D Double E has lived and breathed Grime from day one. From the original Deja 92.3 tapers, down to the internet generation, and everyone who came before and during, D Double remains as highly revered to all as most of the scene's newer household names. Critical parts of his outstanding longevity lie deep within his gargantuan variety of trademark lyrics and that old-school flow, stemmed from years of Jungle and Drum 'n Bass, pre-grime, and his frightening ability to shut down any rave. Even more crucial you could say, is his willingness to switch it up on the productions he embraces, with his recent collaborations with Swindle and Riddim Commision sharp examples of how to be the torchbearer and not just one of the "old guard".




Dem Tings reaches out to the clubbers, with Swerve and Marco Del Horno's basslines hitting all the right notes, whereas Swindle's funk-infused rhythms create a mellow, Summery-haze. Not that either of these beats wouldn't survive alone, but it's D Double's contributions on tracks that are often the gateway to massive crowd reactions - that added vocal presence can be the difference between scurrying on to the next track or succumbing to hoards of reload demands.

Long live the king.

FABRICLIVE 88

It's meaningless to review these sort of releases track-by-track as I feel compilations, or mixed ones anyway, are there to serve a different sort of purpose. Whilst it's without doubt the DJs selection that's most scrutinised, it's what the selector does with those tracks and how they present them that matters. Flava D's effort, number 88 in a line of mixed-genre and frankly mixed-quality releases is a shining light.

The best DJs utilise tracks in this release format by creating a theme, a scenario, some sort of state a listener will instantly connect with. Anyone who's been a keen raver over the last few years will instantly feel at home with this mix - even from the comfort of your own living room, there's a legitimate sense that you're actually somewhere much livelier, perhaps not even raving per se but just in the club, existing amongst the music.

Largely the mix is influenced by Flava's own productions, most of which are modern, garage-tinged efforts, the culmination of growing-up through the Grime era whilst being under the heavy influence of pirate radio 2-step, her time amongst labels such as Butterz undoubtedly spiriting her willingness to go further than the standard expectations. As a mix the joints are thrown in and out quickly, exciting the listener with build-ups and drops in the right places, switching between the silkier gloss of 'Closer' and the waving bassline of 'Bleeding' all the while encompassed by frantic bursts of energy such as Riddim Commision's D Double E collaboration 'Dem Tings Dere' and DJ Q's 'What I Like' remix.

In regards to my earlier comment on creating feelings, 'Conflict' is a great example of that. If you could capture the sound that accompanies the sometimes distant moments you have during the night, that sort of subconscious stop in time where you briefly acknowledge your surroundings and all there is in the background is that one pulsating rhythm, a continuous thump from the sound system, 'Conflict' is that. I don't think tantalising would be too extreme a term to use - Flava's mixing style married with the right beats is a tease - a rave that jitters along steadily but gradually sparks into action, inducing audible ecstasy with bangers like 'Happy' and 'To My Heart' whilst appealing to the serious gun-finger crowd with Distro's 'Off The Chain' and Terror Danjah's 'Juicy Patty/Dollar Sign' combo.

Purchase via this link.

Skepta - Konnichiwa - Some Thoughts..

More rambling then reviewing, but all the same.

When I first moved to Lewisham in my pre-teens, the only access I had to Grime was my radio and one local record shop. I think sometimes people underestimate the reality of how important tape-swapping was back then (we're talking early noughties) and from a small bedroom in South East London with limited internet access, it was impossible to pick up stations such as Heat FM, where Skepta once held his own slot. Independence Records was a stone throw away from where I was living and it was there I grabbed my first Skepta vinyl and met someone who could provide me with all the tapes I wanted and more. The Tottenham born MC had a flow that was different for me at the time: not as blisteringly assaulting as say, Ghetto's, but far more assertive and commanding than the likes of Trim, encapsulating a seriousness not seen in Garage. This is as cliché as I'll ever sound, but who in their right mind would imagine that over ten years later, Skepta would be on the brink of securing a number one album?

 The build-up for Konnichiwa has been a much drawn out yet compelling period. As frequently noted by various journalistic outlets during the waiting time, Skepta has evolved as an artist immensely, binning the awful pop attempts and reverting back to the much sought after Grime icon  [this is best summarised via this article on Dazed]. Unlike the commercial world where artists tend to vanish in between big releases, we've had the Blacklisted & Tim Westwood mix tapes to fill the void between this album and 2011's Doin It Again, with no less than five singles off of the album to wet our appetites. Three of the five, in my mind, are instant classics. I outlined in this article for Complex UK the importance of Shutdown and That's Not Me and whilst Man might not carry the same social significance, it's another anthem which exhibits the stripped-back "tracksuit mafia" persona of Skepta that suits him a little better than the American influenced side.

 It discomforts me indulging in the over-categorising of music and it's irritating to further resurrect the time-old arguments of what Grime is and isn't, so I'll relay my thoughts like this: if you're the sort who craves for one-hundred percent Grime bangers, then barring (the quite incredible) Lyrics, you've heard the best of Konnichiwa already. Should you find yourself just wanting to enjoy a body of music, rap-tinted tracks included, you'll be replaying the whole album for a while. I'll think about those points whilst trying not to remain somewhere lost in the middle, all the while belting out the hook for It Ain't Safe at an absurd volume, but racing to the skip button just at the thought of the Pharrell assisted Numbers.

"Boy Better Know man went to the Brits on the train / think it's a game? / man shutdown Wireless then walked home in the rain"

 Features and nostalgic references during the album don't come any bigger than on my personal favourite Lyrics. "lyrics for lyrics calm" is extracted from a brief audio clip of the heated [2001] exchange between Pay As You Go and Heartless Crew, one of the moments that I firmly believe birthed the scene we love. In the way Pay As You Go (albeit more specifically Wiley) paved the way for Skepta, the North Londoner has played a big part in the rise of young MC Novelist, so it's of little surprise that Nov's supporting role on the track becomes one of the bigger highlights, with his hungry approach embodying the spirit we commonly associate with the best emerging talents and his smooth skipping on the track evoking memories of an early D Double E...

 There are points on this album where I do ask whether Skepta is being as wilfully obscure as made out, with Numbers being a prime example. Is he really comfortable being that laid back? Or is he using Pharrell's name to over emphasise the magnitude of the pirate radio-to-Drake narrative that Konnichiwa aims to showcase? Both are capable of producing music greatly superior but in honesty, besides the needless skits at the close of promising tracks such as Corn On The Cob and Crime Riddim, there is quite little to moan about on the album.

 There are more glimpses of the Skepta I alluded to in the opening paragraph on this album then there has been for a very long time. Whilst there may be a certain dissonance between the UK and US sounds, it's more of a welcome blend as opposed to a vulgar clash and for the first time ever, Skepta has delivered an album that guarantees replay value. Comparison is often a poor way of appraising music, but in the year where Kano drops the sure to be perpetually amazing Made In The Manor and Wiley hinting at something possibly as huge, Skepta manages to confidently weigh-in a titanic effort, rescuing his legacy amongst the Grime all-stars.