Former Culture Minister, Kim Howells, stated that grime artists are creating a culture “where killing is almost a fashion accessory” and these type of official comments, and headlines in a similar vein, cause many to link grime with guns, drugs, crime and violence. There is no doubt that some people associated with grime are giving it a bad name. For example, grime MC Crazy Titch is currently servicing a life sentence for murder. But if you ask your average youth who’s into grime music, they will tell you, negativity is not its aim. For young MCs like myself our biggest interest is being able to lyrically ‘murk’ (destroy) other MCs on the mic, and being best we can be at our craft

Grime, which started to emerge around a decade ago in East London, is music made by real people in real life. If in some ways it reflects unrealistic lifestyles or harsh reality, that’s because that is the reality of inner-city Britain today. Music is not creating that reality. It is down to a lack of hope and prospects. And if some of the guys with the guns are into grime, it doesn’t mean they’re the only people it represents. Howells comments are too polarised and allow the press to create an anti-grime bandwagon about something British youths desperately need.

I love a lot of things about grime and it gets me annoyed when other people don’t see it for the art it really is. It allows young people, who might not have any cash, to do something creative with their time and if anything, offers an alternative to getting into trouble. It’s about giving people a chance to express themselves, to feel empowered. When MC’s clash and have lyrical wars with each other, they get an adrenaline rush of hype, competition and excitement. Their confidence grows and their skills improves. Clashes and hype on the mic are great ways of settling feuds through words and lyrics, without resorting to physical violence.

There’s an unwritten rule in grime that you’re original and speak the truth about what you see, hear or feel. If you bite (copy) other artists work, there’s no point starting. You won’t earn respect for trying to be someone else. As MOBO Award winning fusion MC Akala, put it “nobody can be you better than you.” And grime is about being true to yourself, whatever that truth may be.

And it isn’t all just about dissin’ and it’s not about writing s*** either! You have to make sense in what you write and spit to be a good MC. It’s also a way of improving vocabulary and MCs become more verbally articulate and confident with words. MCing involves improvisation, imagination and of course getting your flow right is essential if you want to get somewhere with your music. And unlike in some hip hop, usually when women are mentioned in grime, it’s about relationships, as tracks such as ‘My diary’(Scorcher), ‘Brown eyes’ (Kano) and ‘Together’ (Wiley and Ruff Squad) prove. And there are some really good female grime artists out there who can give as good as they get.

Treddin’ On Thin Ice (Wiley) andBoy in da Corner (Dizzee), were the first albums to get grime acknowledged by the wider world, with commercial outlets such as 1 Xtra, Channel U and Kiss FM taking over the job pirate radio has done for years, in distributing and promoting grime. Other highly rated artists followed such as Kano with his album Home Sweet Home, and once lesser known artists and crew such as Lethal Bizzle, Boy Better Know and Roll Deep are even playing at big UK festivals. The changes in the perception of grime, and Dizzee and Wiley’s recent hits ‘Dance with me’ and ‘Wearing my Rolex’, have caused some to say that grime is dead, and is loosing its realness and roots to commercial powers. No such example is Lady Sovereign, whom highly respected rapper, Jay Z, recently signed to his Roc-A-Fella label after seeing the commercial potential of her grime-meets-Eminem style. Some dispute Sovereign is even a grime artist, although hailing from the same roots as many other artists considered grime. Perhaps her most notable differences are being white and female in a male dominated scene. Love them or hate them, all these artists, prove the vast commercial possibilities of a grime influenced sound.

I don’t believe grime is dead or dying, it’s just that commercially it can’t completely reflect the grime that’s made on the streets. Akala speaks of grime as a ‘localised form of hip hop’ rather than as a separate genre. It fuses together elements of UK garage, drum ‘n’ base, hip hop and dance hall, but has its own darker, distinctive sound, which is normally too much for mainstream ears. Baselines are warped and more complex, lyrics more fiercely spit. Some say it’s reminiscent of punk, which too got bad press (in Britain during the 70s). Like grime it was also labeled anti-social and destructive.

The accessibility of grime (pen, pad and backing track) has allowed for a do-it-yourself, democratic subculture, where anyone can make, be part of or get into the scene. It’s not manufactured to us commercially like US gangsta rap and r’n’b, it’s an accessible art form made here on the street of Britain. It’s about respect for talents and winning with mental battles, not physical tackles. Grime is our music, that we feel. I’m proud to say that there are grime artists here in Sheffield with the talent to go far.

Replace crime with grime.
Peace.

By Haider Khan
Illustration: James-hughes.co.uk