It has been a devastating week for the world of grime. Over the weekend, up and coming star Cadet died in a car crash in a taxi on the way to the gig. The whole scene came together; AJ Tracey postponed his album promotion, and there was a large gathering in a London park where, led by Cadet’s mum, balloons were released in his memory. Events like this make you value life and how cruel a mistress death can be, no matter your status.
Cadet was rising with a new breed of grime superstars, including the likes of Dave, the aforementioned AJ Tracey, Tion Wayne, drill-based Headie One and today’s featured artist, Unknown T. Ironically getting more and more traction from his hit song Homerton B, T has taken the genres of grime and drill and tried to make the latter more palatable to the masses. It is a controversial song, mainly referencing the East London artist’s E9 borough of Homerton and the gang violence in which he was embroiled in during his earlier years.
Released without a label, as much of the underground London music is nowadays, it reflects a potential transition that is currently happening, with grime allowing room at the top of UK hip-hop for drill artists like Unknown T and Headie One to create crossover bangers. I’m very interested to see how this grime/drill crossover develops and continues to co-exist. The sounds of the streets will never die, but is it possible that perhaps the BPM will?
Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex
A Song A Day 