water49 over 16 years ago

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I just had to find if I'm not the only person who hates Grime/8 bar UK garage and what it means for the scene in general. Sure, in every genre of dance the sounds and styles must evolve, but I think as a UK Garage fan we've gone backwards! Let me break it down...



1. The beats... - the set of 8-bar beats you get today are frankly, ridiculous. Bone crushing beats, that have very little variation drowning out in bass. They mostly follow the same pattern i.e. with producers like Sticky. He has his place in UK Garage, but repeating the 'Triplets' rhythm over and over is pathetic! It's the same with the Dizzy Rascal and Wiley school of production.



2. The crew/squad/group mentality - since when did ONE MC need five, six, seven, etc other guys to 'back him up'?? What happened to one MC holding it down on his own and maintaining the vibes like PSG, Creed and Kie? Apart from the So Solid Crew, there's More Fire Crew, Excution Squodd, the (ex?) Pay As You Go cartel, etc...



They're all a joke! At UK Garage 'sound clashes' you get bursts of music complete with a whole heap of shouts and grunting. You can't even hear them properly or remember their names! And don't get me started on 'Blazing Squad'! A 10-PIECE boy band who half sing/half MC? How do they fit on the stage?



3. Lyrics and ability - today's 'stars' of UK Garage couldn't hold the stage with the real MCs of the late '90s. Their lyrics were about positivity and good vibes. Now everyone wants to be like Dizzy Rascal or Wiley. Why?? Have you heard them? Some of these so-called new MCs do nothing more than repeat some lines 5 times and cuss each other and their family like they're at school!



The first time I heard Dizzy's "I Luv You" was in a UK Virgin Megastore, first the beats kicked in. The bass was so heavy and the beat was out of time, then Dizzy Rascal kicks in and starts SHOUTING over the track, not thinking about the flow or rhymes. It was doing my f*****g head in! I had to go downstairs to get away from the music!



And this guy won a Mercury Music Prize? They said his album was challenging... I bet we won't see him 5 years from now!



4. The dress and events - It's almost like Grime/8 bar was desperate NOT to be associated with the glamorous times of late '90s UK Garage. That's why it's customary to go to Grime events NOT dressed in your best but more like you're gonna mug someone. Hoods, Gloves, dirty t-shirts and Air Force trainers are the standard!



And of course you don't go to dance, you just watch the next 'crew' to see if something's gonna jump off. And because of that, you can't arrive 'with friends', there's got to be a few of you arriving together, preferably reaching double figures...



As you can tell, I'm a big fan of the days of classic (and classy) UK Garage, when people dressed up and stepped out to have a good time. I know those days will never come back except for the occasional club night (they're always a massive success, wonder why... ;-) but I don't like where the scene it at now....



M Prince



Shout out to Pure Azura, he knows what I'm talking about.