Poor State of Grime

gumdrops

Well-known member
i suppose grime is still young and small enough for 'the scene' to regulate membership and authenticity like that - it wont last long though. and i dont see that as a bad thing. its like if new york rappers in the early 80s denied that rappers in philadelphia were making hip-hop (which incidentally, is what they did do, lol, but it was churlish to keep that up).
 

hint

party record with a siren
gumdrops said:
i suppose grime is still young and small enough for 'the scene' to regulate membership and authenticity like that

I'd define it more as burying your head in the sand
 

Logan Sama

BestThereIsAtWhatIDo
Virus definitely make Grime/Dubstep

They had a show on Rinse, Mark one has been putting out tunes in the garage scene for years, Plasticman used to produce for them.
 

SIZZLE

gasoline for haters
re: the grime scene needs more comps/LPs that replicate that pirate feeling: watch for Heavy Meckle, a new MixCD by myself Matt Shadetek and my girl DJ Sheen. It's hosted by Ears from Jahmek The World / Neckle Camp alongside Jammer, Flamin, Knuckles, Spooky and Al Blaze. Its a 41 track continuous DJ mix with the MCs freestyling over it, first half instros with freestyles second half vocal tunes. Everything on there has been cleared with the artists, this is not a bootleg ripoff thing. As far as a lot of the comments about how hard it is to organize something like this, its very true, it is really difficult and has some unfortunate side effects like a lot of the stuff on here has now gotten old during the process (although we still have a bunch of Jahmek The World exclusives, riddims and vocal tunes both). However, it is NOT impossible to do something like this with a limited budget and if you start phoning these people up you will find that if you are cool and have a good pitch most of them will be friendly and cooperative.

And Logan, if me and my girl can do this from New York and Berlin respectively then Im sure you can as well. With your new spot on Kiss and all that I think if you called up almost anyone in the scene and said hey let me use this tune for my new mix very few people would front. I'd love to hear it personally.

sizzle sht aka matt shadetek aka duane weade aka dj endless vacation
 

Tha Megatron

Well-known member
On the mixtape note...yeah i sorta did the same thing with my mix cd thats out at the moment. Its mostly done on my own with the help of artists that I tried linking up with over the phone through the contact info on their records and also by reaching out to US mcs who were down to freestyle over some Grime beats. I was aiming at the general American audience so that they get a chance to check out something new but at the same time hear something different from familiar MCs from out here in the Bay Area. So far the responce is great but I wish it was a bit more lively here at home since the US.
And on the point Logan brought up I agree about the events for sure. I hope that in the future more people actually show up to a Grime party with local US djs like they do to a show featuring live artists because without the support the scene here could die quick. Why spend the money on wax when there isnt anyone to dj for? As for the UK I just hope that history doesnt repeat it self with the scene getting locked down when Garage was getting a bad name with all the violence going on and the clubs not hosting the parties anymore.

Nice discussion on this topic for sure though. We all gotta stick together to get this music heard.

mega
 

Tha Megatron

Well-known member
gumdrops said:
where can we hear your mixtape? it'd be interesting to hear some US MCs on grime beats....

well at the moment its only avalible for sale on the internet at westcoastmixtapes.com which includes a dvd i made with grime music videos featuring Dizzee, Wiley, Lethal B and more. Kinda old videos but i basically just worked with what i had and put it in as a bonus for the US folks who might never see these videos on TV or even the internet.
Also I heard that recently they been playing the mix cd on Rinse FM a few times this past week. I was blown away pretty much when i heard about that for reals. But yeah hopefully I can figure out some way to get copies to some shops out there willing to carry it and stuff. Til then west coast mixtapes is the best bet at the moment.
oh and theres a sample clip too by the way...

mega
 

Fritz

New member
Tha Megatron said:
Why spend the money on wax when there isnt anyone to dj for?

Because you love the music? I've only been able to DJ a couple of grime sets here in Washington, but I still order a couple of records every month from Rhythm Division, Juno or Uptown. It would obviously be easier to go onto DC++ or something and download mp3s, but I'm not impressed with the poor sound quality and radio rips, and anyway, I'd rather give support the artists and the record shops. Maybe Ruff Sqwad will actually make some money and improve the quality of the vinyl they use for their white labels.
 

Tha Megatron

Well-known member
Fritz said:
Because you love the music? I've only been able to DJ a couple of grime sets here in Washington, but I still order a couple of records every month from Rhythm Division, Juno or Uptown. It would obviously be easier to go onto DC++ or something and download mp3s, but I'm not impressed with the poor sound quality and radio rips, and anyway, I'd rather give support the artists and the record shops. Maybe Ruff Sqwad will actually make some money and improve the quality of the vinyl they use for their white labels.

My comment was more of an observation of what some people who cant afford Grime records but love the music might think. Me personally i spend most of my record money ordering vinyl from overseas. I usually do all vinyl sets and never really go looking to download grime tunes on the net...not even legally. I buy the tracks because I do have a love for the music myself. The comment I made was more geared towards how hard it is to even keep up buying tracks that end up being so expensive and how in the scene here in the states there is barely any type of return from spending that cash like from getting paid gigs for example. Its just gets frustrating to have a love for some great music while bills, rent, and stuff like that get in the way.

I didnt mean to step on anyones toes with my comments. I hope in the future that Im able to keep buying records and keep supporting the scene from a dj aspect. I guess I was just making a comment and bringing up the issue about how the scene can grow to where the music can become more affordable for people out here to buy in the states. That exchange rate really kills my wallet sometimes...

mega
 

blissblogger

Well-known member
ryan17 said:
The Roll Deep album and the Kano album with both on special display at a Tower Records in Northern Virginia. It is certainly not a special T.R. where they push 'new' stuff or anything. I imagine them being a chain and everything that most towers in the states are doing the same thing.

I remember Simon Reynolds having numbers for how Dizzee's and Wiley's albums sold in the states. Does anyone (Simon) have numbers for Roll Deep and Kano?


ah well that's cos of my NY mate Paul Kennedy -- he's the import buyer for the whole Tower chain and he always pushes grime and UK garage amongst other things (the Russian Futurists!). there's like an absurd number of 2step compilations in the Tower at 4th and Broadway. they even had the second So Solid album that nobody bought, not even people in the UK. he's really dedicated in his support and i guess has been able to get people to display things prominently throughout the chain

roll deep and kano haven't been released in the US, they're imports, so there won't be any figures as such-- plus they've only just come out, right? whereas wiley was released domestically, some while ago. it supposedly sold only 940 copies or something like that. it didn't do too well in the UK either from what i gather

lady sov is grime too! she started her career hanging out in So Solid chatrooms! Been on loads of records w/ accredited grime mcs.

if grime isn't expansive enough to encompass someone like Sov then it's got problems
 

nomos

Administrator
blissblogger said:
lady sov is grime too! she started her career hanging out in So Solid chatrooms! Been on loads of records w/ accredited grime mcs.

if grime isn't expansive enough to encompass someone like Sov then it's got problems

i'll second that
 

nomos

Administrator
Logan, I know you're not saying that to be a real grime person you have to be making money at it. ;)

But I'm really curious now, because the same issue keeps coming up, how do you yourself distinguish between a legitimate member of the grime scene and an outsider/poseur/marginal type? How much does it have to do with a sound, a person's associates, their everyday life, geography, economic status, etc? And can the definition change?
 

Logan Sama

BestThereIsAtWhatIDo
I would say it depends on the attitude of the artist, their history of who they have worked with and what paths they have gone down.

Anyone can make a Grime tune, but I wouldn't say that it made them a grime artist. Britney vocalled Neptunes beats that sounds pretty damn underground, but it didn't change what peg hole she fell into.

Obviously it is harder with "newer" artists because you don't have an easily obtainable or wide frame of reference.
 

dominic

Beast of Burden
Logan Sama said:
Virus definitely make Grime/Dubstep

They had a show on Rinse, Mark one has been putting out tunes in the garage scene for years, Plasticman used to produce for them.

according to my sources, mark one was the big tekno junglist along with guy called g, marcus da intellect, mc rush, mc shine, family foundation and umoja studios in manchester way back in the day, i.e., 91/92/93

and they had a pirate station called "frontline," which broke the jungle sound in manchester

so is this indeed one and the same person?
 
Last edited:

minikomi

pu1.pu2.wav.noi
according to my sources, mark one was the big tekno junglist along with guy called g, marcus da intellect, mc rush, mc shine, family foundation and umoja studios in manchester way back in the day, i.e., 91/92/93

and they had a pirate station called "frontline," which broke the jungle sound in manchester

so is this indeed one and the same person?


and if so, does this path make him grime?
 

soul_pill

Well-known member
It's definitely not the same Mark One - he's about 21 - which would have made him 7 in ' 91.

I suppose it is possible.
 
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