Music
Wiley vs. Stormzy: Why clashing is still grime's lifeblood
While the big guns continue to trade blows in the UK, new scenes around the world are using the art of clashing to shape their sound.
In grime, nothing is sacred – not even Christmas.
On December 25 2004, grime scene godfather Wiley went onto East London’s Rinse FM to provoke anyone who dared to test his lyrical supremacy. “Like I even care what day it is. Hold tight Bashy, suck your mum. Hold tight Lethal Bizzle, you can suck your mum as well. That’s how I feel on Christmas Day”.
Sixteen years later, and not much has changed.
The 2019 festive period saw Wiley become embroiled in a fierce back-and-forth with South London’s Dot Rotten, whose new project 808s & Gunshots was released last month. Dot had initially called out Coventry rapper Jay1 over an alleged debt, but soon broadened his aim to send shots at familiar targets from the grime scene – namely, the Adenuga-helmed Boy Better Know crew.
And while JME and Skepta kept their heads above water, fellow grime scene originator Wiley responded in the only way he knew: plunging headfirst into confrontation with a clutch of tracks in reply.
Dot continued to fling barbs, soon drawing out Birmingham’s Jaykae who responded with a diss track for both Dot and Wiley.
But Wiley wasn’t going to be hushed.
He changed tack and honed in on Stormzy – arguably the biggest fish in the contemporary grime scene. The release of his dub for Stormzy, provocatively titled Eediyat Skengman, followed days of prodding at the young star on Twitter, and has opened out proceedings into full-on multidirectional war.
Then, on January 6, Stormzy surprised everyone when he dropped a cutting response entitled Disappointed.
Its opening couplet goes straight for the jugular, issuing an affront towards three members of the Cowie family. Reigniting his old beef with Wiley’s younger brother Cadell, Big Michael accuses Wiley’s father of standing by when he aggressively confronted Cadell at Wiley’s own show -- before Eskiboy invited him onstage, despite the violation of his younger brother.
The following two-minute barrage is similarly laced in bravado, further augmented by Stormzy’s playful use of 808Melo’s instrumental for Know Better by Headie One and RV.
Instead of foregrounding his grimy credentials by drawing for a classic beat, the drill 808s and gliding bass stick two fingers up at Wiley for his public denouncement of Stormzy’s association with Ed Sheeran: “they say that I’m pop I don’t mind that / all you pussy boys should say thank you / true say I’m the one that brought grime back.”
Why are Stormzy and Wiley clashing?
For those unfamiliar with grime, it might seem strange for its leading lights to spend the festive season slewing each other.
Cynical types might attribute this latest ‘beef’ to impending album releases – both Dot and Wiley have albums out at the beginning of this year; Stormzy’s latest dropped in December (though he arguably doesn’t need the extra marketing support) – but clashing has always been a critical part of the genre. And without it, the form would falter for lack of competition.
Clashing’s position as a central cornerstone of the scene is reflected in both the genre’s colourful history and its distinctive sonic character. Birthed on the streets of London, antecedent forms such as hardcore, jungle and UK garage offered grime a solid grounding in rave culture and its socioeconomic network of pirate radio, record shops and raves. Clashing’s role, however, runs far deeper and is more readily located in long-standing influence from Jamaican dancehall culture and US hip-hop.
The influence of Jamaican music has profoundly impacted creative practice in the UK ever since the arrival of Empire Windrush into Tilbury Docks on June 22 1948. Ska and rocksteady ruled the airwaves in the late-1950s and 60s, and a stellar roster of homegrown soundsystems soon started to crop up across the UK in the 1970s.
Franco Rossi’s 1980 film Babylon offered a gritty representation of a soundclash between fictional sound Ital Lion and South East London’s Jah Shaka – vividly capturing a culture of toasting, tracing, and pressing dubplates to acetate.
These occasions were both central to black culture during this period and shared by a number of grime artists who have direct familial links to the tradition: Footsie’s father presided over King Original Sound, Sir Spyro’s dad is St Lucian singer Nereus Joseph, while Jammer’s father ran a ten-piece roots reggae outfit.
Battle rapping is also a core component of hip-hop, and was famously narrativised in the 2002 film 8 Mile. The foundations of this tradition were laid in the ‘dozens’, an African American homosocial game of name-calling and proverbial exchange.
For grime MC Trim – who has clashed with plenty of his contemporaries in the past, including Wiley – lyrical mastery is built through the combative medium of battling. “I felt like I needed to have that part if I wanted to be whole. If I didn’t train in battling then I would never improve,” he explained to me last year. “All the best rappers battle. Busta Rhymes, Eminem, the list goes on.”
For many, the epicentre of grime clash culture is Jammer’s parents’ basement in Leytonstone. Affectionately known as ‘The Dungeon’, the underground cavern hosted the inaugural Lord of the Mics in 2004, where Wiley went toe-to-toe with Nasty Crew’s Kano.
Winner takes all
While both Wiley and Kano continue to enjoy commercial success, clashing can make or break a career. East Connection’s Napper was comfortably beaten by Ghetts on the infamous staircase (he now works as a bodyguard for Chris Eubank Jr), while Big H’s refusal to spit any more bars without extra payment in his clash with P Money sullied an otherwise substantial legacy.
Clashing’s pre-eminence, though, means that most artists are comfortable with the format. The ease with which grime artists have assimilated soundsystem culture is evidenced by performances at large-scale events like Red Bull Culture Clash.
In 2012, Boy Better Know fought off fierce competition from Major Lazer, Annie Mac and Channel One with a final-round flourish that featured a special version of Giggs anthem Talkin’ the Hardest and guest appearances from Chip, Lethal Bizzle and footballer Emmanuel Frimpong.
Two years later, in 2014, a rogue grime artist prevented BBK from regaining their crown. Tempa T’s shock appearance for Rebel Sound was pure theatre. Clad head-to-toe in a red boxing robe, he repurposed the Chase & Status-produced Hypest Hype with direct sends for Boy Better Know that ultimately secured victory for the freshly-formed crew.
Grime goes global
The transatlantic battles captured in situ for Culture Clash also reflect a growing international interest in grime music.
Here in Australia, one of the most anticipated clashes took place in January in Melbourne, when the scene’s brightest young talent Wombat faced off against elder statesman Mr Wrighty, both of whom had recently released diss tracks. Not only is the dynamic redolent of Wiley and Stormzy’s current confrontation – with a seasoned veteran setting his sights on a fast-rising leader of a new generation – it is indicative of the scene itself truly coming of age.
Australian grime MC Fraksha
© Kyel Golly
Back in 2006, Fraksha and Scotty Hinds arrived in Australia from the UK, and formed Smash Brothers with Melbourne MCs Murky and Diem. They were one of the first crews to be pushing grime in the country, alongside Sydney hip-hop stalwarts That’s Them. For a number of years both outfits were championing grime across their respective cities, but in 2013 both crews converged for the double release of Fraksha’s project My Way, and Sarm’s self-titled debut.
From this point on the movement really started to gather momentum. Fraksha’s 50/50 clubnight was foundational for grime in Melbourne, and its later manifestation as Fully Gassed regularly saw in excess of 20 MCs take to the stage to showcase their skills.
Speaking with Fraksha ahead of the clash, there’s a decided optimism in his voice. “For a long time we were battling against a hip-hop scene who didn’t understand it,” says Fraksha. “But now you’ve got a new generation of kids coming up who know about [grime] from the jump. They know who Stormzy is straight away.”
This newer generation includes Brisbane MC Nerve, Perth-based Shadow and Sydney’s HAZRD – all of whom recently collaborated with UK MCs Eyez and Kamakaze for the ZDot-produced Grime Down Under. And of course there’s Wombat, whose Big Boy Bars session with ChillinIt has reached in excess of 1.5 million views on YouTube.
Australia’s scene is now healthier than ever. For Mr Wrighty, it’s the perfect time for a clash to showcase what grime artists down under have to offer. “There’s some serious and talented MCs here, who know the culture, know their history and know the format. I am hoping that me and Wombat will inspire other MCs to get involved."
Sydney rapper Mr. Wrighty
© Fresh Mode Photography
Competition brings out the very best in artists, and sets the standard for future practice. Durrty Goodz and Crazy Titch’s clash with Dizzee and Wiley at Area Watford in 2002 was the UK’s answer to Vybz Kartel taking on Ninjaman at Sting, and Mr Wrighty’s face off with Wombat could galvanise an entire country to take the music forward.
Battles are now boiling over 10,000 miles apart. Meanwhile, Wiley continues to do what Wiley does best. And grime simply wouldn’t be the same without it.
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