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. It’s not every day reload bar season, sometimes it’s good to hear something different, something that can defy genre – although the new Daily Duppy season has kicked off – and so we’ve devised this new weekly column for you: Go Left, GRM’s guide to the best alternative grime, hip-hop and R&B out there.
Remember to check out Go Left [001] right here, [002] here and [003] here too.
We also had our first ever Go Left Premiere today. Check out JD Cliffe and Peter Xan’s ‘Hollywood’ EP here.
Joey XL – “Ready”
Joey XL is a London based R&B singer who’s dropped a couple of tracks in the last few months that have been quietly picking up a lot of plays on Soundcloud. This week he dropped another track called “Ready”, that is a sultry, airy, bass-driven tune that is absolutely packed with melodies. This guy could prove to be a real problem, if the people are ready. Oh, not to mention that it’s a free download too!
Nehmy – “Wag1”
Nehmy, who has already proved to have a real eye for detail when he appeared on on our videos of the week list, has just released one of the most ignorant, turnt up and in your face bangers of the year. “Wag1” is backed by a demanding, 808-led beat and anchored by a pitched-down chorus that makes you want to harm a bredrin, were you to hear it the dance. Nehmy’s flow is effortlessly greezy too, making this a real shining example of UK rap right now.
Lsow – “matter”
Lsow is a rapper and producer from South London, who’s developing a portfolio of wavy sounding releases. His latest one “matter” has him delivering grime flows over a soul sample and soothing basslines, until the second half of the track. The beat skids into a second half and Lsow “feels to sing”, almost adlibbing his lyrics with some pure melodies.
WIZE – “Juice” [Ezro Remix]
WIZE’s rap banger “Juice” – which is a great listen in itself by the way – gets a certified grime remix, from Vision Crew member Ezro. He takes the 140-ready skippy vocals and adds his own layers of club ready synths, with a distinctive eski touch to it. Ezro said he was “supposed to be at college”, but was instead “drinking Rubicon making this piece of work”… we slyly think the right choice was made. Ezro and Vision Crew have a residency over on Radar Radio, which you should listen out for too.
SBTRKT – “GOOD MORNING” (ft. The-Dream)
Now this track is kind of cheating, to get on Go Left, when you have one of underground club musics most celebrated producers, alongside one of the greatest contemporary R&B song writers of a generation. But, this track is simply exquisite. It’s the magnum opus. It needs to be on the list and it needs to be celebrated. SBTRKT’s production is packed with intricate layers, switching from all-encompassing, soul touching synths, to bitter sweet piano keys, before exploding to life in the final third with hard hitting, head knocking drums. The-Dreams contribution is incredible too, adding some amazingly written lyrics for a love interest, as well as some level-setting melodies, to create for one of the greatest love songs we’ve heard in a while.