In 2002, the UK garage scene was well under way: artists such as Artful Dodger, Heartless Crew and MJ Cole were dominating the club scene as well as making their way into the charts. But while that genre moved from the underground to the mainstream, another closely linked sub-genre, grime, was in gestation in east London; Bow, to be precise. Teenagers were making music on PCs in their bedrooms and laying the foundations for a movement that would rise and fall and rise again over the following 15 years. Ruff Sqwad (whose members included Tinchy Stryder), Wiley, Kano and Dizzee Rascal were among them.
It was the latter’s 2003 debut album, Boy in Da Corner, that brought grime to mainstream attention and cemented its place in music history after it won the Mercury Prize, beating Radiohead, Coldplay and The Darkness in the process.
Now, 13 years on, Dizzee will perform that album in its entirety as a one-off Red Bull Music Academy special tomorrow night at London’s Copper Box Arena. In its honour, here’s a rundown of the 10 moments that have defined this quintessentially British genre and seen it take over the world – finally leading to another Mercury win, that of Skepta last month.
Wiley launches Eskimo Dance 2002
Dubbed, “The Godfather of Grime”, Wiley founded the biggest live grime night in the country, calling it Eskimo Dance. It was a chaotic rave, with MCs and DJs competing to get to the stage and perform. The first Eskimo Dance took place at Area nightclub in Watford, with queues to get in snaking down the road. “It was like an MC Cup Final,” DJ Logan Sama has said. “It always felt like the culmination of all the work MCs put into radio sets for the months leading up to it.” Eskimo Dance ran until 2005, and was revived for the Red Bull Culture Clash at the O2 earlier this year.
The release of ‘Boy in Da Corner’ 2003
It might have been par for the course on pirate stations such as Deja Vu, but Dizzee’s first single, “I Luv U”, was like nothing people had heard on mainstream radio before. Boy in Da Corner quickly became the most talked-about British urban record of the year, then simply the most talked-about record of the year when Dizzee won the Mercury Prize. At the time, The Wire magazine described the impact on grime of “I Luv U” as “analogous to ‘Anarchy in the UK’ for punk rock”.
Ruff Sqwad set the tone with ‘Functions on the Low’ 2004
The Ruff Sqwad was responsible for some famous early grime instrumentals, of which this was the most brilliant. Basic-sounding, raw and different from anything in the charts, this sound formed the basis for grime for years to come. Of its members, Tinchy Stryder is the most famous now: he went from Ruff Sqwad to chart-topping pop star (releasing “Number One” with N Dubz), and appeared on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in 2014.
Wiley and Kano go head-to-head 2004
The Lord of the Mics rap battles, originally held by Jammer of Boy Better Know in his mum’s east London basement, were renowned as the best in the business. One of the most famous battles was Wiley and Kano’s head-to-head. Kano went on to release the critically acclaimed album Home Sweet Home in 2006 and was championed by Mike Skinner of The Streets. The Lord of the Mics was one of the best breeding grounds for grime talent and DVD releases of old-school battles are still available now.
Lethal Bizzle arrives 2004
Lethal Bizzle had already enjoyed success as Lethal B as part of Morefire Crew; their track “Oi” became a top 10 hit in 2002. Branching out on his own, Lethal – real name Maxwell Ansah – went on to become one of the most commercially successful grime artists, with hits including 2006 single “Pow (Forward)”. He and Skepta, who released “Too Many Man” in 2009, were responsible for keeping up grime’s profile through the Noughties. Lethal has continued to release music consistently, right up to the recent “Rari Workout”, “Fester Skank” and “Wobble”.
Form 696 2006
The Metropolitan Police introduced this “risk assessment form” to target violence at music events, requiring venues to describe the type of music being played. It was widely seen as an attempt to put a block on grime and hip-hop events, and led to big urban gigs being cancelled at the risk of venues losing their licences. This slowed the commercial rise of grime: there was little likelihood it would be played live in clubs after this point. So Solid Crew’s Megaman said of the ruling, “If you’ve been affiliated with gangs, then the 696 form will prevent you from performing and moving forwards. That kind of thing leaves many artists disheartened and forces them to return to the negativity they were involved in before.” The form is still in use today, though it has been revised and venues are no longer asked for details of the music style.
The return to the charts 2014
After several years in the wilderness, the return of grime to mainstream culture was heralded by Tottenham MC Meridian Dan and his track “German Whip”. Meridian grew up with Skepta and JME and had been making music since he was a teen. After “German Whip” became an underground success, it was given a commercial release in 2014 and hit the higher reaches of the charts. Skepta then released “That’s Not Me”, featuring his brother JME, with an £80 video that went on to win a Mobo Award.
Kanye performs ‘All Day’ at the Brits 2015
It’s debatable whether grime needed the helping hand of Kanye West to complete its comeback, but it can’t have hurt when he brought members of Boy Better Know, as well as Stormzy, up on stage as he performed his new single “All Day”. Dressed all in black, with hoods up, they provided a powerful moment in an otherwise tediously mainstream show. It also opened up the debate about why grime was not being acknowledged in the mainstream, despite its popularity.
Stormzy uploads ‘Shut Up’ to YouTube 2015
Instead of releasing the single on a label, the south London rapper uploaded this freestyle filmed in a local park, on an iPhone, to YouTube. It racked up five million views in its first week and 22-year-old Stormzy went on to become one of the most in-demand artists of the year, performing at every major festival. He even released “Shut Up” officially in December in a bid to get to Christmas number 1 – and managed a creditable number 8.
Drake ‘signs’ to BBK February 2016
After the Brits this year, superstar US rapper Drake made a surprise appearance at a gig in Shoreditch by east London group Section Boyz. After the show, he claimed he was the “first Canadian signed to BBK”, aka the Boy Better Know label part-run by grime star-of-the-moment Skepta – the only glitch being that he has a pretty major deal with Lil Wayne’s Young Money label (a subsidiary of Universal), which released his latest album, Views, in March. It may have been a publicity stunt, but it secured Skepta’s place as the head of the music movement of the moment and raised his profile worldwide. He went on to win the Mercury Music Prize in September.
Dizzee Rascal performs at the Copper Box arena on Saturday 21st October http://uktour.redbullmusicacademy.com/