Renz – WhoopDiDiDooTape
The best grime music comes with a sense of immediacy. On Renz’s debut record, “WhoopDiDiDooTape”, it sounds like he’d rather chase the bag than idly sit around. That’s reflected in the direct storytelling, minimal production, and all-around exhilaration of the young emcee’s tracks. ‘Flask Inda Dance’ tells the story of a big night out, ‘Loose’ is a searing takedown of rival emcees, and ‘Leng Dinners’ expands on his life away from music. Elsewhere, ‘5 Bills’, featuring Duppy and Squintz, is a lively denouncement of expensive drip, while ‘Can’t Clash Me’ sees Renz, Cadell and Squintz deliver a masterclass in grime flows. The tape doesn’t always hit the heights of these tracks, but it’s a strong debut record from a talented artist.
Kenny Davis & SDLR – Silhouette / Outline
Earthspin affiliate Kenny Davis and Reloaded Sounds producer SDLR collide on “Silhouette / Outline”. ‘Silhouette’ leads with winding bass lines and jumpy clap patterns, while ‘Outline’ deploys high-octane bass stabs that feel designed to affect the deepest parts of the brain. These are weapons-grade instrumental grime tracks, created to make dancefloors bounce and gun fingers fly. Grab them for a concentrated dose of energy.
Becky On The Beat – 852hz
It’s said that the 852 Hz frequency can replace negative thoughts with positive ones. While the tracks on “852hz” are bass-heavy, there’s quite clearly a spiritual bent to the EP, and that’s heard most clearly on the title track, which is built around an undulating lead riff and decorated with crashing rhythms. Elsewhere, ‘Rose Quartz Riddim’ combines a simple yet memorable two note riff with head-bopping drums, and ‘BMDCITD’ flits from silky-smooth to speaker breaking in an instant.
Sir Hiss – Selenki
The latest EP from Bristol’s Sir Hiss features two tough bass workouts. ‘Selenki’ is built around heavy low-end sounds and bumpy drum programming, but it’s by no means blunt. There’s a flair to these rhythms that get the body moving. ’37 Surrey Street’ is peak time club material, packed with clawing bass lines to make the face screw up, and space-age synths to lose the mind to.
Slick – Vengeance / Kickback
Up and coming producer Slick caught my eye a while back with dark grime and drill hybrids, and at the tail end of April he released “Vengeance / Kickback”. Opening track ‘Vengeance’ is packed with sharp bass lines and cutting sonics, while ‘Kickback’ leans a bit more into the drill palette, all glitches and sliding 808s.
Real Tears – V.A.L.I.S
London-based producer Real Tears returns with “V.A.L.I.S”. A fun record made for the dancefloor, there’s a mixture of sounds at play here, and it’s a testament to the producer’s ability that his ideas don’t get lost in the mix. ‘Be Here’ flips an R&B sample into a hardstyle meets grime slapper, while ‘Place Go’ is teeming with low-end pressure. The title track, ‘V.A.L.I.S’, is propelled by intense drum patterns, and closing track ‘Don’t Want U’ is a headrush based around the clash of super melodic vocal samples and thumping bass stabs.
Walton – Rush
Walton’s latest record, “Rush”, is released via the Bristol label Sneaker Social Club. On tracks like ‘Dread’ and ‘PJD’, rhythm is king, as the Manchester-based producer laces the two tunes with hard-hitting drums, the arrangement of the rest of the moving parts serving to amp up the speaker pressure. Elsewhere, ‘Detach’ is a weightless delight, and the closing track ‘Shots Fired’ ends the record on a grandiose note.
Logan OLM – #NoBias Hardcore Champion Vol.1
The hype for Twitter spaces seems to have died down a bit now, but at one point, they were constantly above the timeline. The grime producer clashes were undoubtedly the highlight, with Logan making a big impression against JME, Duppy, Novelist and more. He’s compiled the instrumentals into an EP, so you can play these tunes and relive the vibes.
The Art of Grime 