There was ‘Too Many Man’

On the 21st of November...2014.

Stairs lead me underground to a dungeon of bucket hats, Adidas and hoodie strings.

No way did I just enter a venue for free, and I’m about to see big Grime artists before my eyes?! All I knew is that my shoes were going to get ruined!

Why did I choose to stand right at the front? The stage displayed three microphone stands, the floor clothed in a mustard Turkish rug. Thick black leads followed to the DJ’s station and my ear drums were not safe. Gigantic 10ft speakers stood on either side of the stage blasting garage beats that you’re hypnotised to bop your head.

Groups of people dressed in all fashions, the Asap Rocky’s stood next to the School Boy Q’s and ironically this wasn’t a hip hop event at all. I started to notice the air was getting heavier with a trace of sweat and weed. Yes, weed.

I was at a Grime Karaoke event.

You wouldn't put those two words together would you? Yeah, neither would I. To clarify, random people put their names down to rap along to a Grime song of their choice. The first group of three girls were so intoxicated that they lasted three minutes on stage and couldn't find their fourth friend. 

The next act was someone who goes by ‘Penguin’. Fluently rapped to every word, the crowd went ballistic! I am dreading to see myself in any photography as I was starting to lose my balance.

People started filming, pushing, shoving, shouting, screaming. This is when it hit me that standing at the front was the worst decision I could make. My ear was glued to the pulsing speaker. My chest was possessed by this monotonous beat.

Why, you ask? Well, because an artist called Ghetts parted the crowd like Moses and took the stage. 

Wearing a black, bear mink scarf with a leather jacket, a leopard print snap back on backwards and navy Nike trainers. It was definitely his definition of swag.

Outside I walked into the newsagents and bought a ten pack of Marlboro Red just so I could walk past his Mercedes (his friend’s Mercedes).

(Yes, that's me checking out his legit mink "sweg")

As I approached him I began to chat about Grime on a level. He smiled showing perfect teeth and put his hands into the right pocket of his jeans; he folded his arms to listen.

“There’s this kid called Wiley, basically he tried his thing at jungle, garage, they never liked him much, they tried push him out because his sound was a little different.”

“You will never be able to understand the present unless you know the history of grime, so when you get home look at things like Crazy Titch, Escobar, Kano when he first started.”

Grime is sourced at home, its authenticity stems from the struggle and conveys the true meaning behind a particular lifestyle. It raised a new platform to talk about the reality of what was happening in that present time.

“The area was changing. More stabbings were happening, people were getting robbed and the music kinda reflected that. It breeded a new type of MC to talk about the reality of what was going on, instead of just talking about “Ollie Ollie Ollie”.”

Perhaps the genre of Grime will continue as a niche and avoid the mainstream chart music but it’s evident that this year it had gained commercial recognition.

“Recently, for me this year has been the most successful, MOBO, BET awards, tours sold out.”

“I dislike that there’s lots of culture vultures that don’t really know much about the scene- f*** all of them.”

He made a habit of looking left and adjusting his black mink scarf. He checked his I-phone 6 then shook his head after realising I’m still there.

“When I die no one cares about chart cred, they’ll care about what I done for the genre.”

"What’s your advice for future grime artists?"

After a momentary pause with police sirens blaring in the background, he answered…

“Don’t send for me.”