The Evolution of The Grime Music Genre
Tracing the evolution of the Grime music genre and its impact on contemporary music.

UK rappers haven't reached the heights of their colleagues across the Atlantic, but are beginning to make a significant impact in the world. Grime is no longer just for British ears, it's becoming a global fan favorite. Although relatively new compared to traditional hip-hop, grime is already following a similar path. What started as an outlet for young stars in the UK is now globally accepted. However, many people think grime is simply British rap. Oh, how wrong they are...

If you've also always believed that grime simply refers to British rap, don't feel too bad. You're not the only one who's been thinking that. So what is the difference between normal rap and grime? According to Santana Dave, a prominent British rapper, it's all in the beat. Grime, Dave said, plays at a faster tempo with lots of melody in it. For the nerds, grime plays at a minimum of 140 BPM and that can go up. To put it in perspective, it's a bit like trap music where we can recognize it by the tempo of the instrumental.

Where It All Began

Grime is relatively new to the music scene when compared to traditional hip-hop. There's been some debate over which song started it for grime, but it's generally agreed that the year 200 was when it all began for grime. Dizzee Rascal's Crime and Wiley's Year 2000 are strong contenders for the first true grime song, but there's no consensus.

Early grime was a mainly underground genre in the early days, it didn't even have a name back then. Then Wiley released a song called Eskimo and some people started calling it Eskibeat. Others preferred to call it grimey garage because of the influence of garage music and the dark lyrics.

Much like hip-hop, grime started in the streets of London as an outlet for black communities to protest police brutality and other forms of segregation against them. This made grime a tight-knit community early on. Grime rappers would band together to form groups to record and perform their music. Some of these early groups like Roadside Gangsters also had a gang side to them. So much like hip-hop, grime was founded around violence and dissatisfied black communities.

Wiley formed a group called Roll Deep with other rappers like Dizzee Rascal and together, they helped establish grime as a genre on its own. Around the late 2000s, however, grime began to give way to other genres. Even grime pioneers like Wiley had to shift to stay in the public eye. After a short resurgence in the early 2010s, grime declined yet again. Grime finally made its big comeback when new boy Stormzy came on the scene. Since then, the genre has grown from strength to strength.

Top Five Grime Rappers

Grime has been underground for a long time but is finally taking its place as a globally accepted genre. Several grime acts are doing great things across the UK, but these five have set themselves apart in my opinion. From pioneers to new stars, this is a list of my top five grime artists. You may have seen some of these names before…

Wiley

Hailed by many as the Godfather of Grime, Wiley is one of the main pioneers of grime. He started as a regular rapper but then formed a group alongside Dizzee Rascal and some other rappers and together they shifted from traditional UK rap. Their new style came to be known as grime. After recording some success with earlier singles, Wiley released his debut album called Treddin' on Thin Ice. One song off the album, called Wot Do U Call It?, is seen as the song that set grime apart as a genre on its own.

Wiley has gone on to release fifteen studio albums, the most recent one coming out in 2021. He may have wavered from his grime roots a bit during the years of decline, but Wiley is a true rap and grime legend. Listen to him lay it all out in this song called On a Level.

Dizzee Rascal

Another grime pioneer, Dizzee Rascal helped to form the original Roll Deep gang alongside Wiley. In 2003, he released his first studio album and it was an instant success, peaking at number 23 on the UK Top 40. He even became the youngest person to win the coveted Mercury Prize for album of the year. Dizzee has released six more albums and won several awards over the years. He started as a mentee to Wiley but is now being called in the same breath and the legend as a pioneer of grime.

Dizzee's life has had some controversy as well. For example, he was once stabbed six times during a group performance with Roll Deep. Rumors claimed it all started from a feud with a rival gang, but there was no arrest on the matter. He's been there from the start, and he's still going strong. This song called Space gives you a good idea of his style.

Stormzy

Grime was going through a decline in the mid-2000s. Even legends like Wiley had begun drifting to other genres to maintain commercial value. Grime had become an underground genre. Then came Stomrzy. This young rapper from Norbury, London, sparked some excitement in the underground music scene with a series of creative grim freestyles but made his presence fully known in 2014 with the release of Dreamers Disease, his first EP. Three years later, he released his first studio album called Gang Signs and Prayer. By now he was fully established as one of the biggest grime artists around.

To date, Stormzy has only released three studio albums, the last one as recently as October 2022. That said, he has led the resurgence of grime and helped spread it all over the world, but he doesn't stop there. Stormzy has also been quite vocal about political issues, going public with his views more than a few times. If you'd like a taste of Stormzy's energetic rapping, listen to Big Michael.

Final Thoughts

Grime has had a rocky rise to the top. Now that it's in our ears, however, we hope this is the beginning of a golden era. Only about two decades old, grime can finally assert itself as a global genre, and artists like Stomrzy will be at the heart of it. As a fan, I can only watch in excitement as the story unfolds.