A Grime poster
Grime, also known as 8-bar, nu shape, sublow and eskibeat, is a style of British music that emerged in Bow, London. It was developed by teens of mostly African and Caribbean heritage, in the early 2000s, primarily as a development of UK Garage, Drum And Bass, Hip Hop and Dancehall. Pioneers of this style include English rappers Skepta, Dizzee Rascal, Wiley, Roll Deep, Kano and N.A.S.T.Y Crew. Grime emerged from Bow, East London with its origins on UK pirate radio stations such as Rinse FM, Deja Vu FM, Freeze 92.7 and Major FM.com which were essential to the evolution of the genre. At this point, the style was known by a number of names, including 8-bar (meaning 8 bar verse patterns), nu shape (which encouraged more complexed 16 bar and 32 bar verse patterns), sublow (a reference to the very low bassline frequencies, often around 40 Hz), as well as eskibeat, a term applied specifically to a style initially developed by Wiley and his collaborators, incorporating dance and electro elements. This indicated the movement of UK garage away from its house influences towards darker themes and sounds. Among the first tracks to be labelled "grime" as a genre in itself were "Eskimo" by Wiley and "Pulse X" by Musical Mob.
Links To Peel[]
John Peel's Grime Mix
The Grime session on Peel's show from 26 May 2004
Peel started playing Grime around early 2004 after listening to the pirate radio station Rinse FM, which he listened to when he was in London.[1] The first Grime record played by Peel was "Battle" by Jon E Cash, who later had an entry with 'International' at number 35 in the 2004 Festive Fifty. According to Sheila in Margrave Of The Marshes (p445), Peel bought many Grime records from Black Market Records in Soho and on one occasion, the record owner called Peel a 'pioneer':
- "On John's initial visit there with his assistant Hermeet, the guy behind the counter, Nicky, had handed them a pile of grime records and said 'Pioneer'. John asked if that was the name of a grime act, but Nicky explained, 'No you're a pioneer, sir, and I just had to say it!' John laughed it off but it clearly made him happy."
On May 2004, Peel and Hermeet decided that there should be an hour grime session on the show. Sheila explains in Margrave Of The Marshes how it occured:
- "The grime night arose because John and Hermeet realised there wasn't anyone playing this music on Radio 1; that made it even more exciting. The studio was overflowing with young DJs whom Hermeet had spotted at a club night in Brixton - there was DJ Eastwood and the Renegade Crew, which comprised MCs Purple, G Double E, IQ and IE. Those among them who had started shaving weren't old enough to vote. Most had previously been used to mixing in their bedrooms or among friends, and now they were going out live on Radio 1. It was quite a gamble putting on these relative unknowns; the music was so under represented on radio that it felt doubly important that the show was a success. John was just pleased to have showcased grime when no one else was playing it; he found the rawness and vitality of the scene rejuvenating."