The 2016 Mercury Awards.
EPA/Getty/BBC
I began this Thursday night with two concerns: the first, that this cold I’ve had all day might mutate into flu and the second, that David Bowie’s album Blackstar might win the ‘coveted’ Mercury Prize at its namesake awards show at Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith. Now, two things – it might seem weird to be concerned about the winner of an awards show, but that’s just me, and second, I am beginning to love Bowie (so it’s nothing personal).
Side Note: I say beginning because I wasn’t brought up on Bowie, never watched Labryinth as a kid, couldn’t have named an album of his if you’d asked me pre-2013. Sue me. Same for MJ and Prince if we’re being honest. And to be even more honest, I’m pretty happy about that. Imagine watching Goodfellas at the age of twenty for the first time, and not knowing how good it is. It’s a similar sort of feeling listening to Bowie at this age, and knowing how much more there is to discover.
The real reason that I was concerned that Bowie might win, is simply because, this year the awards actually felt important. This might be biased from the point of view of a lifelong hip hop/grime ‘head’, but as an awards show that claims their main objectives to be,
to provide a snapshot of the year in music, to encourage debate and discussion about music, and to help introduce new albums from a variety of musical genres to a wider audience.
Then for the period between Saturday 26 September 2015 and Friday 29 July 2016, where this years selections were gathered, there can be no bigger ‘snapshot’ than Skepta’s Konnichiwa. The hype for this album began with ‘That’s Not Me’ in 2014, coming out around Meridian Dan’s ‘German Whip’ in what could be dubbed as the year of grime’s ‘resurgence’, well in the mainstream at least. ‘That’s Not Me’ soon got an ‘All Star’ remix and a video to boot, featuring D Double E, Tempa T, President T, Sox and Jaykae.
Alongside this came Fekky with Sittin’ Here featuring Dylan Thomas himself, aka Dizzee Rascal, coincidentally the last grime artist to win the main prize at The Mercury Awards, way back when in 2003. That’s a whole thirteen years ago – the lifespan of the fans perhaps responsible for this newfound but hard fought popularity of grime in 2016. Fekky and Dizzee’s ‘Sittin’ Here’ soon got its own ‘All Star’ remix, recruiting Meridian Dan, Chip, Tempa T, Skepta, Jammer, D Double E, JME, Frisco and Kano.
The whispers of resurgence and revival of the grime scene in 2014 was becoming more of a celebratory reality than many fans, myself included, could have hoped for. Both Skepta and Kano were setting their own terms this time around though, with the former declaring,
Anytime you see the king’s crown on my head / look with your eyes and not with your hands.
And Kano establishing his longevity in the scene with a reference to Ronaldo (the original, Brazilian) but acknowledging the new crop of MC’s as ‘R7s’ (the Portuguese Ronaldo).
In MC terms, I’m R9 / but hold tight to all of them R7s
However, in order for grime to solidify its presence in the British mainstream once and for all, it needed to reach a point of hybridity, by way of evolution and not, as previous efforts, by dilution.
And then came ‘Shutdown’ and ‘3 Wheel -Ups’.
I was ten years old when Dizzee won the Mercury Prize in 2003. I remember hearing his music for the first time: the determined drumbeat of Fix Up, Look Sharp, the iconic visuals of Jus A Rascal, the madness of I Luv U that can still precipitate such a mental reception to this day. It was the beginning of my love/hate/love relationship with grime. To this day it can equally elevate and frustrate my mood to the point of a screw-face worthy of any rave or roadman. Sometimes it’s a public passion, grabbing the iPhone among friends at pre-drinks and sometimes it’s a solitary passion, sitting there for hours on end watching old LOTM and Rinse FM sessions. It was even a part of my undergraduate degree as the last piece of work I submitted, a 2,500 word essay titled ‘Reimagining ‘UK Blak’ through Grime; a form of black expression in Modern day Britain’ for which I (magically) wrote in 12 hours and (even more magically) received a 2:1.
Grime, as a genre, is something that I have no trouble being equally passionate or dispassionate about. To an extent, it would be fair to qualify my frustration at its rampant ability to appear and disappear in the mainstream of modern day Britain. Here for one Rolex Sweep, back for another ‘Pow (2011)’. In 2014–16, the genre had to reach a hybridity; evolution not dilution.
And in these two monumental songs, ‘Shutdown’ and ‘3 Wheel-Ups’, it seems like both Skepta and Kano had reached their own conclusions at what that would sound like. There is a lot more to both albums than these two songs, but as to what could be plausibly defined as a ‘snapshot’, then these two second singles, certainly fit the bill. The opening of ‘3 Wheel-Ups’ begins with loud and brash trumpets, heralding Kano as a ‘direct rude boy’, as Wiley fittingly comes into the track, the originator of grime blessing its newfound hybridity. The result is an energetic song that has captured festival audiences around the world and earned Kano his highest charting album.
Since releasing ‘Made in the Manor’, Kano has solidified his position as an elder statesmen, making mature grime music and blessing us with one of the best Fire in the Booth freestyles yet.
Made in the Manor is an album that is both melancholic and forward looking, encapsulating what modern day Britain looks like today, resulting in a resonant piece of work worthy of winning Album of the Year. One of the highlights of the album, This is England, sets this balance of past and present perfectly,
Back when Lethal Bizzle was Lethal B, This is how we used to dun the dance in East, We used to spit 16s till they called police, Probably somewhere in a party or a dark shebeen, This is England, This is England.
Skepta however offers a different kind of resonance with Konnichiwa. If Kano is the elder statesman, then Skepta is in his prime. Shutdown was, and still is to an extent, such a monumental hit, that it almost seemed that Konnichiwa would never come out. It’s not hard to see why. With an introduction featuring Drake doing his best attempt at a Jamaican accent, Shutdown is a powerful monument to Skepta’s and Boy Better Know’s long ten year grind to retain authenticity while crossing over to a wider audience. Shutdown is a statement of intent, in both its lyrics and instrumental, to fulfil that long ten year grind. And it worked. It’s aggressive, authentic Skepta and infectious enough to make a considerable impact across the pond. As a ‘snapshot’ of today’s culture, it doesn’t get much more apt.
Konnichiwa is an album crafted to build upon this well deserved hype, but unlike Kano’s Made In The Manor, it sets it sights on higher ground. ‘It Ain’t Safe’ a song featuring Young Lord, and ‘Ladies Hit Squad’ featuring D Double E and ASAP Nast, are perhaps the first collaborative efforts between the UK and US that take their lead firmly from the UK. But then, what do you expect from a album that means ‘Good day’ or ‘Hello’ in Japanese. Looking both across the pond, with no intention of ‘selling out’, and to the new wave of MC’s in the U.K. itself with Novelist featuring on Lyrics, Konnichiwa is an authentic grime album that is bold in its global intentions.
Grime has taken off, more than anyone could have imagined. But the last hurdle after charting, after co-signs from some of the biggest artists in the world (read, Drake) was acceptance within the U.K. Industry and directly as a result, that means the Mercury Prize.
In 2015, when Kanye premiered All Day on the Brits, it was a moment. Not simply because it was Kanye, and a list of his ‘moments’ could fill a David Foster Wallace sized novel. But it was who he brought on stage with him, not to perform nor to be as Stormzy refutes, ‘a back up dancer’. Skepta, Novelist, Jammer, Krept and Konan and Stormzy are all artists that are consistently unrecognised by a musical awards show that surely lost the credibility to call themselves ‘The Brits’ a long time ago.
So when Kano and Skepta were named in the ‘album of the year’ category at the Mercury’s it felt like a big deal. Two very different albums by two very different grime artists, one (Made in the Manor) is a retrospective celebration/condemnation of modern day England and the other (Konnichiwa), the most accurate portrayal of what Grime’s evolution looks like in 2016. Both albums have shown their popularity this year, with Kano charting at 8. and Skepta charting at 2. in the UK Top Ten album chart respectively. Both artists have made a big impact at U.K. Festivals this summer, my personal highlight being Boy Better Know’s main stage slot at Reading and Leeds,
As the night progressed and it came down to the ‘final six’ it was bittersweet to see Kano not be included. I mean The 1975?!But sometimes that’s how it goes. As an testament to his infectious energy, eleven years into the game, Kano gave one of the best performances of the night and in turn received one of the biggest reactions in the room.
With one horse out of the race, it was up to Konnichiwa to bring it home, to win an award that an artist as talented as Skepta should win, and guess what! He actually did.
As Jarvis Cocker summarised the judging panels decision as being one that Bowie would have approved of, I couldn’t help but smile that the Starman wouldn’t have bemoaned my concern that Blackstar would win the prize, as he put it himself a few moons ago,
So congratulations to both Kano and Skepta on their nominations and win, and here’s hoping they both benefit from the Mercury Prize spike. Here’s hoping Wretch 32, Stormzy and Wiley get the nod next year.
