MTV IGGY: Lord Of The (Grime) Beats: The Critics’ Choice

By Joseph 'JP' Patterson

Two days ago, the UK grime scene snapped out of a lengthy half-sleep and went to battle. This time, though, its producers were on the frontline. East London's Bless Beats kicked off proceedings on Twitter by indirectly throwing shade at some of his competitors, which led to a rapid response from Boy Better Know’s JME – who, in the same tweet reply, also called out Rude Kid, Jammer, Wiley, Terror Danjah, Preditah, and Footsie. Before you knew it, #LordOfTheBeats and #WarDub was trending, as producers from far and wide, old and new, began sending sonic shots at one another. As per usual, there was that one person instigating all the beef: Jammer, who, thanks to his beats, bars, and insanely popular Lord Of The Mics series over the years, has become a significant grime advocate – alongside everyone’s favourite online personality, Wiley, of course.

Jammer believes what has taken place/still taking place is healthy and much-needed for the scene: "In one day, we re-faced grime with a whole new selection of classics-to-be, as well as new sounds for the 2014 wave. We need to keep this momentum going, because there’s no more pirate radio and not a lot of club events. This is what grime’s all about: DIY culture, competitive competition, fresh ideas, and fresh sounds."

Me and few pen-pushing pals of mine, Joe Muggs (The Arts Desk), Seb Wheeler (Mixmag), Errol Anderson (Noisey), and Khal (Do Androids Dance/Complex), have spent the last 48 hours analyzing 100-plus war dubs. It’s not been the easiest of tasks, mind – with the levels being so high, and all – but we’ve managed to pick the cream of the crop (we think). Here are our winners and runners-up...

Read the rest of this over at MTV IGGY: H E R E