by Alex Griffin
What’s great about the young and developing scene we have in London (and beyond), is the sheer diversity of it. It seems every day a new artist is coming to our attention, sounding new and innovative and original, yet still so distinctly British. Artists are getting weird and artists are getting experimental, and it’s due time we started highlighting some of these creatives that may otherwise slip under our radar. With that being said, we’ve devised this column those looking for something different; Go Left, GRM’s guide to alternative grime, hip-hop and R&B.
We will also be uploading more alternative videos onto our YouTube channel. If you fit in with those who don’t fit in, are part of the Go Left gang and have something wavy for us, send an email to [email protected]
Be sure to check out the last column of dopeness right here too.
DanielOG – “Solange”
East London MC and member of new wave grime collective Neverland Clan, DanielOG is a growing force to be reckoned with. He’s been hand picked by Skepta as a talent to look out for, with the Neverland Clan even receiving a “big ups” in the ‘Konnichiwa’ album notes. We’re loving this newest tack at Go Left, an ode to the less famous but just as wavy Knowles sister.
Basta – “San Andreas”
Soul singer Basta released a very dope new track, which is produced by Lauren Ralph, who’s no stranger to the pages of Go Left himself. His new track “San Andreas” is sultry and smooth, with his strong old school-sounding vocals floating all over the melllow yet head-nodding instrumental.
808Charmer – “Wanna Love/Stroke Her Face”
808INK are back on our pages for the god-knows-what-th time, or at least part of them is. One half of the collective, 808Charmer, has released a couple of solo tracks recently, with a stand out being this one called “Wanna Love//Stroke Her Face”. It’s a 4 and a half minute epic, which has elements of funk, West Coast rap and a bunch of other influences. The end result is something that’s as equally nostalgic as it is futuristic, and we love it.
BEVLDN – “SWR DWN”
BEV LDN are a South East London collective, consisting of rappers, producers, videographers and other creatives who are going to making a lot of noise this year. Check “SWR DWN”, their latest banger in a video directed by Neron Turner-Power. See Nehmy, Drew Bakes and James Casual all drop some serious flows over the boot rattling production from Rich552.
JSTJCK – “Noticed”
This new track from JSTJCK is a smooth as caramel R&B offering, which puts his silky vocals at the forefront, while a stripped-back underwater-sounding instrumental plays in the background. To make things even more impressive, he apparently wrote and recorded this within 20 minutes.