Music
10 artists that prove Scottish grime is popping
Not just a London thing, a new wave of Caledonian MCs and producers are proving that grime is flourishing north of the border.
Red Bull Studios’ new project Beat Roots teams up two of Glasgow’s standout young grime producers, Rapture 4D and Polonis, with a host of London newcomers and veterans to make a truly border-crossing mixtape. But when it comes to grime in Scotland, the pair are just the tip of the iceberg – in fact, the genre is booming, with a host of young MCs and producers carving out a scene in studios and on pirate radio.
“Grime originally began to take root in Scotland around 2004 or 2005, with crews such as G20 doing their thing,” says Rapture 4D. “I wasn't around then but I've heard many stories and still see people regularly who were part of that crew. I think it naturally found a home here – specifically Glasgow – due to grime’s raw and industrial sounding elements and its high energy and aggressive tone. It’s only more recently that it’s had light shined upon it and more people have begun to get involved.”
“Glasgow and the surrounding areas leading the way at the moment although its old time rival, Edinburgh has got new upcoming grime talents – and Fife has a good number of MCs coming out of the woodwork as well.”
Who are the names to watch? Here’s 10 to start you off.
1. Shogun
The biggest Scottish MC is undoubtedly Paisley-born Joe Heron, whose video to Vulcan – recorded Stormzy-style with his mates against the backdrop of a local estate – blew up last year with over three million views to date. His dark, bleak lyrics balance violent imagery with gloomy introspection, but always with startling wordplay and creativity. “If you hate me? It’s mutual/The sound of your body hitting the ground would be beautiful…”
2. Rapture 4D
Teddy Lambert is making serious moves. A member of Glasgow’s Astral Black and LVLZ collectives, he blew up off the back of his eerie, melodic productions for Grim Sickers’ Bread and 200 Bags, he went on to win the 2017 leg of grime producer clash Beat Boss. Along with collaborator Polonis, he runs the label Plasma Abuse, focusing on leftfield, atmospheric grime sounds. His debut solo EP Lambert & Yoker drops October 20 on Astral Black.
3. Proc Fiskal
Kode9’s Hyperdub imprint is known for searching far and wide for talent, and it tracked down a gem earlier this year when it turned up Joe Powers, a young producer from Edinburgh. His debut EP The Highland Mob, released back in May, is a weird delight, taking grime’s synthetic textures and choppy percussion and speeding it up to a twitchy 160BPM.
4. Ransom FA
Leader of Aberdeen’s Ransom Crew, Ransom FA has been working on music since 2007, but really broke cover last year, popping up on grime DVD series Risky Roadz’s Scottish edition, collaborating with Maxta, and becoming the first north-of-the-border MC to play an Eskimo Dance line-up. His Sounds Of The North EP showed off his lyrical prowess and open-minded approach – as well as grime, you’ll hear hints of hip-hop and R&B in there too.
5. Polonis
This youthful Glasgow native has only been in the game for a couple of years, but he’s already distinguished himself as a DJ, MC, producer and remixer, with a adventurous take on grime that encompasses industrial textures and melodic prettiness. His debut EP M for Classical Trax caught the attention of names like Logan Sama and Mumdance, but it’s also well worth hunting down some of his refixes of Ruff Sqwad’s Together and Kamikaze’s Ghetto Kyote – fresh spins on grime classics.
6. Bushido
Glasgow producer Bushido found his way to the final of Red Bull Studios’ Riddim Rally earlier this year, bringing his creative, leftfield take on grime to a larger audience. Get a glimpse of his style on the Astral Black release Grandmaster Cash, which found its way into the DJ box of Murlo, Mssngno, Eclair Fifi, Slackk and Faze Miyake and saw him tear up shows across Europe. A new EP is pending.
7. Chrissy Grimez
“Patter n Tunes,” reads Chrissy Grimez’s Soundcloud biography, a fair summation of this Glasgow MC’s banter-packed lyrical style. He impressed on his Wavvy Music freestyle last year – see also his videos with fellow MC 2T, Why We Puff Fly and Seppuku.
8. Gallus One
Much of the current Scottish grime crop are relative newcomers, but Gallus One has been on his grind for well over a decade – indeed, he might be Scotland’s first grime producer period. You could say he’s a bit of a father of the scene – as founder of LVLZ Radio and LVLZ Syndicate, he’s been there as the young guns have found their feet. He’s also directed videos and contributed productions towards Shogun’s recent Katana EP.
9. Paque
Glasgow rapper/producer Paque’s blend of grime, trap and drill, brings to mind a north-of-the-border Giggs – real-talk raps delivered with cool confidence. His debut album #Muse was a weighty work, featuring Ransom FA collaboration Gotta Get It.
10. Shanko
It’s early days for 18-year-old Edinburgh producer Shanko, but the string of productions on his Soundcloud mark him out as one to watch – check his sinogrime-tinged remix of Polonis’ Farmer, or this refix of Novelist’s Endz.
What happened with Glasgow producers Rapture 4D and Polonis came to London to meet the cream of London's grime scene? Find out below.
1 min
Beat Roots: Introduction to the project
Two of Glasgow's best-known grime musicians, Rapture 4D and Polonis, joined forces to explore the roots of grime music and collaborate with 22 other artists over the course of five days.
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