Introduction of Grime - Grade: First PDF

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Lost in music: the introduction of grime...

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Candidate Number: 1803647 Course Code: CR3026 Lost in Music: The Sociology of Popular Music Course Tutor: Dr Richard Smith Essay Title: Lost in Music: The Introduction of Grime Submitted: 8/1/18 Word Count: 2434

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Lost in Music: The Introduction of Grime

Introduction The music sub-genre that I will be exploring throughout this essay is Grime. This sub-genre is of particular interest because it is still relatively new in comparison to American rap and hip hop, which have been a heavy influence on Grime, and because only very recently has Grime become widely recognised with a surge in popularity that saw a Grime recording top the album charts for the very first time in 2017 - “Gang Signs & Prayer” by the artist Stormzy.

The emergence of Grime music over the years has been very intriguing and this essay will trace its origins and development along with the youth culture connected with the music. One of the most significant aspects of Grime music is that it has created a significant youth subculture; a subculture that has many similarities to the one seen during the Punk Rock era of British music in the late 1970s. Grime music is an expression of all aspects of the working-class life (McKinnon, 2005).

The Emergence and Development of Grime Music Grime is essentially a sub-genre of rap and hip hop and was born in the deprived boroughs of East London (McKinnon, 2005). This sub-genre is a hybrid of American rap and hip hop with aspects of Jamaican dancehall music, punk, garage, 90s rave and drum and bass (Campion, 2004; McKinnon, 2005; Barron, 2013). As mentioned above, American based hip hop and rap had a heavy influence on Grime but UK grime is very different from contemporary US rap and hip hop. One of the leading Grime artists, Stormzy, has said that Grime can be perceived as “underground UK rap” that is “aggressive and abrasive.” The aggressive sound is “coming from a place that fuels that” but “with a great variety and depth.” The one-tempo, 140 beats per minute also creates a hard-hitting sound adding to the aggressive feel to the music. Another leading and early Grime proponent, Dizzee Rascal, names major influences as garage and hip hop, in particular artists such as Tupac and Jay Z, and that at the root of the development of his music was that he “wanted to sound like where I come from.”

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UK Grime artists do not rap about the amount of money they have or the diamond chains they wear, they rap about the struggles they had to deal with growing up in deprived areas of East London (Barron, 2013). Melville (2004) stated that Grime ‘re-signifies hip-hop not as the consumerist bling-bling soundtrack to upward mobility, but as the cri de coeur of the dispossessed, the narrative form of urban life’ (Melville, 2004:31). Grime has many similarities to old school rap when artists such as Tupac and the Notorious BIG would rap about similar situations we see in Grime. Furthermore, distribution and production of Grime music has many similarities to old school hip hop (Dedman, 2011). One of the earliest proponents of Grime, Wiley, was a garage artist and wanted to create a fierce, frantic and stripped down beat which could be rapped over and thus created this new sub-genre known today as Grime (Ilan, 2012; Jones, 2005). The emergence of Grime started through the informal economy. Most Grime tracks were featured in homemade tapes and videos. The videos were made into DVDs; most famous of these being ‘Lord of the Mics’ which were sold in barbershops and record stores around London (Jones, 2005). Many Grime tracks were spread by word of mouth and were also featured on pirate radio stations such as Rinse FM, Deja Vu, and So Solid , which would broadcast new tracks made days earlier (Jones, 2005; Cobbett, 2009). Many Grime artists relied heavily on the pirate radio stations to distribute their songs (Acquaah, 2016). As technology advanced and social media grew, Grime artists started to distribute their music and build their fan base through popular social media sites such as MySpace and more recently YouTube (Dedman, 2011). Looking now at Grime songs, the tracks usually feature lyrics that reflect upon a range of different topics. “Grime lyrics range from harsh urban spaces marked by class, gender and ethnic conflicts and oppression, financial hardships and gang violence, to the components of everyday life, from the pleasure of dancing and music, fashion and personal pride to the forming of relationships” (Barron, 2013:541). Grime music is a powerful movement, which is produced by the hardest circumstances (Quirk, 2004). “The tracks produced by Grime performers consistently reflect specific modes of living and particular social conditions, frequently experienced by performers themselves” (Barron, 2013:542) and much like old school US rap music, the lyrics within the song play a prominent role (Ilan, 2012). Each Grime track is very much like telling a story about what the artist has experienced in his/her life, which is why it is really popular amongst the working-class youth culture; they are able 3

1803647 CR3026 to relate to the lyrics of the song. Some examples of this can be seen in tracks like Bugzy Malone’s song ‘Make or Break’ where the lyrics were about the struggles he faced when growing up on the streets with 2 younger cousins he had to protect. Another example can be seen in Stormzy’s song ‘Lay Me Bare’ where he raps about his depression and mental issues as he was growing up. Another key theme within Grime music – and another parallel with old school hip hop - is the battles between different Grime artists. Many Grime tracks focus on ‘dissing’ (disrespecting) other Grime artists (Dedman, 2011) and some artists would battle each other on the famous DVD Lord of the Mics to gain recognition and followers. One of the most famous cases of this is between Bugzy Malone and Chipmunk who have created many ‘diss tracks’ aimed at one another. It is very interesting to see the growth of Grime. It started as an underground industry, however, within a few years, Grime is now not only recognised all around the UK but it has also started to gain recognition in the USA and Canada through collaboration with established hip hop artists there. Dizzee Rascal’s success at the 2010 Brit Awards, winning the award for Best British Male was a significant milestone in this rise and illustrated how far Grime music and culture has now penetrated the public domain (Dedman, 2011). Then, however, came a brief period when Grime culture almost disappeared. Many Grime artists drifted away from their roots towards a more chart-friendly approach; many would collaborate with American musicians and make music that was not Grime (Collins, 2014). The key artist that halted and reversed this decline in Grime culture was MC Skepta and his song ‘That’s Not Me’ which made Grime artists realise who they truly were and made them appreciate Grime culture again (Berkhout, 2015). With the injection of fresh and new energy Grime has come back stronger than ever. In particular, Skepta’s Mercury Award in 2016 was seen as another major milestone for Grime because no one believed that it would ever be so popular (Acquaah, 2016). Indeed, it is now so popular around the world that major music streaming sites like iTunes and Spotify have added the Grime genre to their categories and created specific Grime only playlists (Bray, 2016). Grime is now finally beginning to be seen as its own genre instead of a sub-genre of rap and hip hop. Furthermore, international artists are becoming more involved with Grime. Drake, a bestselling Canadian rapper signed for Grime artist JME’s record label BBK and Pharrell, another major American rapper, teamed up with Skepta as he headlined the famous festival Wireless (Bray, 2016). The key artists who helped with 4

1803647 CR3026 the recent boost of Grime worldwide are Stormzy and Skepta who have both headlined major music festivals such as Wireless and Longitude, which showcased the best of Grime music.

The Social and Cultural Significance of Grime Grime has created a youth subculture that has many similarities to youth subcultures created in the early stages Punk Rock. In the early days of Grime, the typical listeners were young black males (McKinnon, 2005), who had grown up in deprived, working class areas within London (Barron, 2013). Now, it is believed that Grime is seen as the sound of the British youth subculture (Berkhout, 2015). Research found that when youth groups were asked about Grime, they did not see the music as an aspect of black culture, they saw it “as a culture belonging to a particular social class” (Dedman, 2011:519). They saw the music belonging to the inner city of London; the music expressed the struggles growing up and living in poverty stricken boroughs of London (Dedman, 2011; Barron, 2013). Grime music was in a way used to give a voice to the people in this subculture who have been marginalised and silenced by a society who ignored them (Platt, 2015). Grime music was also used as a form of cultural expression. There are some artists who will create songs based on structural problems within society such as inequality, poverty, racism and exclusion; it was found that male Grime artists would experience unwarranted police investigations when they are performing live (Ilan, 2012). Grime has also developed some national/regional elements to the music. Most Grime artists will rap, or as they would call it ‘spit bars’, lyrics about territorial ownership (Dedman, 2011). For example, Bugzy Malone would always mention the area code 0161 in his songs to show his listeners that he is representing Manchester. This has become a common theme in Grime music and creates conflicts and occasionally even crime. It has also probably influenced the general public’s view about Grime being associated with violence and other negative connotations. Grime artist Lethal Bizzle’s song ‘Pow!’ was famously banned from many nightclubs because it started too many fights (Beauman, 2006). Moreover, gang related crimes have been a growing problem in the UK. It is believed that the Grime scene has suffered from this by association. Many gangs have their own territories and area code and will have a Grime artist who represents the area. Conflict will usually arise between 2 5

1803647 CR3026 different Grime artists and their followers. (Cohen, 2012). Moreover, Grime artists themselves are also associated with violence. One leading Grime artist, MC Crazy Titch, has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a rival producer (Beauman, 2006) and Dizzee Rascal, another famous Grime MC was a victim of a stabbing (Ilan, 2012). These examples contribute to Grime having a violent label. It was also found that many Grime artists lived in violent environments, which is often reflected in the music they produce. Many Grime songs portray the violence on the streets and contain many references to criminality and criminal acts such as murder, theft and drug taking (Ilan, 2012) as can be heard in Crazy Titch’s song ‘I Can C U’. However, “certain Grime artists are self-generating a mass appeal by reflexively presenting an alternative image that draws little on direct references to the violent street world” (Ilan, 2012:40). One example of this can be seen in JME’s song Serious in which he raps about how Grime artists should leave violence behind because it will not benefit them in the long run. Another very apparent feature of the Grime genre is that the vast majority of Grime artists are males. This is perhaps not surprising given its origins in the streets of deprived areas of East London and an association, especially during its early development, with gangs, street violence and criminality.

Grime as a form of Musical Therapy? A final point of this assessment of the social significance of Grime relates to musical therapists using Grime in therapy sessions. Musical therapy has become popular within schools for pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) because it is believed that “music therapy offers them a safe way of expressing and processing difficult experiences without necessarily having to rely on words which may feel too intrusive in their specificity and/or may not capture the quality of their experience” (Cobbett, 2009:16). Many young people, mainly boys, who go through music therapy have referred to Grime as their main source of therapy (Cobbett, 2009). Possibly because some lyrics are personal therefore the pupils are able to relate to it. 6

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Conclusion Starting from the underground informal economy of East London, Grime has progressed within society, gaining popularity yearly. Grime started off as a few MC’s making homemade videos to be put in a DVD and sold in and around the inner city of London and with the help of pirate radio stations like Rinse FM, Grime started to grow and gain recognition. It was only after the creation of social media sites like YouTube and MySpace where the growth of Grime really accelerated. Grime’s major milestones were reached after Dizzee Rascal’s Brit Awards win in 2010 and Skepta’s Mercury win in 2016; at these points, Grime began to make a name for itself not only around the UK but worldwide. The extent of Grime’s achievements in recent years is perhaps no better illustrated than by the words of Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive BPI & BRIT Awards in a BBC interview in June 2017: "Grime is a uniquely British phenomenon which has exerted a powerful underground influence for more than a decade but is now also making a real impact in the charts and on the mainstream of British music. It’s not only helping to shape domestic consumption and trends, it is becoming a flagbearer for Britain’s global reputation as a hub of musical innovation.” The lyrical theme within Grime has many similarities to punk whereby the artists write lyrics about working-class situations and the struggles they faced growing up in poor and often violent environments, as Quirk (2004) stated. Grime music is a powerful movement, which is produced by the hardest circumstances such as poverty, racism and deprivation. Grime music was seen as the sound of the British youth (Berkhout, 2015) and gave a voice to people who had been marginalised by the rest of society (Platt, 2015). Not only is Grime giving a voice to the marginalised, it is also helping children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties through musical therapy. Research found that many young boys with SEBD will turn to Grime because they can relate to it. However, Grime has not been all so positive. There are many negative connotations attached 7

1803647 CR3026 to Grime such as street violence, gang crimes and drug taking, which has given Grime a bad reputation. A few artists such as MC JME have tried to draw attention away from the violence through his songs. Many, however, will still link the two together.

Bibliography Texts Barron, L. (2013). The sound of street corner society: UK grime music as ethnography. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 16(5), 531-547. Cobbett, S. (2009). Including the excluded: Music therapy with adolescents with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. British Journal of Music Therapy, 23(2), 1524. Cohen, S. (2012). Bubbles, tracks, borders and lines: Mapping music and urban landscape. Journal of the Royal Musical association, 137(1), 135-170. Dedman, T. (2011). Agency in UK hip-hop and grime youth subcultures–peripherals and purists. Journal of Youth Studies, 14(5), 507-522. Frere-Jones, S. (2005). True grime. The New Yorker, 21. Ilan, J. (2012). ‘The industry’s the new road’: Crime, commodification and street cultural tropes in UK urban music. Crime, Media, Culture, 8(1), 39-55.

Websites Acquaah, F. (2016). Skepta’s Mercury win is a vindication for grime, the soundtrack of my generation. The Guardian. 3 September. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/23/skeptamercury-win-vindication-grime-konnichiwa (accessed 29 November 2017)

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1803647 CR3026 Beauman, N. (2006). Is violence holding grime back? The Guardian, 6 November. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2006/nov/06/isviolencehol dinggrimeback (accessed 28 November 2017)

Berkhout, O. (2015). Grime Music is now the sound of the British youth – and things are only beginning. The Independent, 24 November. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/student/student-life/music-film/grimemusic-is-now-the-sound-of-british-youth-and-things-are-only-beginninga6747216.html (accessed 29 November 2017) Bray, E. (2016). Skepta, Kano and the rise of Grime. The Independent, 7 October. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/artsentertainment/music/features/the-rise-of-grime-genre-skepta-kano-ladyleshurr-stormzy-dizzee-rascal-drake-itunes-mercury-prize-a7350236.html (accessed 29 November 2017)

Campion, C. (2004) Inside grime. The Observer, 23 May. Available at: http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1223537,00.html (accessed 27 November 2017).

Collins, H. (2014). The Second Coming of Grime. The Guardian. 27 March. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/mar/27/secondcoming-of-grime-dizzee-rascal-wiley (accessed 29 November 2017)

McKinnon M (2005) Grime wave. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 May. Available at: http://archive.li/AoOPN (Accessed 27 November 2017) Melville C (2004) Beats, rhymes and grime. New Humanist 119(6). Available at: http://newhumanist.org.uk/822/beats-rhymes-and-grime (accessed 27 November 2017) 9

1803647 CR3026 Platt, P. (2015). Grime isn’t just music. The Independent. 7 December. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/student/istudents/grime-isn-tjust-music-it-s-about-working-class-struggle-and-its-new-middle-classfans-need-to-a6777256.html (accessed 29 November 2017) Quirk J (2004) It’s grime’s time. The Guardian, 7 August. Available at: www.guardian.co.uk/music/2004/aug/07/popandrock (accessed 28 November 2017).

Discography Bugzy Malone (2017) Make or Break (King of the North). III Gotten Records Crazy Titch (2003) I Can C U (Single). After Shock JME (2008) Serious (Famous?). Boy Better Know Lethal Bizzle (2004) Pow! (KiDULTHOOD: Music from the Motion Picture). Relentless Skepta (2016) That’s Not Me (Konnichiwa). Boy Better Know Stormzy (2017) Gang Signs & Prayer. #Merky Records Stormzy (2017) Lay Me Bare (Gang Signs & Prayer). #Merky Records

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