) with an opportunity to engage with a political figure whose values align more closely with their lived experience, personal values and aspirations. Corbyn’s understanding of working-class issues, racial oppression and homelessness struck a chord. While the lyrical content in much grime may not be political, lived realities and hardships are a common theme to
look into Corbyn’s track record and manifesto. Young people suddenly felt they could do something to influence British society and their futures. This election provided the opportunity for generation grime to really see the collective power in working together for the society they would like to create and the things they want to preserve. Although Labour did not win the election, a new energy has been injected into politics and political engagement among young people. It has given them the opportunity to realise their political power, and how to use it.
Generation Grime, Monique Charles.The Conversation CC BY 4.0
Nuits Sonores 2017, Lucie Diondet, Flickr, (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
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Grime Is The New Punk
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f you’re British and don’t know much about grime, you’re in the minority. The influence of the music genre has ballooned in the UK in the last year, and it’s on track to become as disruptive and powerful as punk. n the last year, album sales of grime music have grown significantly faster than the total UK music market (93% vs 6%) and the number of grime events on sale through Ticketmaster and Ticketweb has quadrupled since 2010. Our new study into the public reception of grime music found that 73% of Brits are aware of grime, with 40% having listened to it at some point.
Interchangeable In line with this trend, between this award season and the last, the genre has attracted more red carpet appearances, awards and accolades than any other. We’ve also witnessed the usual grime attire of baseball caps and designer tracksuits become more interchangeable with dinner jackets and bow ties. And why not, if you can have your brand enhanced by Emporio Armani (in the case of Dizzee Rascal), or feature on the front cover of GQ magazine (as did Stormzy). For the first time, our research corroborates these claims. We surveyed 2,000 grime fans and 58% of these said they voted for Labour during the 2017 election, with one-in-four (24%) saying that the #Grime4Corbyn campaign influenced their vote. It’s clear that #Grime4Corbyn gave a voice to the younger generation and influenced the way they voted. Those more familiar with the genre will know that this success is hardwon and reflects the efforts of an underground, predominantly black British music community, that has pioneered this scene since the early 2000s and beyond. Back then, in the bedrooms of East London council estates, the next generation of young producers and MCs were creating a brutal, edgy, uncompromising music. It was the sound of social PAGE 3
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deprivation emerging from the shadows of reurbanisation and gentrification. Leap forward to the present and the genre once dubbed the sound of London’s social underclass has blossomed. With its successes in both the singles and album charts, its arrival on the festival circuit and its growing international following, grime continues to defy industry assessments of its potential.
Transformation This is why it still could provoke the most disruptive cultural transformation of the British music industry since punk. With the leading names now regulars on the festival circuit and capable of packing London’s Wembley or the O2, grime has verified its credentials. Grime still has some distance to travel with regards to its international profile
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on the income streams of performers and promoters alike.
Journey Nonetheless, in 2017, grime demonstrates the promise of a complex and diverse music industry. It also shows that a journey fuelled by enterprise, entrepreneurialism and creativity has the potential to overcome such lingering negative perceptions to achieve even greater things. Skepta, grime and urban British youth language: a guide Skepta’s Mercury Prize win brings grime back into the mainstream, and in doing so shines a spotlight on the ever-changing language of Britain’s urban youth. Perhaps this is the beginning of a more linguistically tolerant age.
Nonetheless, in 2017, grime demonstrates the promise of a complex and diverse music industry.
but within the UK, it has already secured recognition from the music industry as the most successful black British music genre – and not unlike punk, transformed perceptions and approaches to popular music. Live shows have also transformed ideas about grime’s audience, often seen jostling and bumping into each other in response to the performance. At early gigs, primarily attended by young black men in small venues, this activity would have been described as aggressive and potentially violent. But today, at larger venues and festivals and with it’s change of audience it’s more likely to be described as “moshing”. So the tide, it seems, has turned. Or has it? Grime is still struggling to transform negative perceptions within the London Metropolitan Police force, who use the controversial Form 696. This is a risk assessment form that is applied solely to events that “predominantly feature DJs or MCs performing to a recorded backing track” – and is therefore seen by many as discriminatory. It has been used by the police to shut down a number of grime events on the grounds of “public safety”, negatively impacting
Grime is a style of music that developed out of early 2000s East London, and spread through mixtapes, word of mouth, and London’s vibrant pirate radio stations. Sometimes mistakenly viewed as a subgenre of hip-hop, its real roots lie in UK garage, bashment, drum and bass, jungle, and dancehall. Yes, there are similarities to hip-hop – both involve rapping for a start – but grime has a specifically British flavour, both in style and attitude, that separates it from its US-dominated cousin. For some, grime, by its very nature, can only really exist at street level; enjoyed and shared by a like-minded community of urban youth, a disenfranchised community who can relate to each other’s experiences, struggles and realities. “Selling out” by gaining commercial success at the perceived expense of the art form is, to put it mildly, frowned upon among certain established artists.
Grime Is The New Punk, Mykaell Riley. The Conversation CC BY 4.0
Jay-Z, Joella Marano, Flickr, (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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Music Of The Streets
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here is always a question around the extent to which musical performers of any genre “put on” the speech style in which they sing, be that in relation to The Beatle’s accent experimentations, or Iggy Azalea’s “blaccent”. Yet grime, for the most part, is performed using the same linguistic repertoire as the source material – the language of the streets and neighbourhoods of multicultural urban Britain. This is not to say that there is not an element of linguistic performance when rapping, or that Bugzy Malone talks to his mum in the same way that he talks to his mates. Far from it – this is all part of the natural stylistic variation that we all possess, and grime artists are no different. But what sets grime apart from other musical genres is the participatory nature of what is, essentially, a social practice. Grime is, for the most part, not something that is passively consumed, it is something that is actively engaged in and interacted with. In many ways, it is one of the most democratic and equal forms of music there is, open to anybody with a phone and access to YouTube.
History The history of grime is one of young men going round to each other’s houses and making tapes of themselves spitting lyrics, and it is no different now. The people I’ve worked with through my own research into the language of young people who have been excluded from mainstream education are doing exactly the same. But more than this, the spitting bars (rapping) is part of their everyday interaction, with the more accomplished individuals switching seamlessly mid-conversation. Break-time can see them huddled around a tinny phone speaker trading lightning-fast lyrics over a familiar beat. It’s no wonder, then, that speech styles are so interwoven. With no clear line between “normal conversation” and “performance”, it’s impossible to assign particular speech features to either style. After all, isn’t all speech “performance” to some degree? PAGE 5
This participatory nature is WEEKLYPLANET.COM
often negatively portrayed in some sections of the mainstream media. The narrow-minded will then likely maintain the link between language and criminality that is so often (and so thoughtlessly) made, and continue in their belief that there are good and bad (or right and wrong) ways of speaking. But the broad-minded, and those who take the time to engage with the young people themselves, will appreciate how articulate, eloquent, and linguistically inventive many of them are.
Language Skepta winning the Mercury Prize is a good thing for him as an individual (definitely), for grime in general (probably), and for increased awareness and acceptance of the language of young people (hopefully). So next time you hear some spitting in the street, pay attention and show some respect – you may be listening to the next big thing. Why so many singers sound American – but British grime artists are bucking the trend Most British pop and rock stars sing with an American accent. But UK
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vowel length – all of which are affected when we sing. In singing, syllables are lengthened, air flow is increased, articulation is less precise. Thus we get a more generic, neutralised accent that happens to share features with American varieties of English.
Sound Socially, there is an expectation (based on musical history) that popular music will be sung this way. It’s not that singers are consciously trying to sound “American”, rather they are adopting the default style for their genre. Linguist Andy Gibson noted a similar trend in New Zealand singers and suggested we should simply call it a “pop music accent”. But this accent neutralisation isn’t inevitable, as the numerous exceptions over the years illustrate. Artists such as Madness, Ian Dury, Lily Allen (London), The Proclaimers, Biffy Clyro (Scotland) and Cerys Matthews (Wales) have all maintained aspects of their regional accents to varying degrees when singing. Linguistics professor Joan Beal explored the use of local accent and
This participatory nature is often negatively portrayed in some sections of the mainstream media.
grime artists are taking pride in their Britishness and staying true to their regional roots. It doesn’t matter where in the UK a singer is from or how they sound when they speak, when the song begins the regional accent usually ends. In its place emerges a general American-type accent. Not precisely identifiable in terms of region but certainly more US than UK. This common phenomenon is especially striking when we happen to know that, when speaking, the singer shows strong regional features. Think Adele, Cheryl Cole, Jamelia, Mick Jagger, Ozzy Osbourne, all of whom have distinctly regional accents but adopt an Americanised singing style. So, why is this the case? Most likely it’s a combination of two main factors, one linguistic, one social. Linguistically, the very process of singing has an accent-neutralising effect. Accent differences are largely created through intonation, vowel quality and
dialect features in the music of Sheffield band Arctic Monkeys, suggesting that it represents their authenticity and independence from the corporate machine. While this kind of music gets some coverage in pupil referral units and youth clubs, and some schools employ visiting specialists for extra-curricular learning, it is extremely rare to find it employed in mainstream classrooms for everyday lessons with the regular music teacher. But given the availability of more affordable technology such as “DJ controllers” and CD decks, this situation may hopefully begin to improve.
Music Of The Streets, Rob Drummond.The Conversation CC BY 4.0
Oddisee, Alex Proimos, Flickr, (CC BY-NC 2.0)
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It’s Not Just Grime
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imilarly, Astroid boys have a subtle yet unmistakable Welsh aspect to their delivery. Notice the typically Cardiff vowel in words like “early”, “burger” and “work”. There are two likely reasons for this style of performance. First, rapping arguably has a lot more in common with speaking rather than singing, so the phonetic constraints are not as strong. However, it would still be possible to perform in an entirely “London” way, which early grime artists tended to do.
Music The second reason is to do with local identity. It’s no coincidence that grime artists rap about their lives and local areas. Bugzy takes pride in having “put Manny on the map”, Lady Leshurr references her Birmingham lingo, and Astroid boys were the subject of a recent BBC Radio documentary in which they said: “Yeah we are from Cardiff … our accent’s in the music, we rap about the streets we grew up on.” Interestingly, this reference in performance to the local area is also found among the singers mentioned earlier who maintained their regional accents and identities. Ian Dury, Madness, The Proclaimers and Arctic Monkeys would regularly situate their lyrics locally and could also be seen as having a spoken quality to their music. So, is this a conscious decision made by grime artists? In a recent interview with Dazed and Confused magazine, Lady Leshurr said: People used to diss my accent and I got insecure and stopped using it. But I just woke up one day and thought, “What are you doing Leesh? You’re from Birmingham, you shouldn’t have to hide your accent because of other people”. Researchers at Manchester Metropolitan University are now looking at how language and other resources are used by grime artists to construct young, urban, and regional identities. Grime is about staying true to who you are and where you come from, making Lady Leshurr the “realest gyal” and other grime artists relatable and engaging. Keeping it regional is their way of keeping it real. PAGE 7
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Award The music video for grime artist Skepta’s Award-winning single “Shut Down” is shot in the concrete courtyard of an inner city council estate. With an army of baseball cap wearing peers, dancing, smoking and tapping at mobile phones, the video celebrates the spirit of community and resistance that exists in urban working class communities. Similar messages of survival and resistance – with estate imagery forming a backdrop – can be seen in many British hip hop and grime videos. They include Plan B’s Ill Manors, Skinny Man’s Council Estate of Mind and Tricky’s Council Estate. The roots of this “hood” aesthetic can be traced back to the hip hop culture that emerged from marginalised, black urban communities in late 20th-century America. When I ask my students what kinds of culture they associate with the words “council estate”, grime and hip hop are the most common answers. It is true that these forms of estate expression do dominate popular music. But residents of estates are engaged
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to make a living from the arts, the idea that creativity is an exception on estates is not borne out by the richness of the artworks produced in and about these spaces.
Achievement Just like those living in other types of homes, working class estate residents make a positive contribution to cultural life. They express their humanity by making and taking part in art works that reflect the struggles and joys of their existence. As the threat to social housing posed by demolition and regeneration increases, residents turn to art to fight back. On the estate where he lives in Bethnal Green, London, artist Jordan McKenzie performs as his alter-ego, “Monsieur Poo-Pourri”, an aristocrat who has fallen on hard times and treats his council estate like a country manor. By playfully traversing his estate on a hobby-horse, McKenzie – who has exhibited work across the world – subverts ideas about estates. He draws attention to the green spaces of his home, illuminating the po-
By playfully traversing his estate on a hobby-horse, McKenzie – who has exhibited work across the world
in a range of other cultural endeavours. And by paying attention to this range of creative possibilities we can challenge the negative perception that has contributed to the well-documented crisis of social housing. Yet estate artists who receive critical attention are often positioned as exceptional. For example, the playwright Andrea Dunbar, who created the cult-classic Rita, Sue and Bob Too! has been called a “genius from the slums”. Coverage of her work often suggests that the home she grew up in was an unlikely place for such talent to develop. Similarly, when the artist Khadija Saye died in the horrific Grenfell Tower fire, much was made of the fact that her estate residency was unknown to the gallery directors who showed an interest in her work. Socially, there is an expectation (based on musical history) that popular music will be sung this way. Without wanting to downplay the achievements of Dunbar and Saye, and the obvious barriers that exist for working class people attempting
tential for play and exploration offered by his surroundings. Making our classrooms relevant to students is vitally important, because if school feels culturally alien and alienating – as indeed it does for a significant minority of typically inner-city youth – then as educators we are leaving behind a whole group of keen and passionate music lovers. Engaging pupils with music they know and love is one way to make school feel more familiar and more welcoming. And it could even help to change a few stereotypes about what “types of people” listen to “what types of music” in the process.
It’s Not Just Grime, Katie Beswick .The Conversation CC BY 4.0
Lil Wayne - Oslo Spektrum 2013, NRK P3, Flickr, (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
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Stormzy - Øyafestivalen 2016, NRK P3, Flickr, (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Face The Music
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egative representations of estate residents (and of working class people generally) in “poverty porn” shows such as Channel 4’s Benefits Street, have an impact on how the public views government policy aimed at these groups. In the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster many people pointed out how constant representations of estate residents as drug dealers, benefit cheats and feckless single mothers had created a culture where those living on estates are no longer treated as fully human.
Humanity For those of us who understand access to safe, decent, secure housing as a basic human right, emphasising the humanity of estate residents is a priority. The artworks made on estates reveal in no uncertain terms how the destruction of social housing threatens not only the lives of residents, but the cultural life and the human spirit of our cities. I, too, had little or no experience of using DJ decks when I became a secondary school music teacher in 2003. MC rapping was alien to me and I had never been much of an enthusiast of EDM. But because of the inner-city character of the North East of England school I was working in, I soon realised that a large minority of the learners PAGE 9
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were passionate about a form of happy hardcore EDM known as “makina”. This is a sub genre of hardcore techno – which originates in Spain. It is similar to UK hardcore, and it includes elements of bouncy techno and hardtrance.
School The bulk of the pupils that were into this type of music at my school were considered to be some of the most disaffected and “at risk” learners. But I actually learned much of what I now know about DJing and MCing from these young people. I also made a little effort to learn from expert local DJs and MCs about this form of music-making and
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Learning While this kind of music gets some coverage in pupil referral units and youth clubs, and some schools employ visiting specialists for extra-curricular learning, it is extremely rare to find it employed in mainstream classrooms for everyday lessons with the regular music teacher. But given the availability of more affordable technology such as “DJ controllers” and CD decks, this situation may hopefully begin to improve. Some genuine structural issues lie at the heart of this. The Music Venue Trust’s 2016 report to the London mayor’s office, for
But because of the inner-city character of the North East of England school I was working in
the attendant skills so that I could give it coverage in my lessons. I have seen firsthand the transformative effect the use of DJing and MCing in the classroom can have upon learners. And yet the creative use of DJ decks coupled with MC rapping – an international musical tradition for around 40 years – is barely recognised as a musical discipline even in many of the inner-city schools. Conversations with the large US provider of music education Little Kids Rock have indicated that a similar situation pertains across the US.
instance, spoke of a “chasm” between grassroots gigs and the upper end of the market – it identified stagnating prices at the bottom and a spate of closures putting pressure on the system
Face The Music, Pete Dale.The Conversation CC BY 4.0
Skepta - Øyafestivalen 2016, NRK P3, Flickr, (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
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Well Used, Jay Peeples, Flickr, (CC BY-NC 2.0)0
Grime Free, Roadside Guitars, Flickr, (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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Big Narstie, Congo Natty, Klashnekoff, K.O.G + guests @ Corporation, Sheffield, PROTim Dennell, Flickr, (CC BY-NC 2.0)
Stormzy, Main Stage @ EXIT Festival 2016, Exit Festival, Flickr, (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
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THE WEEKLY PLANET THE GRIME MUSIC EDITION
The story of my guitar, Rowan Peter, Flickr, (CC BY-SA 2.0)