The Wire 300: Simon Reynolds On The Hardcore Continuum #7: Grime (And A Little Dubstep) (2005)

Grime emerged from London's pirate radio underground. Its immediate precursor was two-step (aka UK Garage), which at the turn of the millennium broke into the UK pop mainstream in a massive way. Two-step had been shaped by the "feminine pressure" for sing along melodies and wind-your-waist grooviness. Grime arose as a backlash against this crossover sound, a violent swing in the scene's inner gender-pendulum from yin to yang. Out went two-step's high pitched diva vocals, sensual swing, and sexed up amorousness; in came gruff rapping, stiff electro-influenced beats, and raucous aggression.

MCs have been part of the pirate radio tradition for at least fifteen years, going back through Garage and Jungle to the early days of Hardcore. By the end of the 90s, however, the MCs were moving beyond their customary restricted role as party 'hosts' and sidekicks to the DJ. Instead of gimmicky vocal licks and 'praise the selector' exhortations, they began to rap actual verses: initially, extended takes on traditional boasts about their own mic skills, but soon getting into narrative, complicated metaphors and rhyme schemes, vicious dissing of rivals, and even introspective soliloquies. The MC's rise swiftly eclipsed the DJ, hitherto the most prominent figure on rave flyers or the main designated artist on record releases. 2001 was the turning point, when MCs shunted selectors out of the spotlight. So Solid Crew broke into the pop charts, and the underground seethed with similar collectives modeled on the clan/dynasty structures that prevail in American hiphop and Jamaican dancehall.

Emerging from the transitional sound known as 'Garage rap', Grime really defined itself as a distinct genre when the first tracks appeared that were designed purely as 'MC tools' - riddims for rappers to ride. These Grimestrumentals were largely sourced in the electro diaspora - post-"Sleng Teng" ragga, Miami bass, New Orleans bounce, Dirty South crunk, and 'street rap' producers like Swizz Beats. Like these genres, Grime doesn't go in much for sampling but prefers synths, typically with cheap 'n' nasty timbres that vaguely evoke the Eighties and often seem to be influenced by pulp movie video soundtracks, videogame musik, and even mobile phone ringtones. But in Grime's textured beats and complex programming you can also hear the imprint of the Jungle that most of these late teens/early twenties producers grew up on, alongside folk memory traces of gabba and Techno. Sometimes, listening, you might imagine you can hear uncanny echoes of post-punk era electro-primitivists such as The Normal, DAF, Cabaret Voltaire, or the calligraphic exquisiteness of Japan, Thomas Leer, and The Residents.

Inherited from the period when two-step ruled the top 10, but also inspired by enviously watching the living large of American rap superstars, Grime feels a powerful drive to invade the mainstream and get 'paid in full'. Pirate radio, a broadcast medium with a potentially vast audience, encourages this grandiosity. One peculiar byproduct of Grime's ambition is the scene's craze for DVD releases, like Risky Roadz and Lord Of The Mic, containing documentary material with live footage. It's as if the scene is DIY-ing the sort of TV coverage it feels it deserves but isn't getting. Yet while some of top MCs are being groomed for stardom by major label-owned boutique labels, the day to day reality of Grime is grafting to get by in a narrowcast culture. Selling 500 copies of a track is considered a good result. The way Grime operates - small run vinyl-only pressings and mix-tapes, often sold directly to specialist stores - has a surprising amount in common with the microcultures familiar in these pages, such as Noise, free folk, Improv, and extreme Metal. Like these genres, Grime is what Chris Cutler would call an "engaged" culture, with a high ratio of performers to consumers. These aspiring MCs, DJs and producers have a deeper understanding of what constitutes skill and innovation in their scene. Grime even has an Improv element with its freestyles and MC battles. There's a glorious ephemerality to the way MCs riff off the cuff lyrics during pirate sessions, although fans have always tape recorded the shows and some are now getting archived on the web.

Unlike those globally dispersed microcultures, Grime is geographically concentrated. It's popular across London and has outposts in other multiracial UK cities, but its absolute heartland consists of a few square miles in that part of East London not served by the Tube. In truth, it's a parochial scene, obsessed with a sense of place, riven by internecine conflicts and territorial rivalries (the intense competitiveness being one reason Grime's so creative). Still, despite this insularity, Grime has never been easier for 'outsiders' to investigate, thanks to 1xtra (the BBC's digital radio station for UK 'urban' music; check especially the weekly shows by Cameo and Richie Vibe Vee), the trend for pirates like Rinse FM to go online as well broadcast terrestrially, mail-order via companies like Rhythm Division and Independance, and the swarm of blogs covering the scene.