252. DaVinche feat Kele Le Roc & Remerdee – Frontline
Posted: September 9, 2013 Filed under: grime | Tags: a song a day, big-e-d, d double e, davinche, footsie, frontline, grime, kele le roc, monkey, newham generals, remerdee, staccato Leave a comment
Woefully underrated grime number from one of the finest producers it ever spat out, DaVinche. “Frontline” originally appeared as a Newham Generals track produced by Big-E-D to much fanfare and is still arguably, one of the classic tracks from the genre. This version, spruced up by DaVinche, showed how you can combine the soul of vocals with the edgy staccatos of grime and sometimes morbid sounds; without a market to sell it to, it’ll simply remain a hidden gem.
Davinch the Grinch
233. Roll Deep – Eskimo (Vocal)
Posted: August 21, 2013 Filed under: grime | Tags: a song a day, dizzee rascal, eskimo, flowdan, grime, harry toddler, roll deep, street anthems, verse, vocal, when i'm ere, wiley Leave a comment
I’m not sure if this was recorded years ago or (more likely) pieced together from studio verses for their 2009 “Street Anthems” album but you couldn’t ask for a finer slice of grime. Featuring a blistering opener from Wiley and a classic verse from Dizzee (would’ve been interesting clearing that, given his ongoing shunning of Wiley on Twitter), “Eskimo” is the song that defined grime for so long that it only seemed apt to give it a worthwhile version.
The only close rival to this showcasing the entire crew would be “When I’m ‘Ere”, also added to the Spotify playlist .
226. XTC – Functions On The Low
Posted: August 14, 2013 Filed under: grime | Tags: 16 bit, a song a day, computer games, functions on the low, grime, instrumental, Megadrive, real, ruff sqwad, SNES, UK, uk funky, XTC Leave a comment
Grime as a genre was one of the most exciting the UK has produced in a long time. The concept of “being real” has long been a key one to any scene over here and none carried that feeling more than what came out of urban areas between 2002 and 2007 (before the onslaught of UK Funky et al)
This track, commonly labeled as a Ruff Sqwad production, showed off the lighter, more emotional side of grime instrumentals. What gets overlooked is the heavy video game influence from the original SNES and Megadrive games, that 16 bit sound that can be heard not only in texture but also melody. “Functions” mirrors this influence and in part, became one of the biggest instrumentals of its era.
214. Bashy feat Jareth – These Are The Songs
Posted: August 2, 2013 Filed under: #hotfor2013, garage, grime | Tags: a song a day, acting, acton, Bashy, creeper, danny weed, garage, grime, jareth, more fire, oi, these are the songs, west london Leave a comment
Grime star turned credible UK rap act, Bashy has been quiet for a couple of years. With a promising acting career keeping him occupied, it’s good to see him return to his musical roots with “These Are The Songs”. A healthy nod towards the old skool, referencing old garage tracks and sampling Danny Weed’s grime hit “Creeper” as well as More Fire’s “Oi!”, it breaks into a full on breakbeat pop chorus that’ll have you hands in the airing like you just don’t caring.
A strong return for the Acton man.
207. Skepta feat Jewels – Somebody’s Everything
Posted: July 26, 2013 Filed under: electronica, grime | Tags: 3 beat, a song a day, blacklisted, grime, jewels, post grime, rapper, skepta, somebody everything Leave a comment
Skepta’s been featured a few times on this blog, mainly due to his stand out ability amongst most UK rappers as a spokesman of the scene. He seems at a constant juxtaposition – chasing commercial hits but never quite nailing the quality required, whereas when he makes underground hits, being undeniably great. A problem I’m sure he’ll resolve soon.
“Somebody’s Everything” comes from his latest album “Blacklisted” (as featured for recent entry “Lay Her Down”), badly listed as track 9. It’s Skepta’s take on the iconisation of women in society and whereas most rappers seem hell bent on objectification, he shows a rare side of introspection in understanding the difficulty in being a female target. Not to say he absolves himself of blame but then again, that’s the point – be honest and say what’s true, not what’s ideal.
Get the album now, it’s a grower and his best work to date.
Red on red
187. TNGHT – Higher Ground
Posted: July 6, 2013 Filed under: electronica, grime, trap | Tags: a song a day, chicago, cruel summer, electronica, glasgow, grime, higher ground, hudmo, hudson mohawke, Kanye west, lunice, tnght, trap, yeezus Leave a comment
TNGHT, alias of Kanye favourite Hudson Mohawke and Lunice caused a stir in 2012 when they dropped their self titled EP. “Higher Ground” garnered the greatest attention, a majestically odd clash of grime influences, trap and all manner of electronic nonsense. Hud Mo has gone on to produce further for Kanye (including on “Cruel Summer” & “Yeezus”) and is proving something of a muse for Chicago’s wildest child – not too bad for a kid from the Glasgow suburbs.
Catch them later
173. Professor Green feat Maverick Sabre – Jungle
Posted: June 22, 2013 Filed under: dubstep, glastonbury 2013, grime | Tags: at your inconvenience, dubstep, grime, gritty, hackney, jungle, maverick sabre, Professor green, urban Leave a comment
One of Pro’s best and grittiest tracks since his rebirth as a popular artist, “Jungle” is a story book of the grittier side of urban life. Neither over glamorised nor overblown, it’s rare to have this level of honesty on a track, coupled with decent sales too (close to 100k, remarkable for a non single urban track).
Vocaled by Jamaican sounding but the very definitely Irish Mav Sabre, it’s the kind of track you wish there was more of, that more artists would give a go at.
163. P Money – Bring In The Katz
Posted: June 12, 2013 Filed under: #hotfor2013, grime, hip hop | Tags: #mad, a song a day, breakbeat, bring in the katz, grime, hip hop, kw griff, l-vis 1990, night slugs, p money, pork chop, rinse fm Leave a comment
Originally a fairly bonkers instrumental track featuring rapper Pork Chop (I believe) produced by Baltimore resident KW Griff, L-Vis and the Night Slugs crew saw the vision and signed it, releasing it in 2012 on Club Construction Vol 3. P Money grabbed the track for his free mixtape and spat on it.
Full of quotables, P at his sharp, staccatoing best.
Kid or King of Grime?
120. Brackles – Lighthouse
Posted: April 30, 2013 Filed under: 2 step, bass, garage | Tags: 2 step, a song a day, brackles, disclosure, garage, grime, lighthouse, rinse fm, rinse presents brackles, royal-t, sweep, synth, t.williams, UK Garage Leave a comment
Former 2 stepper and now Rinse FM favourite, Brackles has been carving a trail through nu-bass for the last couple of years. With a bit less edge and a bit more soul than the likes of T.Williams, his productions sweep between the likes of Royal-T’s more garagey stuff down to the bass-led garage of the early noughties.
“Lighthouse” is from his debut release on Rinse last year and rotates around a pulsing bassline, adding arpeggiators and lush synths to paint the picture. It’s club music, but not as inyerface as most of the stuff heralded nowadays.
Brockled
119. Devlin feat Etta Bond – Love Cards #newmusicmonday
Posted: April 29, 2013 Filed under: #hotfor2013, hip hop, new music monday, Uncategorized | Tags: a moving picture, a song a day, bud sweat and beers, chipmunk, devlin, dubstep, emergency room, etta bonda, grime, hip hop, love cards, off with their heads, raf riley, tinchy Stryder, wretch 32 Leave a comment
Not strictly new but “released” (the strange concept of a release schedule in the digital age still lives on) but from Devlin’s album from earlier in the year entitled “A Moving Picture”. A solid album in itself with a couple of definite highlights (aside from “Love Cards”, there’s also the fantastic “Off With Their Heads”, previously covered in this blog) it hasn’t quite connected in the way that the previos “Bud, Sweat and Beers” managed. Quite often the difficulty for UK rappers is maintainin a fanbase beyond that initial burst (see similar issues for the likes of Chipmunk and Tinchy Stryder).
However, putting all that aside, “Love Cards” offers a synthy trip through heartbreak courtesy of Devs and the up and coming Etta Bond. For more on her, check her “Emergency Room” EP with Raf Riley.
It’s on the cards
A Song A Day 2013 