From 27th – 30th March 2019, Annie Mac’s AMP London event hosted a series of live events and conference days in the capital and among the latter was a discussion titled Breaking Down Barriers: How Black British Artists Are Storming The Charts (in association with GRM Daily).
Taking place under the glittery gold ceiling of Hackney’s MOTH Club, the panel for the discussion was made up of some of the music industry’s most knowledgeable experts: Alex Boateng (President of Island Records UK’s Urban Division), Andy Musgrave (Founder of Supernature) Clare Scivier (Founder of Your Green Room), Parris Oh (RCA Records’ Senior Urban Artist Manager) and GRM Daily’s very own CEO, Posty.
Ironically, the venue and the panel discussion represented the current watershed moment going on in the music industry – a traditional establishment opening its doors to modern thinkers.
From NSG’s chart success with “Options” to Dave’s debut album Psychodrama reaching the number one spot, we are undoubtedly witnessing a mega shift in the music landscape at the moment but what, Annie Mac asks, has changed for black British artists?
Parris puts some of it down to the “diversification” of the behind-the-scenes teams at record labels. As Alex jokes, he seldom has to explain what a mixtape is to people in meetings nowadays and that is also due to the increasing diversity at labels. Despite its hilarity, Alex’s statement rings true and is an indicator of how record labels are able to market and distribute urban music with much success: there is a greater understanding between labels and artists.
Of course, record labels aren’t responsible for the success of all black British artists as many have opted to stay independent; such as AJ Tracey who is managed by the panel’s Andy.
As Andy puts, AJ is an “expert at self-promotion” which enables him to directly connect with his audience – an example of what Your Green Room’s Claire refers to as the “community spirit” within certain genres such as grime.
So when exactly was the turning point for black British artists in the UK? Was it Dizzee Rascal’s chart success in the mid-noughties? Was it Stormzy’s many major moves? For the panel, both Dizzee and Stormzy seem to be the catalysts for the current change in dynamics.
Alex believes Dizzee Rascal’s “whole career is a turning point” as he describes the east London rapper’s Mercury award as a “wake up call” to the industry; proving there was in fact a market for grime music.
For Parris, she refers to Stormzy as the “Dizzee of [her] generation” as his success as an independent artist – such as charting with his massive “Shut Up” freestyle” – has motivated artists to stay authentic.
Despite the several accolades and milestones being received and achieved by black Artists, as reminded by Andy who shares an anecdote regarding one of AJ Tracey’s show dates which was pushed back due to a disturbance at another rap gig a few weeks earlier. Evidently, the 696 form’s unsettling legacy lives on, which isn’t too surprising because as Alex puts, barriers will always exist within music if barriers exist within society.
And the barriers and the discrimination aren’t new.
When grime first emerged, several obstructions prevented MCs from getting the recognition they deserved which is one of the reasons Posty established Grime Daily (now GRM Daily) – a platform he states he created with the intention of “making UK music the biggest thing in the UK”.
Now thanks to a whole heap of factors, UK music is making massive waves in the UK but how can the success of black British artists reach audiences overseas?
In Claire’s opinion, the majority of grime at present “sonically isn’t good enough” to translate well overseas and she believes the solution to this is to put more money behind artists and their projects.
Alex agrees with this sentiment to an extent by reiterating the importance of quality, but uses Dave as an example of an artist who has the potential to reach new heights because of his “scientist”-like work ethic.
Like Dave, many other rappers have the drive and determination to take things to the next level and with the panel members and numerous other individuals continuously pushing the scene, it’s only a matter of time before urban music exported from the UK storms charts internationally.