Grime music has been around for a while and it’s most popular in the UK where it was born. Over the years various artists have come and gone but of those there are a few who are the cornerstones of the genre. Below is a list of some of the greats who have helped to shape grime music into what it is.
Kano
If there’s a grime emcee with the ability to create music that equally appeals to casual listeners and hardcore grime fans it’s Kano. This is because unlike many grime rappers his choice of production is to an extent easier on the ear than many of his contemporaries. He also has a knack for creating catchy hooks and his delivery is relatively easier to understand than many others, which is part of the reason why he has quite the commercial appeal. He has made many contributions to grime. Memorable songs in his discography include Nite Nite, Ps & Qs, This is the Girl (ft. Craig David) and Brown Eyes. Kano released his fifth studio album Made in the Manor last year and was a commercial success proving that he’s still got the juice even after all these years.
Dizzee Rascal
You can’t mention important and influential grime artists without mentioning Dizzee Rascal. He in a sense helped to legitimize the entire genre by becoming a commercially successful emcee which ended up bringing grime to a large audience in the UK. All of his albums have been commercially and critically successful. Most notable are his debut and sophomore albums Boy In Da Corner and Showtime, both of which he also worked on as producer. He has also evolved with the times and ended up working with other artists outside of his comfort zone such as Calvin Harris. Love him or hate him Dizzee has been instrumental in solidifying grime as the UK’s primary hip hop-like subgenre.
Skepta
Skepta is probably the biggest name on the grime scene right now. He has been making waves lately following his association with Drake and his work in North America, which has resulted in him also being associated with the likes of Kanye West and the ASAP Mob. He has the lyrical caliber, great production and embodies the raw aggression that is often associated with grime. He released his first studio album in 2007 and never looked back. In mid 2016 he released his fourth studio album Konnichiwa which was met with critical acclaim and commercial success. Skepta is one of those artists who manages to take what others are doing (grime in this case), elevate the game, put his own stamp on it after-which many clones emerge.
Wiley
Wiley, like a few other artists on this list, has managed to achieve group and solo success. He’s the founder of the grime group Roll Deep which at some point encompassed artists such as Dizzee Rascal, Skepta and Tinchy Stryder to name a few. He’s among one of grime’s hardest working men; having released 10 albums, 2 EPs and a myriad of mixtapes from 2004 to date, and his eleventh studio album Godfather is coming out in 2017. He’s known as the godfather of grime by many. His influence is written all over the genre and he’s been cited as a major influence to many grime emcees in much the same way that the likes of Biggie, Tupac, Rakim, Nas and Jay-Z are often cited by rappers as influences. Much like the other artists who are on this list, Wiley has the ability to create music that can appeal to casual listeners as well as hardcore grime fans.
The list of artists who’ve made contributions to grime is huge so all artists can’t be included. But more names worth mentioning include Lethal Bizzle, Chip, Sway, JME, Ghetts, Devlin, P-Money, Tinchy Stryder, Tempa T and many others.
