I'll spare any lengthy introduction, this post is a continuation of my last entry which you can read here.
That post-war period in Grime is always an uncertain time. We can't expect dubs to arrive week after week, particularly when MCs have other projects to juggle, and the often anti-climatic void left is a golden chance for the lesser known MCs to bolster their status. Successive to my notes on Twitter being the internet's biggest breeding ground for animosity, it was the turn of North London's Row D to instigate a disagreement with AJ Tracey and inevitably, dubs were traded.
Both of these MCs have been mainstays on the ever evolving online radio scene but AJ in particular has gathered great momentum as of late, with his gem of a track 'Naila' from 2015 one of his highlights so far. That track, which shared the same instrumental as Kano's 'Garage Skank', coupled with a few other popular tunes certainly propelled the West Londoner to a higher popularity in some circles and it's his subsequent behaviour since that Row D has taken exception to.
Row D - Gay J Snakey
Row D's issue seems to lie in the fact that AJs career has progressed further than his own and in a far quicker time-frame but this is lost within the dub and there appears to be more emphasis on calling as many names out as possible, which signals this dub was probably a little rushed. MTP is AJ's crew and Row D mentions Big Zuu and Merky ACE specifically, which lead to more Twitter bickering later down the line.
The dub isn't all bad however and whilst homophobic insults are likely the easiest way of attaining the upper hand within a genre that is so dependent on street credit Row D references specific events which to me always boosters a dubs prestige, whether the listener knows them to be true or not.
"you're a uni student / got a blue tick now you're moving stupid"
"I'll spin a man like Jammz did Merky / man said that I'm washed / how can I be washed when I'm this dirty"
"Got a little hype and it went to your head / but you're my yute [youth] get sent to your bed / saw you in ministry you told me you never meant what you said / that's gayyy"
Jay Amo - Mental Case
Jay Amo was the first MTP member to respond and his flows, conducted with a rare youthful exuberance is definitely a trigger for the screwfacers.
"I'm a big man but I'm not thirty / you're ain't a big man...but you're thirty"
"How can Row D be new wave when he's spent a third of his life on Grime"
Out of the three dubs it's Big Zuu who takes the angriest approach and this dub reminds me of the rally aimed at Scorcher from God's Gift all those years ago. Zuu's irritation at being dragged into the warzone is clear and normally this may cause an MC to lose focus, affecting the quality of the music, but this isn't the case here and it's tee'd up nicely for AJ Tracey to pull a full stop on things.
"Row D I got a blue tick in a year / and you've been tryna call for a tick for a year"
"I didn't really send but I'm bored so / might still catch a mans set on a hood one"
Whilst AJ's approach is more tranquil than his crew-mates before him, this dub has a genuine heavyweight feel behind it and it's hard to ever see a Row D recovery. The line above about a potential future meeting on set adds real tension to the setting and AJ verifies the recent plaudits attributed to him with a relentless flow and clever references to real life events. One thing I would like to note though and that's if gay slurs are an easy bullet for MCs to load than dismissing their abilities based on being white skinned is even easier, and I've always thought insults based around drug culture just as ineligible an insult within Grime.
All in all, the results of Row D's dub is reminiscent of the era in which Wiley held multiple blows from The Movement during Grime's thriving competitive phase. I'm not suggesting for a second that the levels of MCing are anywhere near that high, because they're not (quite yet, perhaps), but the MTP members unleashing a raging onslaught of tracks in such coordinated fashion was a great move. Row D will have to do something massive to avoid damaging any long term reputation amongst his peers whom previously he shared radio time and stage space with.
That post-war period in Grime is always an uncertain time. We can't expect dubs to arrive week after week, particularly when MCs have other projects to juggle, and the often anti-climatic void left is a golden chance for the lesser known MCs to bolster their status. Successive to my notes on Twitter being the internet's biggest breeding ground for animosity, it was the turn of North London's Row D to instigate a disagreement with AJ Tracey and inevitably, dubs were traded.
Both of these MCs have been mainstays on the ever evolving online radio scene but AJ in particular has gathered great momentum as of late, with his gem of a track 'Naila' from 2015 one of his highlights so far. That track, which shared the same instrumental as Kano's 'Garage Skank', coupled with a few other popular tunes certainly propelled the West Londoner to a higher popularity in some circles and it's his subsequent behaviour since that Row D has taken exception to.
Row D - Gay J Snakey
Row D's issue seems to lie in the fact that AJs career has progressed further than his own and in a far quicker time-frame but this is lost within the dub and there appears to be more emphasis on calling as many names out as possible, which signals this dub was probably a little rushed. MTP is AJ's crew and Row D mentions Big Zuu and Merky ACE specifically, which lead to more Twitter bickering later down the line.
The dub isn't all bad however and whilst homophobic insults are likely the easiest way of attaining the upper hand within a genre that is so dependent on street credit Row D references specific events which to me always boosters a dubs prestige, whether the listener knows them to be true or not.
"you're a uni student / got a blue tick now you're moving stupid"
"I'll spin a man like Jammz did Merky / man said that I'm washed / how can I be washed when I'm this dirty"
"Got a little hype and it went to your head / but you're my yute [youth] get sent to your bed / saw you in ministry you told me you never meant what you said / that's gayyy"
Jay Amo - Mental Case
Jay Amo was the first MTP member to respond and his flows, conducted with a rare youthful exuberance is definitely a trigger for the screwfacers.
"I'm a big man but I'm not thirty / you're ain't a big man...but you're thirty"
"How can Row D be new wave when he's spent a third of his life on Grime"
Out of the three dubs it's Big Zuu who takes the angriest approach and this dub reminds me of the rally aimed at Scorcher from God's Gift all those years ago. Zuu's irritation at being dragged into the warzone is clear and normally this may cause an MC to lose focus, affecting the quality of the music, but this isn't the case here and it's tee'd up nicely for AJ Tracey to pull a full stop on things.
"Row D I got a blue tick in a year / and you've been tryna call for a tick for a year"
"I didn't really send but I'm bored so / might still catch a mans set on a hood one"
Whilst AJ's approach is more tranquil than his crew-mates before him, this dub has a genuine heavyweight feel behind it and it's hard to ever see a Row D recovery. The line above about a potential future meeting on set adds real tension to the setting and AJ verifies the recent plaudits attributed to him with a relentless flow and clever references to real life events. One thing I would like to note though and that's if gay slurs are an easy bullet for MCs to load than dismissing their abilities based on being white skinned is even easier, and I've always thought insults based around drug culture just as ineligible an insult within Grime.
All in all, the results of Row D's dub is reminiscent of the era in which Wiley held multiple blows from The Movement during Grime's thriving competitive phase. I'm not suggesting for a second that the levels of MCing are anywhere near that high, because they're not (quite yet, perhaps), but the MTP members unleashing a raging onslaught of tracks in such coordinated fashion was a great move. Row D will have to do something massive to avoid damaging any long term reputation amongst his peers whom previously he shared radio time and stage space with.
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