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I’m happy to say that it seems Grime fans are finally starting to dance again, and not just some random jumping around and gun-fingering but some real deal dancehall-style organized named dances with steps. They’ve still got a ways to go but I’m calling it a powerful positive step in the right direction. Unsurprisingly champion skanker Skepta is at the lead of the charge with his tune “Do The Rolex Sweep”. It seems this whole Grimey Electro thing is kinda popping off, I think it’s great. I’m glad the grime kids are not standing still and letting Funky eat their lunch after building up the thing for years now. The tune is clearly a response to Wiley’s “Wearing My Rolex” (featured below) so unsurprisingly Wiley is at the head of a major development in Grime, again. Big up the whole Boy Better Know camp for keeping the game flipping and coming through with another periodic fun injection to the scene. Check out more vids here.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xV6OZdxGGw[/youtube]

Also, very unrelatedly Lamin sent me a wicked XLR8R interview with Bun B after I mentioned him earlier, thanks! There’s also these excerpts where he talks about some more general stuff, which are also great.

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And the pendulum swings again. The kids are dancing to a new (old) beat. Since the police in London have decided to criminalise Grime and ban it’s fans and artists from holding any sort of public performances in their home city, the kids have started to fulfill their itch to drink, dance, bubble at clubs playing what is called “Funky”. Originally short for Funky House the rise in popularity in the scene has triggered a wave of new producers, many of them former grime heads to start making this new stuff. Some say that the rise in popularity of Funky is due to it’s explicit dancfloor focus and the fact that girls do not seem to want to go to grime raves at all any more. This leads to a mass movement of guys following the girls leaving (including most of the big grime artists) and ending up in “Funky Dances” wearing button down shirts, shoes and drinking champagne. While the scene is still in it’s early “what do you call it?” type phase and things are being hammered out, a few tunes have arisen that people are pointing to and saying, “that there, that’s it”. One of the guys making many of these tunes is the man with the most google-handicapped name ever: Apple. Not helping things by calling his tune Mr. Bean (who appeared in an ad for apple computers, search engine camouflage), he’s making these stripped, rugged, post-grime/sort of soca-ish house tunes, which I am digging.

Check out two tunes from Apple:

APPLE – MR BEAN

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uENOY2cSRcA[/youtube]

APPLE – DE SIEGALIZER

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ-C-ID61EA[/youtube]

Also check out his myspace to hear more, last I checked I was digging “SAMPLE of wots to come”. Grimy, swinging and dark, I hope it is indeed a sign of what’s to come.

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I love this tune. Wiley & Bless Beats doing electro-house. Not much to say, just listen, drink, dance, bubble.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGyq8DqhuuE[/youtube]

I’ll definitely play this at the Dutty Artz Tropical Dance next Friday (3/21) in Williamsburg at Glasslands, so get ready. I’ve been pondering what I am gonna play and I think among a few select things like this made by other people I am gonna go hard on my own material, which I haven’t done in a while. Want to hear what’s coming out the lab this year? Come listen. We’re doing two sets each, warm up and prime time, so there’s room for a range of stuff to get played. I’m happy about this because really, who wants to listen to the promoters cousin and 900 opening djs you’ve never heard of? Definitely not me. I can play for two hours easy, why would I even want anyone else playing at my party? I’ll probably play reggae early and shadetek bangers, grime, dancehall, dutty beats late.  And yes, I know there are 10 million other parties that night in NYC, and good ones too, but ours is dirty and cheap so after you pay your 6 bucks you can actually afford to buy a few drinks and make some fun mistakes on a friday night, like you’re supposed to.