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.
Be sure to check out last weeks column of dopeness right here too.
Temz – “Caravan”
Formally one half of duo CLIPSTAR (and part of our Next Gen 10 last year), Temz is back on his solo grind, with one of my favourite songs right now. “Caravan” is a breezy and melodic rap song, which is so care free it’s almost got an urban hippy vibe about it. He wants to bring a gyal away road tripping in a caravan, read comics and smoke weed – so long as she isn’t an Arsenal fan. Plus, he gets bare bonus points for sampling the music from ‘Lost’ at the end.
Oscar #worldpeace – “No Change”
With this dark masterpiece out now on Mike Skinner’s label, it looks like Oscar #worldpeace is gunning for #worlddomination. “No Change” is charged up by a sinister bassline-driven instrumental, that fizzes into contrasting moments of light; all the while, Oscar laces it with some absolute realness disguised in an effortless flow. This one should be getting a lot of spins.
ySo – “Blind”
ySo is a member of 6FM, previously going by the alias Twitch. It’s been 3 years since he released anything, but he came back this week with a brand new project, ‘#WAV’. The opening track “Blind” is the best introduction (or reintroduction) to what his music is about. It’s self produced, wavy, woozy and trippy, a good testament of the rest of the collaborative project, which he created alongside new 6FM member Zilla.
Barney Artist – “Down” (ft. Jay Prince)
Barney Artist has already dropped off a cold visual for his single “Down”, which is due to appear on his upcoming project ‘Painting Sounds‘, but he’s treated us to a brand new extended version. With a new verse from East London’s international rap sensation Jay Prince, this track is essential hip-hop at it’s purest and cleanest. The instrumental is mellow and glittery with a modern boom-bap bounce, that will have you nodding your head when you’re walking on road. Just remember to Go Left.
Black/Other – “Windmills”
This is the first video to appear on Go Left, but f*ck it, this is too great to not share on the column. Black/Other are a trio of rappers who have a clear handle on lyricism, as they play with the words over a Tom Misch instrumental. It has elements of jazz and funk, remaining calm, cool and most importantly, very good. Until next time.