- Mon, 2010-11-22 09:24
This week I Like Music has been subject to the whims of East London's Griminal. Widely regarded as one of the best kept secrets in grime, it's only a matter of time before the secret is blown sky high and Griminal becomes the latest UK urban act to establish himself as a household name nationwide.
Griminal – real name Joshua Ramsey - is part of a well known musical family, as the younger brother of DJs Marcus Nasty, Mak 10 and MC Little Nasty, Griminal was exposd to grime culture from a as young as 10: Legendary MC’s such as Kano, D Double, Dizzee Rascal and so many others would come to my house and go into Mak’s room and just spit bars. I wasn’t allowed in, but I’d sit and listen outside and that instilled inside me a hunger to be good enough to get through that door. Griminal
Even outside of his home life, Joshua found the grime culture wherever he went; he grew up in East London’s Plaistow; a breeding ground for the best grime MCs in the genre’s short history. He shared the same school as chart topping artist Tinchy Stryder, and soon Griminal found the confidence to try out MCing himself. Once his brothers heard what he could do, he was called up on to visit pirate radio sessions with them and their MC friends. Joshua was finally allowed to step foot inside that room. At aged 14 he was getting picked up from school to take part in radio shows, video shoots, studio sessions and live performances.
N.A.S.T.Y Crew were one of the most significant and prolific grime collectives of its day, founded by Griminal’s brother, Marcus Nasty, with the original and most popular line up consisting of Kano, Jam-mer, D Double E, Footsie, Monkey, Stormin, Mak 10, Sharky Major & Hyper. They embraced Griminal into the fold. His alliance with the N.A.S.T.Y crew and appearances on F**k Radio would solidify Griminal’s solo credentials in the scene, and produce some of his most well-known bars as he battled it out with a handful of other up and coming MC’s including Devlin, Scorcher and Wretch 32.
His working relationship and friendship with grime MC Ghetts evolved over the years and as he featured on many of Ghetts releases and later appeared in videos together. 2008’s Don’t Phone Me was a huge hit online and across Channel AKA and MTV Base. He was then officially signed to 360 records with industry A&R’s Colin Batsa and Darren Platt. Invincible was to officially launch Griminal’s video career and acted as the catalyst in creating interest from major record labels, commercial TV and mainstream radio stations in 2010; all of this despite Griminal never having released a catalogue of mixtapes.
Now he's back and ready to take it to the next level with Supa Dupa. Check out the video, in which Griminal is joined by his long-standing mates Devlin and Ghetts:
Griminal Playlist
1: Nicki Minaj featuring Eminem - Roman's Revenge
2: Devlin - Days & Nights
3: Devlin - Finally featuring Ghetts & Dogzilla
4: Lil Wayne featuring Drake - Right Above It
5: Kanye West featuring Pusha T - Runaway
6: Rick Ross featuring Gucci Mane - MC Hammer
7: Far*East Movement - Like A G6
8: Kid Cudi featuring Kanye West - Erase Me
9: Jay-Z - Venus vs Mars
10: B.o.B featuring Lupe Fiasco - Pass My Shades
11: Dizzee Rascal - Cut Em Off
12: Alicia Keys featuring Drake - Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)
13: Rihanna featuring Drake - What's My Name
14: T.I. - Let My Beat Pound
15: Tinchy Stryder featuring Giggs, Professor Green, Tinie Tempah, Devlin, Example And Chipmunk - Gameover
16: Maxsta featuring Big Shizz - On The Low
17: Katy B - Katy On A Mission
18: T Pain featuring Rick Ross - Rap Song
19: Chris Brown featuring Tyga & Kevin McCall - Deuces
20: Griminal - Supa Dupa
Track
Artist: Devlin Track: Let it Go Release: 2011 Label: Island
OK, I know that my choices are quite Devlin heavy, but he’s my mate and I massively respect him as an artist and I want everyone else to get behind him too! Let It Go has to be my favourite track off Devlin’s album bud, sweat & beers. I think that Labrinth, who produced the track, is an absolute genius and has crazy talent, I’d love to work with him. His unique production style mixed with Devlin’s fiery flow is just too much for one track! I expect the new video will be out soon and everyone should definitely support this track.
Album
Artist: Devlin Album: bud, sweat & beers Release: Out Now Label: Island
I picked Devlin’s bud, sweat & beers as my album of the week because I've had it on replay ever since I got it!
I just genuinely enjoy listening to the album, and Devlin is one of the most gifted writers and lyricists I know. I’ve had the privilege of being his friend for a number of years and it’s amazing to see the success that this album is bringing him. Some of my favourite tracks are Let It Go (my choice for Urban Track of the Week), Our Father and Days and Nights. Whenever I’m feeling down its one of the albums I know would cheer me up again.
Video
Artist: N-Dubz Track: Girls Release: 29th November Label: All Around The World / Universal
I love N Dubz, particularly Tulisa who’s easily number one on my celebrity crush list. N Dubz have always set the levels when it comes to making great UK urban music and their music videos are always top of all the TV charts. I have a lot of respect for the band and they’ve worked hard to get where they are. I think Girls is a really fun and sexy video and I think they’ll do really well with the track. I also look forward to getting their album Love, Live, Life (ut November 29th 2010) and seeing them perform at the Channel AKA party with me in December!
Lil Wayne is one of my favourite artists of all time. I’d love to do a collaboration with him one day. I wanted to dedicate this space to him, as he came out of prison and back into the musical stratosphere only a week or so ago, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what he’s going to bring to the table. I think Lil Wayne is different, he’s got a really unique style and flow that I admire and he’s part of the new generation of hip hop artists in the US.
