Welcome to Bass Boost! A new bi-weekly feature on FUXWITHIT showcasing creative, deep and underrepresented sounds in the realm of bass music. Though the music may vary widely by genre, expect a consistently fat low-end and unique feel to all the music promoted in this series. Aiming to highlight the vast amounts of worthy bass music not often found on charts, count on Bass Boost for something refreshing, unique and chest-rattling.
For the first installment of this series, I want to talk about a genre that has been steadily growing in popularity since the early 2000s in Europe and the UK especially, but remains mostly under-the-radar in North America; Grime. I will admit that when I first encountered this music years ago, I was off-put by the the rapping style; my sensitive North American ears being accustomed to hearing only a small variety of American dialects in rap music. After giving it some time and digging to find a few tracks that really did it for me, my opinion has completely changed. In the same way that American rappers use their local vernacular to stylize their own flow, grime music takes this practice to an international level. Paired with the permeation of dub music and Jamaican culture into British arts, I now see that there is a huge sub-genre of rap music that many in North America are missing out on. If you are a fan of rap and bass music as separate entities, grime may have something to offer you. Blending bass music production with a wide variety of rap styles, grime is an often overlooked genre that deserves more attention. With current artists like Skepta and Stormzy‘s names ringing out across Europe, I would think it’s just a matter of time before this truly grimy blend of bass and UK and European-style rap starts to gain momentum on the other side of the Atlantic.
To highlight the weight grime has to throw around, I turn to two big influences on the genre; a collaboration between well-known English producer The Bug and legendary grime MCs, Flowdan and Killa P. I first heard this track in a Zeds Dead mix years ago and looking back now, realize it was the primer I needed to be more open to exploring this genre in the future. With a MASSIVE beat courtesy of The Bug, proving that the influence of Jamaican culture on English music is still as prevalent as ever, Flowdan and Killa P utilize much Jamaican patois to flow their way through the song. ‘Skeng’ (meaning a knife or blade) is a heavy track with both a beat and vocals that individually could make a song complete. Released on The Bug’s album London Zoo in 2008 under Bonobo’s Ninja Tune label, this track has some serious power. Both The Bug and Flowdan are legends of the genre in their own right, and this track remains in my opinion, one of the best grime tracks out there.
For more check out THIS VIDEO of Flowdan tearing it up on RINSE FM‘s THE GRIME SHOW
