Diggedy Derek
Stray Dog
.... are there any? Reggae and hip hop are both notable for, as well as a number of geniune beefs, quite a few ones invented to boost publicity, have a laugh, and sharpen mic-skills. Yet grime's disses always seem to be either absolutely fearsome, genuinely threatening, or at least tough to the point of wanting to humiliate the opponent. Listening to Aftershock on the 1Xtra UKG mix show the other day, they played the new Fury track (called "New Beginning" or something?), an absolutely furious diss of Shystie ("you don't know if you're reppin East or North London"). And yet it was only the other week that those two seemed tight, recording girl-power type anthem Can Never Hold Us Down.
It's strange, part of hip hop strength is that it can recognise beefs can just be words, not the proverbial sticks and stones. Hip hop recognises there's real life outside dissing. Does grime realise this, or is it too full of testosterone to have a sense of humour about it?
It's strange, part of hip hop strength is that it can recognise beefs can just be words, not the proverbial sticks and stones. Hip hop recognises there's real life outside dissing. Does grime realise this, or is it too full of testosterone to have a sense of humour about it?