You know when you hear a banger in the club, and you can’t help but scrunch up your face and release the most vicious skank known to man? Or when you divide a line in the middle of the dance and wait for the beat to drop for the moshpit to ensue? Well, chances are you have done all of the above to a Swifta Beater production.

The soft-spoken, sought-after beatmaker from Birmingham is the crème de la crème of grime, the brains behind countless undeniable bangers and, despite being only 28 years of age, is a seasoned veteran across many underground UK genres. In the present day, his instantly recognisable tagline, tinged with an obnoxious Brum twang, means that a madness is on the way. You’ve heard it on tracks like Kano and Giggs’ “3 Wheel-Ups”, Jme and Giggs’ “Man Don’t Care”, Giggs and CASISDEAD’s “Hollow & Heston” and loads more, and with his operatic productions—rife with thumping orchestral elements, intimidating drum sequences and hi-hats and the most menacing basslines in grime—Swifta is the go-to for what I like to call ‘super saiyan grime’.

But outside the insanity is a cool, calm, and collected individual, whose frantic beats are the output of his energetic side, the side that enjoys the thrill of outdoor activities like “snowboarding and adventurous stuff.” He retains a suave demeanour as he labels his sound “fun, aggressive, moshpit-ready grime. I like to make energetic music across genres like hip-hop, bassline and grime, and I’m very hyperactive,” he tells me. “That’s why I like to make skippy grime tunes and even my slower ones are quicker in tempo than your average slow song. My actual personality is quite laid back, but my music shows what my personality doesn’t.”

Swifta has been determined from young. His father was the music producer Wooligan, the mind behind Apache Indian’s classic 1993 ragga anthem “Boom Shak A Lak”, while his mother sang. At an early stage, Swifta was hooked on American producers, explaining: “I was listening to people like Dr. Dre, Swizz Beatz, and Scott Storch. I took a lot from those guys, but it got to a point where I was just copying them. It’s easy to follow someone else’s style when you’re starting up but then you get to grips with music and then add your own elements.”

His ‘getting to grips’ moment was found via his PlayStation, where he began making skeletal beats on Music 2000, a contrived but necessary first step. “The beats were absolutely shit,” he remembers. “I tried to slice Eski beats and place them on Music 2000 like some others did, but I didn’t know how to. Then I kind of outgrew that and wanted to use the proper software, so my dad showed me the ones and twos on the computer.” With his father, he had a guaranteed entry into music that isn’t granted to many, but Swifta was proactive, soaking in everything from old school garage to early grime.