Grime | |
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Cultural origins | Early 2000s, London, United Kingdom |
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Grime is a genre of music that emerged in London in the early 2000s. It developed out of earlier UK electronic music styles, including UK garage and jungle, and draws influence from dancehall, ragga and later hip hop. The style is typified by rapid, syncopated breakbeats, generally around 130 or 140 bpm, and often features an aggressive or jagged electronic sound.Rapping is also a significant element of the style, and lyrics often revolve around gritty depictions of urban life.
The style initially spread among pirate radio stations (such as Rinse FM) and underground scenes before achieving some mainstream recognition in the UK during the mid-2000s through artists such as Dizzee Rascal, Kano, Lethal Bizzle, and Wiley. Other prominent artists include Ghetts, Jme, Skepta, Stormzy and grime crews such as Boy Better Know, Newham Generals, Roll Deep, and Ruff Sqwad. In the mid-2010s, grime began to receive popular attention in North America.
Grime emerged in the early 2000s in London's East End. It has origins tied with UK pirate radio stations such as Rinse FM, Deja Vu FM, Freeze 92.7 and Raw Mission. At this point, the style was known by a number of names, including 8-bar (meaning eight-bar verse patterns), nu shape (which encouraged more complex 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", "Ice Rink" and "Igloo" by Wiley, "Pulse X" by Musical Mob and "Creeper" by Danny Weed.