Grime Top Tens

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tom pr

Well-known member
Sick Boy said:
"bad boy from nigeria not st. lucia/ joseph junior adenuga/ big lips, african hooter"
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There was an even blunter extension of that I've heard Skepta do a few times that's along the lines of 'your girl always wants to phone me/even though I've got dry elbows and a gigantic nose'. Wish I could remember it properly; anyone?

Can't test me or Skepta/I'll come like Achilles and take out Hector.
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I love it when MCs have little replies to each others bars, like Skepta's to that: 'Couldn't test me or Wiley/We roll deep in the ends man are rated highly/Draw for the shank give an MC a smiley/You know me it's DTI stylee/my name's Junior, his name's Kylie/We make a big mic man look tiny'

And Skepta and Trim's:

'I just tuck in my chain, zip up my jacket/Trim's got beef, I'm gonna back it'
'I just bill up the zoot, pull out the shank/Junior's got beef I've got his back'

I have odd bits of these wrong though I'm sure...
 
rockypoppy2

rockypoppy2

wtf?
tom pr said:
There was an even blunter extension of that I've heard Skepta do a few times that's along the lines of 'your girl always wants to phone me/even though I've got dry elbows and a gigantic nose'. Wish I could remember it properly; anyone?

..
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would almost guarantee that is on the fantastic reign tune done for matt shadetek
 
S

Sick Boy

All about pride and egos
tom pr said:
There was an even blunter extension of that I've heard Skepta do a few times that's along the lines of 'your girl always wants to phone me/even though I've got dry elbows and a gigantic nose'. Wish I could remember it properly; anyone?
Click to expand...

My pleasure:

"I've got big lips and a rubber nose/ dry elbows skinny and bony
when I was young girls didn't want to know me/ now they put £20 credit on their phone just to phone me"

Another classic.
 
T

tom pr

Well-known member
Oh yeah, those bars were brilliant, I think both of these Skepta ones were from about the same time (when he did that 2 hour show with Plastician, and had the Mike Jones bars and stuff). This one was different though, it ended really bluntly on the 'gigantic nose' bit. It was on something I was listening to the other day, I'll have a rummage later...
 
2

28 Gun Nice Boy

Well-known member
10 Grime LP Tracks (not released on vinyl)

The downside with the recent Grime Mixtape boom is that a lot of great music isn't getting released on vinyl. Here are ten mixtape tracks that I really wish were released on 12":

1. 'Xtra (Vocal Mix)' Ruff Sqwad (Guns & Roses Vol.2): possibly Ruff Sqwad's greatest moment to date and it was only ever released on vinyl as an instrumental.
2. 'Crash Bandicoot' Wiley (Tunnel Vision Vol.1): Wiley's greatest vocal performance, his bars on this always leave my head spinning.
3. 'The Burner' Roll Deep (Rules & Regulations): The riddim for this is Wiley's brutal 'Babylon Burner' which again was only released on vinyl as an instrumental; the bars on the vocal version just give it even more energy though.
4. 'R U Dumb?(Vocal Mix)'JME feat. Wiley, Cookie & Tempa T (Poomplex): This was released as an instrumental on a Skepta EP. It sounds a bit plodding without the vocals though and JME's bars are some of his funniest.
5. 'Back Wid A Bang' Frisco feat. Skepta & Flow Dan (Back II Da Lab Vol.2): Heavy, heavy Wiley riddim. Luckily 'Fully Grown' from Back II Da Lab Vol.1 has recently got a 12" release otherwise it would have to be on this list too.
6. 'Against All Oddz' Lethal B (Against All Oddz): The riddim for this is Plastic Man's awesome 'Burial' which only ever came out on dubplate.
7. 'Free Roachie' Trim feat. Slix & Lee Brasco(Soul Food Vol.2): This one is crazily intense.
8. 'U Do U' Slix feat. Tinchy Stryder & Jammer (Down): Great hook by Stryder. Other highlights from this LP 'Stuntin', 'Dodgy Niggaz' & 'Maniac' also deserved to get a vinyl release.
9. 'Weather Man' Durrty Doogz (Axiom)
10. '45 In Da Doorside' Jammer feat. Chronik (Are U Dumb?)
 
slackk

slackk

-
I heard best of tunnel vision is dropping on vinyl.

it would sell serious units, i hope this isn't a lie.
 
G

gumdrops

Well-known member
xpost - i agree, most of these lyrics are just good on a song to get you hype or just cos of the mc's voice or flow. theres nothing i really rewind and think wow thats 'a great lyric'. a lot of grime lyrics are just totally random from one line to the next (even someone like footsie who im a big fan of) and dont really mean anything. but a lot of dizzees early bars like stop dat etc are really catchy and even though its just dance instructions, somewhere between his vocal phrasing and his textual phrasing, i think he stumbles onto genius. but imo THATs what makes most grime mcs great, not 'good' lyrics like imagine (on showtime) for example. skepta is consistently memorable lyrically though. i do think he does genuinely make an effort to write good lyrics. he reminds me more of an early 90s/late 80s rapper in that sense - hes really into narrative.
 
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P

petergunn

plywood violin
28 Gun Nice Boy said:
The downside with the recent Grime Mixtape boom is that a lot of great music isn't getting released on vinyl. Here are ten mixtape tracks that I really wish were released on 12":

1. 'Xtra (Vocal Mix)' Ruff Sqwad (Guns & Roses Vol.2): possibly Ruff Sqwad's greatest moment to date and it was only ever released on vinyl as an instrumental.
2. 'Crash Bandicoot' Wiley (Tunnel Vision Vol.1): Wiley's greatest vocal performance, his bars on this always leave my head spinning.
3. 'The Burner' Roll Deep (Rules & Regulations): The riddim for this is Wiley's brutal 'Babylon Burner' which again was only released on vinyl as an instrumental; the bars on the vocal version just give it even more energy though.
4. 'R U Dumb?(Vocal Mix)'JME feat. Wiley, Cookie & Tempa T (Poomplex): This was released as an instrumental on a Skepta EP. It sounds a bit plodding without the vocals though and JME's bars are some of his funniest.
5. 'Back Wid A Bang' Frisco feat. Skepta & Flow Dan (Back II Da Lab Vol.2): Heavy, heavy Wiley riddim. Luckily 'Fully Grown' from Back II Da Lab Vol.1 has recently got a 12" release otherwise it would have to be on this list too.
6. 'Against All Oddz' Lethal B (Against All Oddz): The riddim for this is Plastic Man's awesome 'Burial' which only ever came out on dubplate.
7. 'Free Roachie' Trim feat. Slix & Lee Brasco(Soul Food Vol.2): This one is crazily intense.
8. 'U Do U' Slix feat. Tinchy Stryder & Jammer (Down): Great hook by Stryder. Other highlights from this LP 'Stuntin', 'Dodgy Niggaz' & 'Maniac' also deserved to get a vinyl release.
9. 'Weather Man' Durrty Doogz (Axiom)
10. '45 In Da Doorside' Jammer feat. Chronik (Are U Dumb?)
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a tuff list to make these days... i think you would have to use "Xtra" as the endpoint, in the sense that it was the last great grime song you EXPECTED to be able to buy on wax...

like when i bought "soulfood" and "axiom", i did so b/c i had no expectations whatsoever to find any of the songs on there on wax, like ever...
 
rockypoppy2

rockypoppy2

wtf?
gumdrops said:
xpost - i agree, most of these lyrics are just good on a song to get you hype or just cos of the mc's voice or flow. theres nothing i really rewind and think wow thats 'a great lyric'. a lot of grime lyrics are just totally random from one line to the next (even someone like footsie who im a big fan of) and dont really mean anything. but a lot of dizzees early bars like stop dat etc are really catchy and even though its just dance instructions, somewhere between his vocal phrasing and his textual phrasing, i think he stumbles onto genius. but imo THATs what makes most grime mcs great, not 'good' lyrics like imagine (on showtime) for example. skepta is consistently memorable lyrically though. i do think he does genuinely make an effort to write good lyrics. he reminds me more of an early 90s/late 80s rapper in that sense - hes really into narrative.
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i would most definately throw trim, doogz, and wiley in there along with skepta - though wiley can sometimes get a bit lazy with lyrics. i agree that the newham gens dont really say much, its the way they say stuff that gets the place lively.
 
S

Sick Boy

All about pride and egos
rockypoppy2 said:
i would most definately throw trim, doogz, and wiley in there along with skepta - though wiley can sometimes get a bit lazy with lyrics. i agree that the newham gens dont really say much, its the way they say stuff that gets the place lively.
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I can't say enough good things about Trim - he is lyrically brilliant. IMO, no one can touch him or Skepta lyrically. Trim is a fucking master with the references, irony, tongue-in-cheek remarks, sarcasm, witticisms, puns and seamless shifts between the serious and light-hearted way he handles his subject matter.

Doogz, Kano, Dizzee, Ghetto - all great lyricists, but stand out for me because of their deadly flow and intensity. For me, really great grime lyrics are the ones that play the ambiguous position.

D Double is entirely flow - his style is amazing because its almost like the lyrics themselves are secondary, selected only to compliment the mind-bending way he fucks about with syllables. That one line "head get mangle then dangle/ to the side just like i wear my kangol/ nowadays i'm on arms just like a bangle/ test me and you will get / manhandled" is such a great line basically because of the way he wraps his mouth around it.
 
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viktorvaughn

Well-known member
Trim is a don. I think he is above Skepta.

I love funny throwaway lines like Slix's

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I'm number one/Like three minus two is
 
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gumdrops

Well-known member
kano has rapidly fallen from grace imo. and dont talk about his lyrics now, cos theyre just borrowed and rehashed from a load of american rap records. i think hes been doing that for a while though. even on mic fight he was beginning to sound a bit silly.
 
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viktorvaughn

Well-known member
The 'super lyrical' MCs like Ghetto/Kano and Doogz never really interested me. Lack of humour in part i think. Fine for war tracks (like Ghetto's incredible slew of Wiley on Nightbus was it?) but not mixtape.

I listened to Scorcher's new mixtape the other day and it seemed shockingly bad. That whole Movement axis are waste, except for Mercston's mixtaew which is brilliant.

MCs with weird jerky flows/voices like Devilman and DEE get me everytime though.
 
mos dan

mos dan

fact music
viktorvaughn said:
The 'super lyrical' MCs like Ghetto/Kano and Doogz never really interested me. Lack of humour in part i think. Fine for war tracks (like Ghetto's incredible slew of Wiley on Nightbus was it?) but not mixtape.
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I would separate Ghetto/Wretch/Kano from Goodz, personally. The latter has that grace, wit, and change of styles that make his lyricism exciting. The other three - actually mostly Ghetto - I just find a bit whiny tbh, and end up craving a bit of Tempz.
 
V

viktorvaughn

Well-known member
mos dan said:
I would separate Ghetto/Wretch/Kano from Goodz, personally. The latter has that grace, wit, and change of styles that make his lyricism exciting. The other three - actually mostly Ghetto - I just find a bit whiny tbh, and end up craving a bit of Tempz.
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Fair point, that was a bit lazy of me! I like Durrty Whirl and Its Real lots.

Here is DJ Glue with Nasty Jack, Armour and Stormin - 19 Aug 03.

EVERYONE must get this, Jack is amazing on it.

http://files.filefront.com/01+Freeze+FM+927+19+AuDmp3/;8439562;/fileinfo.html
 
T

tom pr

Well-known member
Revisiting this thread, god knows how I didnt have trim in my top ten. I rate him higher than anyone except Skepta and Wiley and maybe old Dizzee and Kano these days.

oi fam, think of a number and suck your mum times that,
divide it by two and suck your dad,
i saw your nan in yellow pages,
tracksuits with matching hats

that bit on the Turbulance remix about 'a group of people that live life on fast forward' always gets me too.
 
S

Sick Boy

All about pride and egos
I can understand how some would rate Dizzee Rascal above Wiley as being the greatest MC in grime (although I don't), but I think when it comes to the greatest grime artist on the whole, it is almost indisputably Wiley, and will likely be seen that way in years to come. He never made an album better than Boy In Da Corner, but on the other hand he has embodied the spirit of the genre consistently from the very beginning (before the beginning even), and set most of the levels for what it was to be a grime MC and producer. Wiley IS grime, he is grime incarnate, and that's why he sits, never to be moved, in my number 1 spot.
 
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