There is a little over a month till the 40th annual Brit Awards 2017, whilst many of the usual suspects like Ellie Goulding, Little Mix and Coldplay have all received nominations a few grime artists have also popped up. Whilst grime has never needed an award to stay relevant thanks to the DIY nature of the music, recognition from any source will always be greatly appreciated. With that in mind Trapped decided to take a look at the grime artists the Brit awards have deemed worthy of a nomination and which categories they fall into.
Skepta – Break Through Artist, Album, Best Male Solo
Ironically up for the Breakthrough act of 2016 Skepta has been around nearly as long as the grime scene has. It has however been a monumental few years for Skepta; he has almost singlehandedly bridged the gap to America for grime, sold out Alexandra Palace and starred in his own documentary which explored his minds inner workings and opinions. With songs like Shutdown, It Aint Safe and Man getting regular air time as well as collaborations with Pharrell and several members of the A$AP Mob, Skepta’s musical contribution cannot be understated. Skepta’s recognition does not stop here, he has also been nominated for Best Solo Artist and British Album Of The Year.
Konnichiwa is an album that that took years to release That’s not me was the first single from the album which was released two years prior; but make no mistake it was worth the wait. With features from grime royalty as well as Pharrell, Skepta certainly did not disappoint. Konnichiwa is also the highest charting album from Skeppy coming in at number two on the UK album chart as well recently going gold. Clearly 2016 was a productive year for Skepta which led to his three nominations. On Corn On The Curb Skepta raps “I broke down a few more barricades. Got me a few more accolades.” It is as though he has finally realised his place in music and is reaping the rewards of it.
Kano – Best Male Solo Artist, Best British Album –
After a six-year album hiatus Kano clearly returned with a vengeance with his album Made In The Manor landing at number eight on the album charts; a career high for Kano. Unsurprisingly Made In The Manor received favourable reviews from critics, all the more impressive when you consider the album only had three features two of which appear on the same song. When you consider this. it is easy to understand why Kane has been nominated for the best solo act as well as best album.
Kano has been a mainstay in grime for some time now with his debut single Ps and Qs still considered a classic to this day. In the time since then he has tried his hand at acting as well as continuing his music career, Kano can be considered the full package thanks to his rapping, singing and acting capabilities.
Stormzy – Breakthrough Artist –
You would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t know who Stormzy now-a-days over the last year or so. Maybe the epitome of a millennial artist, gaining prominence through YouTube. Not That Deep (his first single) now sits at a cool five million views. His highest charting single Shut Up initially started as a YouTube freestyle that went viral; becoming so popular the song made a charge for Christmas number one. Despite all this success we are still waiting on an album from storms over two years after we first head the London grime MC.
Stormzy is the real deal, make no mistake about it, constantly receiving praise from grimes heaviest hitters; few people seem to be able to bridge the gap between the casual and hardcore grime audience but Stormz does so effortlessly. You only need to look at the recent spike in Adidas tracksuits to see how influential the young MC has become in a relatively short space of time.
To most Grime heads the idea of Stormzy or Skepta winning an award for best breakthrough act of 2016 may seem bizarre, these are both well known in the Grime scene but aficionados must take this with a pinch of salt. The Brit Awards are designed to recognise pop music; which by definition is popular music. When taking this into account it is clear how far the genre has come, yes they may be a few years behind the rest of the Grime scene for now; but as a whole grime should be proud of how far it has come, especially when you consider how relatively short grime has been around. Grimes foray into the more mainstream music in the late two-thousands may not have been to many OG’s tastes but it is good to see grime finally getting recognition for staying true to its roots.
It will be interesting to see if Wiley’s offering Godfather receives any accolades this time next year, as that album carries the Grime flag like no other.
Words: Martin Viashima
