‘If Only You Knew’ Column: UK Rap, Grime & Drill For November
‘If Only You Knew’ is a bi-monthly column I write for The Quietus in which I select ten of the best songs/projects of the month to review from the UK rap, grime and drill scenes. This months entry includes albums from Headie One, Dizzee Rascal and Frisco and hits from Fredo and Digga D
The full column is on The Quietus but you can find the introduction below:
Legacy is a word and a concept that I’ve come across a lot in the last month or so, from the incident involving Wiley in the last column, through to the conversations I’ve had with grime royalty in D Double E and Dizzee Rascal – the latter of whom picked up the Legacy Award at the 2020 Rated Awards and is set to be awarded an MBE.
For artists their legacy is borne through their projects and the feelings evoked through their respective songs. Whatever the subject, however profound or superficial the lyrics, the best music touches the soul and captures the memories of a time or place, like the soundtrack to your first heartbreak or the street anthem that defines a night out at the club – something we can’t presently experience.
These sentiments and ideas can also be placed in a wider context than music due to the fact that it is currently Black History Month.
In a time of instant gratification, where everything is accessible at the click of a button, it is often the case that people are celebrated more in hindsight rather than in the moment. That makes it even more necessary to give people their flowers while they are still around to smell them – artists included. The aforementioned D Double E and Dizzee Rascal have both delivered new albums (honourable mention to Frisco too) which show exactly why they’ve maintained their status in the game for two decades, for which they should be applauded.
Those of you with eagle eyes will have noticed my subtle nods to the Chip vs Stormzy beef that shook the grime world earlier this month. It was only 2016 when they went back to back on ‘Hear Dis’ and even before that they linked up on ‘I’m Fine’. The pair being at loggerheads is probably a good thing for grime, with the claim to the mantle of King of the genre up in the air – albeit likely due to miscommunication on their part.
At the time of writing it remains to be seen whether Stormzy will reply and if Chip will indeed drop his teased mixtape, but it is almost certain that there are a lot more chapters of this story left to be written and, both artists’ legacies will be added to when all is said and done.