2014 was hailed as a year that saw a resurgence in Grime, and saw a bunch of fresh faces coming forward to lead the charge. Amongst this wave were the South London crew The Square, a collective who are reminiscent of the grime crews of times gone by (The Movement, More Fire Crew and Roll Deep) who bring pure energy, humour and power to every thing they touch. With 2015 half way done, The Square is gaining considerable attention and lead member Novelist was nominated by BBC’s ‘Sound of 2015’ and called “the new face of grime” by DJ Logan Sama. With so much hype around the Lewisham based crew, We wanted to take a look at them in detail.
The Square consists of MC’s Novelist, DeeJillz, Faultsz, Syder, Dee Cee, Streema, Elf Kid, Hilts and Blakie with production from Lolingo, Hilts and Streema. While all being close friends, the chemistry between the members plays out on their tracks and only adds to the authenticity and appeal. From listening to their music and reading interviews, it is clear that The Square have an unlimited and unrivalled passion, enthusiasm and hunger to succeed in the modern day Grime scene. It’s also to be noted that they only started recording together as a crew in early 2014 and had released a mixtape not long after. The first track [‘Pengaleng’] and mixtape [‘The Formula’] released were via iconic Grime imprint No Hats No Hoods and allowed The Square to introduce themselves to the world;
“That girl is pengaleng and I might move to her friendaleng”
Even though The Square are still young – (all of the members are under 19), they serve as a throwback to the early days of young MCs such as Kano, Dizzee Rascal and Wiley, who’s presence on the mic were reflective of their struggle to break though. The Square channels that energy and can be seen as trying to bridge the gap from Grime of days gone by to modern day grime which is consumed by a large, young audience. This serves to show how smart The Square are as they are fully aware of the scene they are in and are willing to utilise it to their advantage. Within this, however, their identity is not lost and this is shown no better then their cyphers, which have been released through ParWithDaBest and KNWME. While the cypher serves as a perfect platform for those involved to drop their hardest bars, it also showcases the comradery and one-upmanship of The Square and is reflective of their humble roots.
“I’m a leader like Reagan, mans big in this game just face it!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D9ksZYXvi0
Even though they are yet to release any new material since ‘The Formula’, The Square have been creating a following through a string of appearances on Rinse FM, 1Xtra, Kiss FM and gaining the support of influential DJs MistaJam, DJ Target and Toddla T. This, matched with a number of notable performances from the Boiler Room [alongside Skepta & Stormzy] and Milan Fashion week, show The Square’s progression and their intentions for the future. Their latest release ‘Lewisham Mcdeez’, is a fun filled joint which made reference to their local fast food establishment and was featured on Mixmag, FACT magazine and Noisey. The Square’s perfect mix of home-grown talent and desire to blow makes for an eclectic sound and the second half of the year can only hold good things for the grime collective.
“You don’t wanna clash, get brash, just sit back. You’re not big coz you got a tash and a 6 pack!”
Woords: Nathan Tuft – @Natz_AO
To keep up with the Square’s Musical Journey follow them on Twitter @TheSquareMusic
