Streetfighter: D Double E

"It's a natural thing..."

Critically acclaimed, lyrically incredible and renowned for his live performances, D Double E remains as relevant today as he ever has been. A grime scene veteran in every sense, D Double has been an integral part of the genre for nearly a decade and continues to be one of it’s most vocal standard bearers. From ‘Anger Management’ to ‘Streetfighter’ and ‘Bluku Bluku’, he has been responsible for a slew of tracks that have helped shape contemporary grime music and as such, is still looked upon by fans and artists alike as one of the genre’s true legends. Ahead of his performance at Butterz vs Hardrive’s latest party at Cable, I was lucky enough to catch up with the man himself on Dirtee Stank, staying relevant and some of his favourite memories:

First off, how do you think you’ve managed to remain such an influential figure over the last ten years?
“It’s a natural thing – because I’m an original grime artist, I’m always in my own sort of zone. Everything I’ve always come out with has been different. Every time I make something new, it gets harder and harder and I think personality definitely has something to do with it – when people can look into you as a character a bit more, then people are more inclined to get involved with your music and want to be a part of it.”

With everything so easily accessible thanks to the internet today, how has grime changed since you first started out? What do you think about grime today?
“It’s changed in a positive way but at the same time, it’s the artists that are keeping it together nowadays. Grime music itself has gone down hill a bit in some ways – if you know a good beat, you can filter it out but i feel it’s slowed down and it’s getting flooded with stuff that isn’t all that. It is still in a good spot though and it’s definitely more professional. The fact is though that the old school grime listeners don’t even listen to grime music anymore but will still pay attention to guys like me. I find that with grime, it’s individual artists holding it down in their own way rather than the scene itself.”

You were signed to Dizzee Rascal’s ‘Dirtee Stank’ label alongside Newham Generals counterpart Footsie and remain a focal point of the label. How did that come about?
“Back in the day, Dizzee used to listen to me before he came up. He always used to look up to me and as he’s got bigger and bigger, he still kept his eye on grime and how it was progressing. He heard ‘Signal’ soon after I’d done it and at that time he’d just started the label so they wanted me involved. There were a few phone calls and some meetings and it went from there. I did the ‘Give U More’ vocal with Dizzee as our first collaboration and then had a few more interviews and told them I was working with Footsie so they decided to bring him through too. Over the years it’s been a really positive experience; we’ve been all over the world, done tours all over the UK and just had generally had a good time. It’s been the first time I’ve got to join a label and felt at home too. Even though it’s been a while now, it’s still so natural and there’s no pressure at all. It”s a proper family thing.”

You’ve not been afraid to branch out either – how did your track with Breakage come about and more recently, your collaboration with Joker?
“I’ve always branched out. I came from DnB so dubstep for me is like a reverse of that. From the early days I was onto that sound, even before it had a name. As time went on though, it got more technical and tracks to jump on were few and far between so when Footsie heard the Breakage instrumental, we wanted to jump straight on it. I think dubstep as a whole branched out a lot wider than everyone thought at first and their world is a lot stronger than grime at the moment.”

As far as iconic vocals go, your effort on SX’s ‘Wooooo’ riddim is arguably one of the most memorable – how did that come about?
“I liked the beat, it was different, it was clean. Footise introduced it to me and I heard potential but it didn’t get me proper hyped until I heard Footsie vocal it. More and more people started to do their versions after that and I felt like I had to do my own. I knew i’d rip it apart though, it was a proper silent merkers; any track with a looping beat like that I’m gonna be shining like a mic man over.”

Looking back, is it possible for you to name your favourite track?
“Ahhh I would say…I dunno. I love performing Bluku Bluku, that’s probably the perfect track still. It’s a hard question but the feeling i get when I perform that means it has to be my favourite.”

Your legendary status has been cemented for some time now – how does it make you feel? Are you consciously aware of what people think or do you take it all in your stride?
“I’m definitely not under pressure. Everyone has a sense of competition in them but I don’t think about it too much to be honest. I’m a chilled out person. I love what I hear about me and seeing people saying good things is cool but at this time I’m just constantly trying to make things even better. I have to live this so it’s a lot easier for me. I’m from the days before money don’t forget; I can go to my mates, muck about and mix all night and it’d still be good enough to put out somewhere. I’m just about vibes, all of this robot stuff is all too stressful. I just chill out.”

You’re performing at Cable on Saturday for Butterz and Hardrive. What do you make of Butterz and their impact on the scene over the last two years?
“They’ve been about for a few years now. Terror didn’t really tell me about what they were all building at the time, I just suddenly saw it was in motion. It’s early days still but things look good. I definitely feel like it’s the beginning of something for them. If someone comes up to me and says, ‘do I know Butterz?’, I’m definitely gonna know them do you know what I mean? It’s positive, it’s relevant and it’s all good and that’s why I’m gonna be there supporting.”

You’re well known for your live performances – what has been your best rave experience or memory over the years?
“I would say ‘Streetfighter’ showed me a certain energy from the crowd that’s made moments special – I’ve got a lot of good memories of performing that track. I wouldn’t be able to tell you the club or the event but that track, that brought out some special moments that the camera would have loved to have caught. There’s been a lot of great moments over the years, even when I used to smash down all the clubs with my deepest bars and lyrics but i couldn’t tell you details. Every club I go to is in competition with the last really. Anyone who’d come with me would be like, ‘ahh you effed it up’ and that’s how it is. You can’t even judge a club by size either, even the smaller clubs have a deeper vibe sometimes.”

Having already done so much, what does the future hold for yourself and the Newham Generals?
“The future’s holding a lot more bangers. Right now, I’m just getting into my element and my first album is on its way. From ‘Hard’ right up until now has been our push to what’s about to happen. We’re about to come again with a mad segment of tunes, EPs and then it’s gonna be that time; it’s all been about raising the temperature. What we’ve put out in the last 2 years has done a lot though too. There’s been no let downs, everything we’ve done has definitely levels but the difference is, things are about to switch up a gear. Dirtee TV launches in August which will be massive. We’re hoping to provide some real competition and Bluku TV will be a part of that. I’m working on a couple of film projects at the moment as well. The Newham Generals album is the next thing to come out though, with our first single dropping very soon. On the whole, everything is relaxed and positive – we’re not running about like hooligans, we’re just taking things easy.”

Words by Tomas Fraser

– – –

Butterz x Hard Drive take over Cable tomorrow night (July 7th)

-
Join the Clash mailing list for up to the minute music, fashion and film news.