paid in full
Derek Walmsley
The big news Grime-wise in London this month
concerns Rinse FM's 14th Birthday party at The End in London on
22nd August – the Pay As U Go Cartel of Slimzee, Wiley, Gods Gift
et al, some of Rinse's earliest stars, are reforming for the event.
Anyone who witnessed Wiley's performance at one of these events a
few months ago will know what to expect in terms of lyrical
intensity. But it's especially heartening to see Slimzee out on the
scene (the DJ who at one point was banned by an ASBO from being on
the higher floors of tall housing blocks). Slimzee's DJ sets were
key to the transition between Garage to Grime proper. His abrasive
dubplates were as cold and tough as concrete streets – they called
out for some human presence, if only to leaven the feeling of sheer
loneliness. It was on these kind of tracks that London MCs first
began to find their voice, and his Sidewinder sets with Dizzee
Rascal are justly revered (they circulate in various forms, but you
can get a taste of them on You Tube
On a similar tip, DJ Rupture's excellent WFMU show Mudd
Up had a special show recently with Bok Bok and Manara,
where they play tons of tracks from this limbo zone between garage
and grime – you can listen here. Lots of
memories for me here, including all but forgotten tracks by Alias,
whose indefatigable toughness almost recalls Belgian Nu Beat.
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