If you are yet to see Quick Tempa’s video on Twitter, then you’ve been missing out. It’s the man currently causing hysteria on social media thanks to his impressions of a Londoner.
In the 24-second clip, you can see QT – who hails from Texas, USA – re-enact the dialogue and sounds of one of us, even quoting lines from Stormzy’s “Where Do You Know Me From?”.
The short skit has left many people – including myself – in awe, so we thought we would get to the bottom of it.
We got in contact with the Texan, and found out he had quite the affection for Grime – so it was only natural to have a quick word with him:
Hey man, how’s it going?
I’m all good thanks, and yourself?
All is well, thanks. Now firstly, how on earth have you managed to perfect the accent? I’ve seen several people from the US try and fail miserably.
This is probably going to sound weird, but I listen to so much Grime that I’m constantly spitting along with it, so it’s just natural. My library is full of it and when I’m not around anyone, I spit in the accent of the artist, so it’s pretty easy to talk like them too.
What got you into Grime in the first place? How did it reach you out in Texas?
When I was about 12 or 13 years old, there was a girl from London that transferred to my school in Texas. I had a huge crush on her and I was just searching the Internet trying to find stuff about London solely to impress her. I ended up being curious if anyone in the UK made music like the US and stumbled upon Crazy Titch, Wiley and Dizzee Rascal and it was the greatest thing I had ever heard. If you know Grime then you know you can’t really explain it in words and it just resonated with me. I was hooked from the first time I heard it – the raw energy and passion, I loved it.
That’s amazing. Who were you listening to when you first got into it?
Honestly when I first started listening, it was only the biggest names because I didn’t know a lot. It was all Wiley, Kano, Crazy Titch, Skepta, JME etc. but as time went on, I started subscribing to Grime channels and took a liking to younger artists.
How do you feel it has evolved over time? Has social media/internet changed it in any way?
I think it has taken on a different sound, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing because change is inevitable. It used to have a Garage feel, but now it sounds more like Trap and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s still unique to me. You know Grime when you hear it.
Are you generally alone in your circle of friends when it comes to listening to it, or are they into it too?
I’ve tried to get all of my friends to listen to Grime, and they might like one or two tracks, but in general they don’t listen.
With that in mind, why do you think Grime has struggled to crack America?
I honestly think the biggest barrier is the slang. When I show my friends, they say they can’t understand a thing the MC’s are saying. It also doesn’t help that it’s faster than Hip Hop.
Interesting stuff. Do you think it can make an impact across the pond at some point?
It can definitely spread with time. People just have to be willing to hear a new sound and try to understand the lingo.
It seems as if US artists are starting to embrace it – i.e. ASAP Rocky and Drake – do you feel it’s genuine or staged PR?
I believe Drake is genuinely into London culture and he seems to like Grime, but I can’t say the same for anyone else. Some people just like being the first to discover something, or they want to find something different to stand out.
I hear that. In recent years, we have seen a number of artists signed to labels. Do you think the scene can hit mainstream without “selling out”?
That’s really tough. I think a big part of Grime is the passion and the MC’s saying what they actually feel and go through. Therefore, it shouldn’t be regulated or controlled at all, which is what labels do. As long as the artist still has full control over their music – and they aren’t being forced to make something – then I guess it doesn’t matter.
The new generation is always a pivotal cog. Who are you feeling out of the younger crop at the minute?
Another tough question, as I don’t want to leave anyone out, but I listen to everything Snowy, Mez, Blaydes & Lyrically Strally put out – those four for sure never let me down.
You know your stuff! How did you find/get into their content?
Well, I talk to Snowy and Blaydes pretty often through Twitter. I’ve also made a tracks with Blaydes and Lyrical Strally. Snowy always says that I would be from Nottingham if I was from the UK!
That’s mad! How did that all materialise?
I don’t even remember to be honest. With Snowy, he just tweeted me one day saying “Yo, are you that brudda that made the American grime track?”. Ever since then we’ve been cool. With Blaydes, I met him through a Russian producer named Movey who is also into Grime. He linked us up so that we could both spit over his beat.
Where can all of this be found?
On my Soundcloud which is: https://soundcloud.com/quicktempa.
Can we find any Grime tunes on there?
Yeah, most definitely: https://soundcloud.com/quicktempa/no-enemies-prod-by-huffy
https://soundcloud.com/quicktempa/how-you-gonna-spin-me-prod-by-lewi-b https://soundcloud.com/quicktempa/yakuta-riddim-freestyle
Finally, who do you regard as the best ever? It could be for any reason.
Honestly, it’s so cliche, but it’s Wiley. He consistently makes things I can listen to and it’s always grimey. Crazy Titch was also up there, but his situation has unfortunately stuttered his progression.
Check out Quick Tempa’s music on his Souncloud: https://soundcloud.com/quicktempa
Also, follow him on Twitter: @QuickTempa