Grime-where did it all go wrong?

Dunno exactly.

I started losing interest when it switched from rapid MCing to a bunch of teenagers yelling just random shit hoping that it would catch on like D Double's "mrui mrui" thing.

So I guess sometime after that Forward tune came out.

So basically I'm blaming this all on Napper.


There is still some very good shit in there: Manga, Shizzle,Those guys on the Fuck Radio sets.


Don't know man, you got me into it, you tell me.

Surely there's still good grime being made... it's just not selling, cos it's all being downloaded. Please don't say grime's over, I don't want all the gangsters coming over to dubstep and fucking everything up...

I remember getting heavily slagged on Dissensus for my Stylus review of Run the Road 2. I think a lot more people might share some common ground with me now:

http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/various-artists/run-the-road-volume-2.htm

There's still groundbreaking grime being made..... look for it !

The level of mc's is going up not down

Production is way better than it was

Too many good mc's to name.... Tempa T, Big H, Scorcher, Devlin and the rest of the OT camp, Boy better know, The movement, etc......

It's far too early to say that grime is finished !

Grime is no way finished. Listen to Wiley, JME and Skepta on Westwood the other week for proof. Audio here:

http://www.myspace.com/eskiboywiley

If you're looking for groundbreaking stuff, listen to the macabre unit mixtape ( sidewinder summerball mixtape it's called )

You'll fall in love with grime all over again !

it's true that it feels dead, but there are healthy cells if you look closely. there is waifer and footsie arguably at the top of their game, ruff sqwad, macabre unit still pursuing their amazing aesthetic in anonymity, and now disturbed man dem (who are actually very good). to me all the interesting work has come out of these, or out of nowhere like with 'ghetto kyote'. at least they are putting out records! compare that to the non-existent n.a.s.t.y cd and every mixtape/album promised over the past years. so let roll deep do another top of the pops, wiley shoot himself in the foot again, there is still life (just not enough to sustain the body).

Kaiser said:

If you're looking for groundbreaking stuff, listen to the macabre unit mixtape ( sidewinder summerball mixtape it's called )

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yeah, but that's from 2004, i think

i think it's got worse because producers are trying to make things too complicated and dense (prob the influence of dubstep here). those fruity loop beats banged out in 5 minutes were always the best- that's probably why scratchy's pretty much the best producer out there at the moment, doing stuff on his playstation...

i think generally MCing is much better than it was, especially lyrically, but it's true that there's been no really individual voices to come through recently. there's a lack of idiosyncratic, eccentric MCs whereas there was loads of them in the old days (bruza was perhaps the last one to come through). i think this is probably due to Kano- he introduced a calmer, more lyrical, 'normal' style of MCing.



grime's still the best thing out there, tho.

incidentally, i did a bit on my blog about this yesterday:
http://make-everything-better.blogspot.com

bruno said:

it's true that it feels dead, but there are healthy cells if you look closely.

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This sounds like one of those "The vocal 2-step scene is definitely gonna blow up again in 2007" threads on the uptown forum.

Luka's probably right. It feels very much like it's peaked even though there are still good artists/tunes out there. I felt that way when I left London/RWD last year. So far nothing has made me think I was wrong about that. Everybody I talk to in the scene now is always complaing it's not going anywhere, was better a few years back etc etc. It's been six years now, it's high time something else replaced grime. I think it would do the UK a lot of good.

Well you weren't joking about Sharky Major, thats for sure.


I only have like one really good Nasty Set, and that blows 99% of American Hiphop out of the water.

I was so obsessed with Boy in Da Corner, loved Walkin on Thin Ice.


Somedays I just ask myself if I'm lookin hard enough.



We need to get some these next level youngers over some of Skream's newer stuff.

simon silverdollar said:

i think it's got worse because producers are trying to make things to complicated and dense (prob the influence of dubstep here). those fruity loop beats banged out in 5 minutes were always the best- that's probably why scratchy's pretty much the best producer out there at the moment, doing stuff on his playstation...

i think generally MCing is much better than it was, especially lyrically, but it's true that there's been no really individual voices to come through recently. there's a lack of idiosyncratic, eccentric MCs whereas there was loads of them in the old days (bruza was perhaps the last one to come through). i think this is probably due to Kano- he introduced a calmer, more lyrical, 'normal' style of MCing.



grime's still the best thing out there, tho.

incidentally, i did a bit on my blog about this yesterday:
http://make-everything-better.blogspot.com

Click to expand...

I really don't feel Kanos style compared to a lot of other MCs. I gues he maybe honed his style down to that kind fast regulat rhythmic flow to sound accessible or whatever but he lacks any natural variation like you say, hes like a machine!

luka said:

i have so many nasty tapes from 2001-2003 and they're some of the best bits of music i've ever heard

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you could rip one to prove your point

luka said:

certainly not macarbre unit.

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um they're a bit samey-sounding, i admit. but what they were doing in 2003 was weird and unique. i'll up the evidence, give me a few minutes. here it is

Good

People can now fuck off back to ilx and whatever is currently trendy there.

Cheers

luka said:

how come everyone just stayed on the same level or deteriorated?

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tinchy has gotten much better... no longer just catch phrases...

Even Napper got better !

simon silverdollar said:

i think it's got worse because producers are trying to make things to complicated and dense (prob the influence of dubstep here). those fruity loop beats banged out in 5 minutes were always the best- that's probably why scratchy's pretty much the best producer out there at the moment, doing stuff on his playstation...

Click to expand...

that is crap, isnt it simon? grime's decline has nothing to do with dubstep. And people can't have it both ways - argue for years that grime's next level in terms of production and then blame dubstep for it the moment grime sound plateaus. frankly nothing on a playstation ever beat Boy In Da Corner, and that was made on Logic and a big fat outboard desk.

As much as i'd love there to be more, there's only limited overlap between grime and dubstep beyond the interest from jammer/skepta/tubby/wiley in FWD and skream beats. and skream uses Fruity...

but anyway i'm still into the scene but my issues with grime at the moment are that the new MCs think war and slewing is the whole purpose of grime MCing, whereas when say Trim, Doctor or Bearman drop bars, they're a joy of content and wordplay. so with so many newschool MCs all you get is this wall of reflexive hate or quick reload bars like 'Swiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing/Bang him!!!!' - Which is fine as the exception but not as the rule.

also the wow factor isn't there but that's to be expected. grime felt so fresh compared to 2step and was growing so quickly, but now it's comparing itself with its past glories, something that's harder to compete with.

finally the spirit of hope from the MCs to blow in contrast with the realities of their commercial prospects is starting to become depressing for me because the reality is if someone like Skepta can't get a deal, they're all doomed right now. add to this the depression that the scene can't colaborate with itself enough to start businesses because of all the warring, and the ugly major label machine has locked its doors tightly... well it just makes me sad .