GRIME IS NOT DEAD

Like any movement starting purely in the underground, the honeymoon period of exclusivity and innovation has to reach a peak before an inevitable dip towards extinction occurs.

Broadsheet journalists and their "Brap Pack" categorisation of former grime stars hitting the mainstream with shoddy euro-house productions and barely intelligible lyrics all but stamp out the last remaining embers of what was once such a raw energy pulsating through our capital's veins.



However, still flying the flag with insurmountable amounts of pride and ambition are East London blogger/DJ/record label CEO duo supreme Elijah and Skilliam, more widely known for their Butterz imprint which recently celebrated its 1st Birthday.

With their distinctive genre-hopping, instrumental take on UK Grime, cheekily loveable artwork and carefully marketed, polished releases, Butterz is heading towards becoming a cult in itself through the re-packaging of the genre into an easily consumerable, collectable product.

In terms of credentials, there is no need to reel off the various accolades to their name thus far: mixes for XLR8R and FACT magazine as well as various mentions in Pitchfork but to name a few.

The reason for this post therefore is to announce my personal excitement for the decision to repress perhaps one of the most renown instrumentals ever to grace the scene.

"Ghetto Kyote", aptly named, a beat produced originally by Treble Clef but released under the collective name of Kamikaze, has been 'blessed' by MC's such as Tinie Tempah, Kano and Devlin.

The eerie synth melodies and classic 4/4 drum loops, punctuated by a menacing sub-low bassline attenuate all of the instrumental qualities that typify the outlandish personality of preeminent Grime music.



It is important to note however that, such a reissue, as monumental as it may be for grime aficionados, is sadly never going to go platinum (as much as I would love to see Treble Clef duppy Justin Bieber).

However, this is not the point.

The fact is that the Butterz movement are taking all that was electrifying about a scene gone by; the energy, the aggression and the veracity of the music, and marketing it into something that is commemoratong an era of urban music in the UK as a whole, whilst rapidly moving it forward at the same time.