Life At 140 #7

The month in Grime...

February has been another busy and pretty interesting month in the world of Grime. Whilst many are still recovering from Butterz 3rd birthday celebrations at Cable on the 23rd, there have been a slew of releases worthy of mention. Much talked about producer Swifta Beater released the 'Matt Black' EP, only further enhancing his growing reputation, whilst Spooky's 'Coolie Joyride' was finally released after existing solely as a dubplate for the last 7 years. Ipswich-based label Mixclique were also busy, releasing Trends' hard-hitting 'Whiplash' EP and a release date for Flava D's forthcoming debut record on Butterz was also confirmed – the excellent 'Hold On' / 'Home' will land on March 11th. Wen's grime-leaning 'Commotion' EP was released on the ever-pioneering Keysound imprint too; although a marauder of 130bpm territory, Wen is a special talent and ultimately, it's a masterpiece of a record. 

On the MC front, JME continues to prove why he is arguably one of the best to ever do it. His new single, 'If You Don't Know', sees him team up with Manchester-based producer extraordinaire Deeco, (who incidentally also produced last years smash '96 Fuckries'), to brilliant effect. Capturing the genre's lighter side in abundance, JME has managed to create a brand of grime that is virtually impossible to dislike – the video is a cracker too. Elsewhere, Kozzie is another to have released music with new single 'Skitz', produced by Faze Miyake, adding to his already impressive body of work. Newham Generals D Double E and Footsie have also been busy, releasing their new EP '5 Star General', featuring guest features from P-Money and Frisco.

Events wise, aside from a typically incredible Butterz birthday knees up at London's Cable, which featured guest appearances from JME and Skepta, Leicester saw Wiley's iconic Eskimo Dance move north for the night and Preditah also played Fabric for 'Roska Presents' on the 15th. Looking ahead, Rinse FM play host to a night at Fabric on March 28th as part of their winter tour, with Room 2's line-up essentially serving as the station's grime showcase – expect sets on the night from Elijah & Skilliam, Royal-T, new signee Faze Miyake, Preditah and Spyro as well as guest sets from Ruff Sqwad and Girl Unit plus live perofmances from Skepta, P-Money, Trim and C4. 

Top 5 Tracks of the Month:

Slackk – Shogun Assasin

8-bar monster in the Spartan mould – seriously powerful, upfront grime. Forthcoming on Local Action.

Audio:

Trends – Whiplash

Oxford-based producer Trends continues to make all the right noises and 'Whiplash', taken from his new EP of the same name, is another brutal 140 cut. 

Audio:

JME – If You Don't Know

Great instrumental, great lyrics and an even better video. Vintage JME.

Audio: 

Flava D – Home

Strong garage flavours underpinned by an undeniable grimy edge – grime perfectly engineered for the dance. 

Stream via Dummy Mag:

Swifta Beater – Youngster

Taken off his Matt Black EP – glorious, skippy number with incredible production value. Banger. 

Preview Matt Black EP in full:

Word by Tomas Fraser

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