May 4, 2021 BY No CommentsLATEST NEWS

NEWS: Keepin’ It Grimy’s Weekly Wrap Up: April 23 – May 2

We say it a lot, but with the recent trial raves in Liverpool happening over the weekend, it really does feel like we’re getting back to normal life and back to enjoying Grime in its purest form, live and direct. To celebrate, Keepin’ It Grimy is back with an extra special extended Weekly Wrap Up, showcasing Grime news from the last 7 10 days!

Big Zuu & Big Narstie BAFTA Nominations

At Keepin’ It Grimy, we have always celebrated artists taking their talents beyond the world of music and we have now seen two of the Grime scene’s greatest entertainers, Big Narstie and Big Zuu, who have amassed reputations as exemplars of the transition from music to TV, being celebrated by the elite BAFTA organisation, nominating both artists’ respective shows (The Big Narstie Show for best Comedy Entertainment Programme and Big Zuu’s Big Eats in the Features category) for the prestigious BAFTA award. With both shows having been renewed, we anxiously await the return of the two “big” personalities on our screens, hopefully sporting their new trophy’s. Take in Big Zuu‘s reaction to the news below.

 

FABRICLIVE announces heavyweight Grime lineup for 16th July show

Legendary London nightclub Fabric has a long history of championing the Grime sound and while they prepare to reopen their doors at the end of June, we’ve been blessed with a powerful Grime lineup on the 16th of July as part of their FABRICLIVE Summer festival. Boasting a lineup of D Double E, Novelist, A.G, Grandmixxer, IZCO, Oblig (with Duppy), and TSASHA, this event is SURE to sell out and be an absolute shutdown, make sure you grab your tickets HERE.

Footsie announces new date for ‘No Favours’ Show at the O2

With his headline show having previously been scheduled for February 2021, but then cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Footsie took to Twitter to announce that he has successfully rescheduled the show for the 22nd of September at the O2 Arena in London. This will be Footsie’s first live show since releasing his ‘Favours‘ album almost a year ago in May of 2020, so be sure to grab your tickets to the long-awaited event HERE.

Big Narstie – How to be Narstie

With Big Narstie already having the credentials of being a legendary Grime MC and award-winning TV host, it would be hard to imagine that the former N.A.A member would have time to do anything else (especially since announcing the opening of his new CBD Recovery Gym alongside the regular MMA training he does) but Big Narstie has surprised us again by earning a new title under his belt – that of a published author. Narstie has released a brand new book titled ‘How to be Narstie’, filled with personal stories of Narstie’s life and advice for school, work, and relationships. In his own words, Narstie tells us “Mans here to help you help yourself“, and you can cop a copy of ‘How to be Narstie‘ HERE.

 

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Lyrical Strally – Warm Up Sessions

Making his debut appearance on the SBTV freestyle series, Lyrical Strally takes to the mic to tackle the Warm Up Sessions, offering a change of pace from his usual style, taking the opportunity on the platform to honour his late friend over the instrumental produced by Jazz E Man. LS blends heartwrenching bars about his loss with his signature wordplay and storytelling ability for a sombre performance that is sure to be a stand-out performance in his discography.

Grandmixxer – Hypersonic Symphony

Grandmixxer has finally released his latest long-awaited instrumental EP ‘Harmonic Symphony‘, a 3-track project released under the SLSA label. Dropping on the last day of April, the space-themed instrumentals make heavy use of otherworldly synths to enhance the feeling of vastness in the production, with plenty of pockets for your favourite MC to drop bars or your favourite DJ to chop and blend.

Micofcourse – Of COURSETEX

Continuing his trend of bringing new heat over American beats (in an impromptu new series named the OfCourseMix), Micofcourse is back with ‘Of COURSETEX‘, a remix of Lil Yachty’s ‘Cortex’ with fresh bars over the Cash Cobain produced drill instrumental, dropping playful bars and flows over the rididm while letting loose and dancing in the studio.

Bruza – She Wants Sum

Bruza‘s latest release is an infectious collaboration with Filthy Gears titled ‘She Wants Sum‘ that has the east-ender rattling off rapid-fire bars detailing a night out while drawing girls. Bruza is oozing with confidence in the track, not only in the subject matter but in the delivery of his bars, bringing forth that classic Grime feel from the two veteran MC-Producer combo.

PK – Favela

PK and IZCO have teamed up to bring us a bouncy offering titled ‘Favela‘. The stripped instrumental is far from complicated, with not a lot more than a sparse drum pattern and a short vocal sample, giving the Bad Ombré room to drop his bars in a relaxed manner, while still spitting his regular greaze. The track is an impressive contradiction, somehow making you chill and vibe to it whilst being unable to sit still while it plays.

FOS – Madness ft. Kannan, Eyez

After his well recieved appeareance on The Rap Game UK S2, Scunthorpe’s FOS is back with a vengeance, this time enlisting Kannan and Eyez for their new track ‘Madness‘. All three MCs are on their A-game in this one, rattling off bars with their Grimy-est flows over the trap-inspired instrumental, reminding us to never overlook the Midlands talent.

Silencer – Special Delivery

Veteran producer Silencer is back again with another new instrumental package titled ‘Special Delivery‘, providing us with 8 tracks of pure heat, some of which have already been making the rounds across the scene, while others are brand new releases made for the project. Enjoy the project below but if that’s not enough for you, keep your eyes peeled for Silencer’s “What’s Man On” interview with Keepin’ It Grimy dropping soon on our YouTube channel (CLICK HERE).

Nasty Jack – Fifa 12

Carrying on his insane work rate, Nasty Jack dropped his 12th vocal track of 2021 in the form of the aptly named ‘Fifa 012‘, a relaxed release that lets King Kweffa explore his melodic side, doing away with the fast-paced flows and instead opting to ride the bassline of the instrumental instead of jumping in the pockets of the drum-pattern.

D7 – 7Style

MTP‘s D7 makes his long-anticipated return to the scene with a banger of a freestyle titled the ‘7Style‘, marking the start of his content being uploaded onto his own YouTube channel. Surrounded by fellow MTP members (including Big Zuu and AJ Tracey) D7 shows that the talent flows through all of the members, squeezing off hardened bars and intelligent rhyme schemes for the entire duration of the track, even managing a slick alphabet flow in the second half of the track.

Faze Miyake – Smooth Digital

Faze Miyake has long been regarded as a legend in the Grime scene as one of the top producers, dropping countless classic instrumentals such as ‘Take Off‘ and ‘Gunpowder‘, but the artist has recently taken ventures into vocalling his tracks, which brings us to his latest EP ‘Smooth Digital‘ – a silky smooth project filled with Faze Miyake productions and Faze Miyake vocals, not quite in the same vein as his traditional Grime releases, but still living up to the Faze Miyake standard.

Lozzy’s Lounge – Episode 3 ft. Ten Dixon, Pawz

Over at Mode FM, resident DJ Lozzy C brings us the 3rd episode of his show ‘Lozzy’s Lounge‘, this time joined by Ten Dixon, who undertakes Lozzy‘s “Journey in 30” and talks about the importance of getting in practice hours on radio, his opinions on clashing, and his upcoming music. After the interview, the South Londoner is joined by Pawz to deliver 20 minutes of heat with Lozzy behind the decks, rounding off another certified episode of Lozzy’s Lounge.

Durrty Skanx – Upsuh ft. K9

Durrty Skanx and Major Muzik‘s K9 have linked up to bring us ‘Upsuh‘, a heavyweight offering that lets Skanx fire off warning shots to anyone who dares to oppose him, followed by K9 flowing about his accomplishments both in the streets and on the mic. The vocalists complement each other perfectly, with Skanx‘s laid back but deliberate flow contrasting nicely with K9‘s quick-release bars.

Tommy B – Lemon Pepper Freestyle

Tommy B becomes the latest Grime prospect (alongside SBK, mentioned below) to take on Drake’s Lemon Pepper Freestyle instrumental, where the Essex-born youngster spits about his journey and the hurdles he had to jump over before gaining recognition, while also teasing an album coming soon. Tommy B tells us “I don’t have no therapist, I stick it in a verse” and proves it with this freestyle, opening up some of the deepest and darkest parts of his mind, baring it all on the instrumental and adding to the list of MCs who have managed to lace slick verses over the riddim.

SBK – Lemon Pepper Freestyle

Our second Lemon Pepper Freestyle on the list comes from SBK, the rising star who has shot up in popularity over the last few years alongside the aforementioned Tommy B, who also chooses the Lemon Pepper instrumental as a makeshift therapist, spilling some deep secrets about himself on the track, such as suffering lasting effects from drug use in his earlier years – mentioning the “Drug-induced psychosis since 17” from smoking cannabis and suffering from HPPD (which he spoke about in more depth on IGTV HERE) after taking psychedelics at 16. SBK has a lot to say in this freestyle, from his personal struggles to his opinions on the Grime scene in 2021 and it’s definitely one you can’t miss.

Grindhouse x Tophe – Dark Times

After dropping their last (very well received) heater ‘Tokyo Drift‘, Grindhouse and Tophe continued their partnership with a brand new track titled ‘Dark Times‘. Spitting deep off the get-go, Tophe rides the haunting instrumental while telling us his concerns about the state of the world, from the impact of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the track follows the progression of Tophe‘s mental state, with the spitter finding the light at the end of the tunnel during the last verse, resulting in a track that personifies how almost all of us have felt throughout the last year.

BWZ – Winners Only

BWZ smashes back onto the scene with ‘Winners Only‘, a high-energy, self-produced offering from the South-East Londoner. BWZ refers to himself as one of the “knights of the Grime table“, letting us know that not only is he assured in his own levels but also surrounds himself with artists of the same calibre, while he explores the spacious instrumental with short bursts of to-the-point bars.

Mashworks – S:1 EP:1 ft. Stackz, Loui, Sketchy, Big Biz

Leicester based MC and Videographer Loui (formerly known as L.Trillz) launched his brand new platform MashWorks on YouTube, and kicked off the channel with a short cypher with 3 other Leicester MCs – Stackz, Sketchy, and Big Biz. The four MCs show that the home of The Foxes can’t be overlooked when it comes Grime talent, and there are more names coming from the underground that can handle the limelight.

Deema – Can I?

Deema rounds off our list in the way I would’ve liked to round off my weekend, with a house party rocking to the sounds of his latest release, ‘Can I?‘. Produced by long-time collaborator Dom Valentino, the former member of The Square rides the funky bassline while showing off his trademarked laid-back style while letting off slick wordplay and unrelenting flow over the riddim. If “vibes” could be explained with one video, ‘Can I?‘ would definitely be a strong contender that’s up to that task.