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Madbrad200
lemmy.world
Madbrad200@lemmy.worldJoined: 2023-07-03 |
Intro(Written by /u/Madbrad200, taken from https://www.reddit.com/r/grime/comments/d2nd11/guide_to_the_various_subgenres_styles_and_niches/ ) Interesting in chatting & learning more about grime? Come join our Discord server! Hello, do you like boxes & over categorization? Here's the post for you! It's a guide to most of the various niches/styles/subgenres of grime. Boxes can be useful to finding similar music and sounds that you like - grime niches are hard to find and explore due to lack of info, which led me to making this. Finding R&G tunes was harder than I wanted it to be, problem solved for anyone else looking for em. Playlists included for most of them, check those out if you wish to explore the niche (mistakes may be included). Alt spellings/names are included for easy searching. Lots of Categories below - note that some of the placements may be somewhat arbitrary and could go in another category (e.g, sinogrime a subgenre or a style? Is Tropical Grime a subgenre or a fusion? Does the distinction even matter?). The goal is primarily just to document the niches within grime, and to explain some terms floating around:
SubgenresDarkside(contains non-grime in the playlists, but all darkside - see Shxdow's comment below) Darkside is a minor subgenre/style pioneered by Terminator during the early 2000s. Darkside is defined by dark, sluggish & violent content, such as Terminators F64. There are not many artists who have made Darkside. Most notable artist is Terminator but there are others such as Shxdow & Cautious. Scorcher, CousinGritt & Dowsen have also produced Darkside instrumentals, which are usually a lot darker sounding than usual. Shxdow has clarified Darkside isn't strictly grime, & does not have to be over grime instrumentals. Notable Artists: Terminator, Shxdow, Cautious, Scorcher, CousinGritt, Dowsen EskibeatEskibeat was initially a name given to grime music by Wiley before grime was the agreed-upon title. The term as you can probably already tell derives from Eskimos, people who live in particularly cold regions. In a 2003 interview, Wiley said:
Eskibeat is now generally recognised to be its own niche within grime with "futuristic, icy cold synths, devastating basslines & awkward, off-kilter rhythms". You can find examples fairly easily. Ice Rink, Wiley - Blizzard. Lewi B - Eski Gang. Pretty good playlist here which has a lot. Notable Artists: Wiley, Lewi B. Gangsta Grime / Gangster GrimeMinor subgenre or niche within grime. Roadside G's branded their music as 'Gangsta grime'. Their style was much closer to gritty 'gangster' rap than grime MC'ing, but was done over grime instrumentals. At least one of their videos, "Come 2 Da Roadside" was banned from Channel U. Their mixtapes are classic, check 'em out. "Rider Music" & "Changing Flows" are both solid. Notable Artists: Roadside G'z (+ associated members, such as R.A (Real Artillery)). Also seen people also say South Soldiers, Crazy Titch & Slew Dem fall under Gangster Grime. Gospel Grime / Christian GrimePretty much exactly what it sounds like - grime but with themes relating to Christianity, pioneered in the early 2000s.. The most notable figure in the scene would be Guvna B. Older Gospel Grime is sometimes (misleadingly) referred to as Gospel Garage. Notable Artists: Guvna B, Feed'Em, Icie, Jay Dolph, A Star, Presha J, Shardz, Triple O, Victizzle, J Vessel, Favour Mellow GrimeAlthough sometimes used as a general descriptor for relaxing grime songs, "mellow grime" is the name of a minor subgenre of grime music. Mellow Grime is probably the closest grime has gotten to a 'lofi' genre. The name describes it well - the sound is much more "'mellow" & chill than traditional grime. It has some similarities to Rhythm & Grime production. Features much more mellowed out instrumentals, vocals & samples. There is also a "Mellow Grime" collective, consisting of Kwollem, Covco, Rayf & a couple others. On 'Sia Lee's #TwentyMinuteTakeover with Mellow Grime' on the 26th December 2015, they explained it started via a Kwollem track called "Thugs Essence" (which I can't find). The name is also sometimes used to refer to chillhop / lofi hip-hop beats but with grime vocals over the top, like this. Notable Artists: Kwollem, Rayf, EM Charge Ruff SoundRuff Sound is a genre developed by Novelist (and others like Vision Crew, Grandmixxer, Prem, etc) set at 152-160bpm. Ruff Sound is faster, sorta laying in the space between grime & DnB. Novelist has acknowledged he didn't necessarily create the sound, but he did give it a name & push it around 2016. A lot of the instrumentals tend to have a darker vibe than usual & give a lot of space for the MC to spit. This one got a bit of backlash when it first came out since people pointed out higher tempo grime had already been made years ago. Still sick though. There have been a few Ruff Sound radio sets which can be found on Soundcloud. Notable Artists: Novelist, Grandmixxer, Vision Crew, Prem, Tuckz, Harky (US producer) Rhythm & Grime / R&G / RnG / R&GrimeOther spellings: Rhythm & Grime, R'n'g, Rhythm n Grime, Rhythm&Grime, Rhythm'n'Grime, rhythm n’ grime. Sometimes called 'wifey' tunes/riddims after the classic song. There's also an old forum thread from 2004 that appears to refer to the sound as 'grimette', though that never caught on. The term Grime&b has been used before, but isn't common.
Rhythm & Grime, also known as R&G, is a subgenre pioneered in 2004-5 by producers Terror Danjah, DaVinChe & Scratcha DVA. The subgenre mixes grime with R&B, often with R&B-style vocals, while keeping the rugged feel of grime. Lady Ny stated she was the first woman to sing on grime. Rhythm & Grime comes in three forms:
Many UK R&B singers, such as Sadie Ama, Lady Ny, Katie Pearl, & Gemma Fox made R&G songs in the 2000s. In 2006, Scratcha DVA released the album "The Voice of Grime" featuring 22 different singers. It was unique at the time due to being the first project to have so many different women singing over grime instrumentals, however, the sound would mostly disappear after the album was released. Many of the R&B singers that were singing over R&G were inconsistent & would regularly disappear. The subgenre made a come back in the 2010s after American singer Kelala released a mixtape in 2013, "Cut 4 Me", featuring a heavy R&G influence. Funny anecdote, according to Terror Danjah, after making the track "So Sure" with Kano & Sadie Ama, grime MC Crazy Titch initially told him to stop making "girl tunes", although he would later request Terror produce one for himself. Notable Artists: Aftershock, Terror Danjah, Bashy, Faultsz, Katie Pearl, Sadie Ama, Kelela, Kid D, Lauren Mason, Lady Ny, Olivia Louise, Wiley, Flukes, Kano, Gundam, Invader Spade, Gemma Fox, Grace, Daffy, Joe James Sinogrime / Sino-grime / Sino GrimeShoutout /r/sinogrime Depending on who you ask, sinogrime is either a subgenre of grime or just a style of production. Pretty simple: sinogrime is grime that uses East Asian motifs in the production. The term was coined by Kode9 in 2005, although the style predates 2005. One notable example is Jammer - Chinaman which includes a sample from the 1993 martial arts film "Twin Warriors". The term does not necessarily apply to grime made in Japan or China unless the instrumental includes East Asian elements. Producers from China such as Swimful (who remixed Wiley's instrumental "Shanghai") & Howie Lee (his album "Mù Chè Shān Chū") have produced sinogrime themselves though. Howie Lee described sinogrime as "propaganda", a sound that represents an image in people's heads, but one that is not necessarily accurate. In 2014, Kuwaiti producer Fatima Al Qadiri released "Asiatisch", which had a heavy sinogrime influence & was highly acclaimed, although Fatima was unaware of the term "Sinogrime" whilst she was making the album. Notable Artists: Fatima Al Qadiri, JT The Goon, Wiley, Murlo, Swimful, Ironsoul, Jammer, DJ Target, Danny Weed, Shriekin' SublowSublow is the name primarily used by members of the Black Ops collective (such as Jon E Cash & Dread D). It was one of the early names used to refer to grime & dubstep when the line between the two wasn't so clear. Sometimes also described as a subgenre, it's defined by heavy synths, edgy rhythms & deep low bass. Notable Artists: Black Ops (+ associated members) WeightlessWeightless was the only one I struggled making a playlist for, so whether or not these are representative is debatable. Weightless (sometimes referred to as 'glassy grime', but that also refers to other sounds) is a style of instrumental grime that developed over the 2010s, characterized by sparse & stripped back production. Ambient grime is probably the best way to describe it - it quite literally has a 'weightless' feel. The sound was pioneered by Mumdance & Logos who were inspired by Wiley's 'devil mixes', wherein he stripped the drums from instrumentals. On their label, 'Different Circles', they released Weightless Vol. 1 & Weightless Vol. 2 which are both good intros to the genre. Other notable record labels would be Gobstopper Records & Planet Mu Records. Notable Artists: Mumdance, Logos, Dark0, Iglew, O$VMV$M, Strict Face, Tom E. Vercetti, Visionist, Silk Road Assassins, Loom StylesSpecific styles of grime, that aren't necessarily subgenres / genres, but fill a niche within the genre. 8-bar & Nu Shape8-bar is a style/subgenre of grime, first seen in Youngstar's "Pulse X" instrumental (released 2002). 8-bar instrumentals switch rhythm every eight bars (roughly every 13 seconds), meaning that every 8 bars the MC would be spitting over a different rhythm. This was in contrast to "nu shape", another style of grime which encouraged 16-32 bar patterns. There are lots tracks with a million MC's ('8-bar rally's') that follow this 8-bar pattern, such as J Beatz - 8 Bar Mucktion. Bass mixes / Devil Mixes / Angel MixesA devils mix / bass mix / angel mix is an instrumental with the drums stripped. The idea later served as the inspiration for what would be known as 'Weightless' (there's also similarities with Mr. Mitch's "peace edits"). You might think stripping a major part of a beat would be detrimental but more often than not it works pretty well. The idea was pioneered by Wiley, although he had some misgivings about the name he gave them...
Which is probably why people started to call them "angel mixes" around the mid-2010s. Other names for this style include "Starship mix" (mainly used by Grandmixxer), "Blank mix", "Twilight mix", and "No drums mix". Peace EditsPeace Edits is an idea pioneered by Mr. Mitch in October 2013. In essence, they are the opposite of a producer war dub. Rather than creating something aggressive, peace edits flip the song into something more mellow & emotional. The concept isn't strictly grime, but it did start there. Mr Mitch explained the concept well:
Mitch said in January 2018 there likely would not be a future Peace Edit release. (edit: Peace Dubs Vol. 3 was released 2 January 2020) Peace Edits also resulted in the glorious remix of Eiffel 65 - BLUE. Post-grime / Post Grime / Post Eski / Post-eski / Neo Grime / Neo eski / Forward Grime / Future GrimePost Grime, Post Eski, Forward Grime, Future grime, neo grime, or neo eski are terms used to describe producers pushing grime in a unique direction, sometimes mixing it other genres or styles. In other words, forward-thinking music. Applied commonly to experimental producers like Mumdance, Murlo, Sudanim, Loom, etc. Post/Neo Eski implies music that incorporates elements from Wiley's Eskibeat style. Neo Grime is sometimes used for a specific sound that fuses influences from grime, EDM trap, and wave music. Artists such as gl00my, vexxy, pholos, and others are known to make this sound. A decent mix can be found on soundcloud. IGM (Intelligent Grime Music) was briefly used by a couple people in the mid 2010s but it never caught on/gained popular and isn't widely recognise. Yardie grime / Ragga grimeThese two terms describe grime MC's that employ heavy usage of Jamaican patois/accents, particularly those with a more "aggressive" style for lack of a better word, such as Riko Dan, Irah, Jamakabi, etc. The name 'yardie' was originally used to describe Jamaican gangsters, while 'ragga' is a form of dancehall with hip-hop influence that developed in the 80s. Notable Artists: Armour, Badness, Riko Dan, Jamakabi, Shizzle, Killa P, IRAH, God's Gift, Logan_olm, Teddy Bruckshot, Lady Chann Fusion Genres / Derivative genresBaile grime / Grime funk / Brime & AtabagrimeDuring the mid-2010s, a grime scene began to develop in Brazil following grime's resurgence in the UK during the same period. This scene is often referred to as 'Brasil grime', 'Brazilian grime', or 'Brime'. In Brazil, 'brime' is sometimes used to refer to a more specific form of grime, one that fuses influences from baile funk music. This fusion, also known as 'grime funk' or 'baile grime', emerged in the late 2010s. "RADDIM" is a good example of this sound - the fusion of grime bass, eski bloops, flows, mixed in with baile funk rhythms and drums. Puterrier developed his own grime/funk fusion he dubbed 'atabagrime' (the 'ataba' is a reference to the atabaque sound commonly found in baile funk music) that differs somewhat from the aforementioned "brime". Atabagrime leans more heavily into the funk sound than most "grime funk" music, while retaining some grime influences. Songs, such as "Neurose De Novinha", are produced at a faster tempo than normal grime - around 150 BPM, in-line with other 150 bpm baile funk music. Puterrier has stated the following of his sound:
The difference between 'brime' and 'atabagrime' was further described by Puterrier:
Notable Artists: Cesrv, Puterrier, Febem, Fleezus, SD9 Grime-trap / Grime TrapExactly what it sounds like - a fusion genre that mixes grime with trap, lots of high-hats, 808's & snares - that kinda thing. AJ Tracey did a lot of this. Merky Ace's "Catch Up Vol. 3" album is mostly grime-trap. Notable Artists: Teddy Music/Silencer, Merky Ace, AJ Tracey, Filthy Gears Grime Punk, Grime Rock & Grime MetalThis is sort of a 'non-genre', in that it's extremely niche & there isn't a lot of it. There are a lot of alternative names that have been used which probably doesn't help. I've seen all of these: Nu-metal Grime, Djent-grime, Hardcore Grime Punk Grime, Punk-rock-grime, Punk-grime, Rock Grime, Rock-grime, Grime-metal, Hardcore-grime, Djent Grime I've only included examples in the playlists where there's a more evident grime influence. These terms are commonly used to describe artists who MC in a way reminiscent of grime, but very few of them incorporate grime elements into the instrumentals, & don't seem very distinguishable from any other rap metal/rock/punk or rapcore as a result. Artists like Hacktivist or Gassed Up would be examples of that, also House of Dirt who self describe themselves as 'grime rock'. Likewise, 'grime punk' is sometimes used to describe Slowthai's influences which stem from punk and grime, but the music he makes isn't grime aside from a few examples. They're also commonly used as terms for remixes where grime vocals are just placed over metal/punk/rock instrumentals. If you're just interested in that, Leon Fuentes has done a lot (e.g, this). There is also a genre called "grindie", which is listed below in this post, that fused grime with indie rock & alternative rock Notable Artists: Astroid Boys, Bob Vylan, PENGSHUi, Hadouken! Grindie / Grime-indie / Grime indie / GrimdieGrindie (grime+indie), the time grime turned... indie. The genre fused grime with indie rock/alternative rock & emerged in 2005/6 via samples & collaborations with indie-rock bands. Probably one of the weirdest fusions ever... A big pusher of the genre was Statik, who also coined the name "grindie". According to The Guardian, he originally used the name as a joke but it ended up sticking. His Grindie (Vol 1) mixtape contains over 60 tracks, featuring remixes of Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, Interpol, & Ladyfuzz among others (most of them can't be found though). This all sounds very weird... but it works, mostly, although it sounds very 2000s. Lethal Bizzle was prominent in the genre for a little while, which apparently in turn helped him find a platform among the indie crowd during a time when he was being banned from clubs. Marvin The Martian's / Marv The Marsh's group Why Lout? created the first grindie song, "Stay Off The Kane", released in 2005 & produced by Jack Nimble. Grindie was also referred to as Git Hop, but that included other sounds as well & was rarely used. Notable Artists: Statik, Lethal Bizzle, Hadouken!, Marvin the Martian/Marv The Marsh, Bloc Party, Test Icicles Tropical GrimeTropical Grime is a sound pushed by Scrufizzer & Stimpy, influenced by bashment, calypso & UK Garage, but with a grimier bass line. Scruffizer credited JME & Skepta, Todd Edwards, MJ Cole as his influences for the sound. It's essentially garage-tinged grime (Or is it grime-tinged garage?), more "tropical", summery, something you can dance to. In 2006, Boy Better Know released a "Tropical" EP, which is arguably the first example of the subgenre. The sound was intended to be more dance-friendly than most other grime music at the time. Notable Artists: BBK (primarily Jme, Skepta), Scrufizzer, Stimpy Other / MiscJust misc terms that are floating around or terms that don't have a lot of documentation. These are not real genres mostly, and most of them are not notable and can be ignored. The goal here is to, quite simply, put some meaning behind them in-case you ever stumble upon them and wonder what they mean. Afro Grime / Afro-GrimeAfro Grime dates back to 2006 as coined by Afrikan Boy. It was his attempt at blending his African roots with grime music. He claims he was one of the first Brits to incorporate an African-based sound into his music, which is probably true. Essentially just describes grime music that has African influences or sounds blended into it. The most notable song from this is Afrikan Boy - Lidl. Though never really used anymore, you could argue it applies to stuff like NoHatNoHood's London To Addis, which fused grime with Ethiopian sounds. The term is also sometimes used to (inaccurately) describe /r/AfroBashment. Completely different genre. 8-bit / 8bit grime / Chiptune grime / Gameboy grimeA very, very minor style of grime music. Chiptune is a style of electronic music that emulates old school video game music. Video game sounds are relatively common in grime, these are songs that lean a bit more heavily into it. Fun fact, a video game called Wolverine: Adamantium Rage released in 1994 on the Sega Genesis featured this instrumental by Dylan Beale, now considered the first-ever (unintentional) grime instrumental! Shoutout the Elijah 8-bit & Skilliam 8-bit grime mix. Cyber-grimeAlso referred to as "post-grime" & "industrial grime" (a reference to industrial music). Not a common term. Cyber-grime was a name used to describe a new sound that appeared in the mid-2010s via producers like Mumdance & Rabit. Dummy mag describes it as:
Grime MC's over dubstepSomemtimes called 'Dubstep grime', not a genre, rather just refers to grime MC's spitting over dubstep beats. The Bug x Flowdan x Killa P - Skeng is a classic. Big thanks to /u/nikoma's list of grime mc's on dubstep and /u/UnbalancedUK's playlist. Eco Grime / Eco-Grime / Eco Futurism / Bio Future / Geo Club(note: Playlists contain non-grime versions, see below for grime examples) Grime examples: tropical interface - new combat drone, tropical interface - extract (Hypna recycle), HERBARIUM - ШИШКИН ЛЕС, MUNGUUGNUM - BIOCENOSIS, HERBARIUM - РИЗОМА, HERBARIUM - MEDICINAL PLANTS Most of the music can only be found on Bandcamp. Eco Grime (aka "Bio Future", "Geo Club" & "Eco Futurism") isn't grime despite the name, aside from the few tunes mentioned above & a couple others. I thought I'd mention it here anyway just because I find it interesting, and those grime examples do exist. It appeared in the mid-2010s & was pioneered outside of the UK by international producers (particularly in Eastern Europe), with the main record label "Eco Futurism Corporation" being based in Sydney, Australia (it was founded in Italy). In short, Eco Grime is an umbrella for experimental club music that blends natural sounds with futuristic imagery. A lot of Eco Grime seems more derived from IDM or ambient music than grime. Eco Grime is also based around a central political idea:
Electro Grime / Electro-grime(playlists just have songs that I've found described as 'electro-grime', should be not considered actual grime music). "Electro-grime", (or "commercial grime" as Wiley named it) was a journalist term for the short-lived This is a journalist term to describe grime artists making electro-influenced music, as opposed to being a real genre. The sound they were making was quite far from grime. It's best described more as 'pop rap', 'electro rap' or something along those lines. Wiley's track "Wearing My Rolex", produced by Bless Beats, was credited with kick-starting the wave back in 2008. The follow up, Skepta's "Rolex Sweep" had a brief dance craze after it was released & was remixed by Coldplay. Although a horrible, horrible, mistake we should all forget, it did result in this funny paragraph from the Guardian:
Emo-grime / Emo Grime"Emo-grime", aside from being used to describe 'depressing' grime music since at least 2005, was sometimes applied to the style made by Mr. Mitch (due to his 'mellow' sorta style) & Bazza (who wasn't a fan of the term). Bit of a meaningless term though. Glassy grimeUncommon term to describe the synthy 'glassy' type of music being produced, especially during the mid-2010s by people like Murlo. Jazz Grime / J GrimeThere have been a few attempts to merge grime with Jazz music (not enough in my opinion). Swindle is the most notable person to do it, a lot of his grime music has jazz influences. He's fused grime with funk as well. Some examples: Kamaal Williams feat. Mez - One Take Freestyle Moses Boyd On The Spot with Harry Jay Steele, Coco, Capo Lee, Snowy & Smiley.1Xtra Swindle ft Flowdan & Mungo’s Hi Fi | Global Dance Steam Down - Free My Skin, performed live here. Their songs "Grandpa" and "Can't Hold Me Back" also sound grime influenced. Kris T Reeder is a jazz instrumentalist with grime influences. Tunes like "Time to Fly Take 2", "Go On Then", "Time to Fly". Moses Boyd - Dark Matter instrumental album features some jazzy/grimey influences. Ezra Collective, Jme, & Swindle - Quest For Coin II The Comet Is Coming - Imminent Crooked Sound is an artist who makes Jazz Grime instrumental fusions, such as "Almost Blue", "Rakija" and "Damaged head gasket" Liquid Grime'Liquid Grime' has been used to describe a few different people, although it isn't very common. Jeb1 - Sunshine (Devil Mix) is described as 'liquid grime'. JEB1 explains 'Liquid Grime' here:
And:
Visionist & P Jam have also used the term. Nightcore grimeOk, this is the only one I've just pulled out my ass, but it exists. Nightcore is just a thing weebs listen to where they speed up the song & give it a higher pitch. So if you're interested in anime girls and Stormzy remixes this might be for you. I didn't create this playlist for personal use I promise. |
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