What Kanye did at the BRITs tonight made me happy. Very happy. As in, push-your-statistics-lecture-notes-to-the-side-and-pull-out-the-Poomplex-mixtapes-to-commemorate-such-a-wonderful-moment-happy.
The UK "urban" music scene hasn't valued itself for a while now. We do not celebrate our own talent. This is because the wider mainstream UK music industry fails to really acknowledge us. The very fact it took an AMERICAN artist to showcase the UK Grime scene on a UK awards show says it all - we are no rated. But the very fact that, Kanye was mobbing the stage along with a good portion of the Grime scene on ITV at 8:30pm is very nang indeed.
Now I'm not going to be totally naive. Kanye's public appreciation of Grime tonight and in particular it's current front man Skepta, isn't completely dissociated with the fact Grime has been getting a bit trendy again lately. The same can be said for Drakes recent public appreciation too. Their affiliation with a culture that's recently been regenerating a buzz is going to have it's promo perks. Then again, do they really need to feed off our scene? I feel this recent recognition of our scene isn't fully a "Diddy/Hello Good Morning" esque stunt. In my opinion, there is an actual display of respect for our scene being shown for once. Stormzy, Novelist, Skepta, JME, Logan, and Maximum were all put on the bill for a New York Fashion week party and delivered a heaaaaaaaaaaaaavy pirate radio styley Grime set. To me that's a pretty clear indication that our friends from over the Atlantic are both acknowledging and embracing what we're doing. There is an interest and channelling of Grime's spirit going on. I mean, Drake watching old LOTM clashes shows a decent amount of submersion into the culture.
For a long time, the scene, in a quest to validate itself, has been hunting for a UK co-sign. This has led to replacement of our authentic sound, with an Americanised one in hope it will get them to listen to us. This sillyness has stemmed from the lack of belief in our own scene and the mentality that a US-cosign is the only source we need to prove it's half decent. But recently, there has been a re-channelling of the roots of the scene. And that is why people have stopped ignoring it. And that's why tonight made me happy. It was a perfect example of how freeing the realness and nurturing our true sound is the most effective way for it to be actually heard.
What we must realises is that the US recognition isn't making our scene any more worthy. Our home-grown talent did that themselves. What the US recognition is doing though, is finally giving our artists the attention they deserve. The reality is, US artists have taken plenty of inspiration from the Grime scene for years. Except now, they are not hiding it. We have the authenticity back in our culture that they want back in theirs. Plus, surprise surprise, they actually like the music we make. So it's only fair they rate us loudly and proudly now. Hopefully it will prompt our own scene to own itself. US validation isn't what Kanye gave us at the Brits. Say what you want, but I truly believe he was making a statement on our behalf. He saw our under-representation in the industry so, instead, he decided to shove us in everyone faces. I'm glad he did it. It's just sad we had to rely on him to do it for us.
Nevertheless, I feel 2015 is definitely the year. Since Skepta has taken this new creative direction, I've been dying to hear his soon-to-be-dropping album Konnichiwa . But now, I'm even more excited to see what impact it has. I have a feeling it's going to get the support of some interesting people, which will help speed up the ever-anticipated process of Grime taking over the world. So yeah, hurry up and drop it for us Skepzzzzz!
What Kanye did at the BRITs tonight made me happy. Very happy. As in, push-your-statistics-lecture-notes-to-the-side-and-pull-out-the-Poomplex-mixtapes-to-commemorate-such-a-wonderful-moment-happy.
