The Shape of Grime Pt. 2 (featuring LRD & The Upsetters)

Grime has been in various places over the last few months or so - and I've been in the midst of a lot of events experiencing them as a fan of the scene. From covering people's music to being here, there and everywhere across London and even the country, I feel like I have quite a well-formed opinion on what's benefitting the scene and what needs a bit of work. Just check the first instalment of this series to see what I had to say about some of the biggest talking points in grime at the moment. Having said that, I feel like now is the time to shine another light on some more hard-workers in grime who are leaving their mark on grime in 2023 and beyond.

LRD has featured on this page before, giving me what was actually the first interview I had ever done on this page - and the main focus was this project right here. The Fatality Riddim and all the versions of it. Twenty-two singular MC versions to be precise, with instrumental remixes and a 'megamix' rounding off the series of freestyles and remixes, consisting of each version's bars and rogue appearances from 0161 Bowza and Niftz thrown in for good measure.

There's a lot to unpack here. Each version brings its own spin on the instrumental, with each artist's unique style coming through. Whether it's the aggressive, gritty delivery of artists like Loon and Zedz, or the various skilled flows of RGG Tech, every artist has something different to bring to the table. One wish that I had when listening to all of these is that some of them were a bit longer - but that's just a personal preference. Regardless, there are a lot of standout performances across these versions. Additionally, there a a good few artists that I hadn't heard of before that I am now a fan of, which is always important.

What I really liked was the Megamix, which as I previously mentioned, took the best bits of each instrumental and vocal version and mashed it all together into a track just shy of six minutes. Listening to this felt like I was listening back to a radio set or a cypher, it really managed to bring the energy of having a bunch of artists in the room passing the mic to each other. I think the biggest contributor to this was the way LRD put each 8 bar together and even more so, the way he mixed together all the instrumentals. It felt as if we had the DJ spinning each record as well, being in touch with the MCs and carefully selecting each beat and how to mix it. It definitely was a fitting way to close out the Fatality Riddim project, which you can stream above or download on Bandcamp!

It's important as well that LRD is able to build from the back of the Fatality Riddim and he is doing just that. He is teasing a monster single, titled "Grime's Dead?" which is looking like it will have an insane lineup on it. It's good to see some proper works going on and LRD is a big contributor to that. Make sure you check him out.

One group that I've spent quite a bit of time around this summer in particular is the Upsetters. Consisting of 28 Luchi, Jus Rival, Doni Rampage and Joe Fire, with Spooky Bizzle on decks, these MCs are showing us exactly how it's done. Every time I've met either one or a few of these guys, they've always shown me respect and come with the right energy. You feel the same when you go up to Mode for their radio show, which they have every first and third Wednesday of the month.

Personally - and I don't see how this can be argued - these artists individually are doing some of the best work in grime right now. Jus Rival released one of the best projects of 2022 in Revenge of the Rivz and has been on fire this year as well, particularly teaming up with Blizzard for (you guessed it) one of my favourite EPs of the year in The Mega Powers EP. Joe Fire and Doni Rampage have been dropping stellar projects as well, with Life Lessons and S23 repsectively being further standouts of the year. 28 Luchi has been dropping heat in some of his grime singles, with his debut Spinna Man being one of the catchiest tunes of the year. And of course, Spooky Bizzle has been on fire as well. He's the final but vital piece that makes the Upsetters so unique, with his production demonstrated on all of these artist's songs and projects and the radio sets that are arguably one of the best shows on the whole of the radio station. He himself never stops working, with his Bandcamp and streaming pages being constantly updated and refreshed with his best and insane work.

It's this work rate that comes through whenever you see the Upsetters perform, either on radio or at shows, as you can tell that they have that unquestionable passion for music. It's not about trying to be the most popular or acting like a pillock to gain a second of attention - you can tell that every single one of these guys care purely about making good music. Joe Fire told me himself - it's not his job to be the next Stormzy. Rather, his job is to give upcoming artists the blueprint to make good, genuine music that can take you far and make you a success in this scene and beyond. They all do a great job at that.

There are also clips of some questions that I had for Joe Fire and 28 Luchi about the Upsetters, so stay locked to the Instagram and TikTok pages for those!