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The 2005 release of 679 Recordings' Run the Road compilation showcased some of the most popular grime releases to that point, increasing the popularity and fame of grime and grime artists internationally.
- “Wot Do U Call It?” by Wiley
- “Pow” by Lethal Bizzle
- “Queen’s Speech Ep. 4” by Lady Leshurr
- “PS and Qs” by Kano
- “Bonkers” by Dizzee Rascal
- “I Spy” by Skepta
- “Street Fighter Riddim” by D Double E
- “Dance Wiv Me” by Dizzee Rascal and Calvin Harris
- “That’s Not Me” by Skepta
- “Man Don’T Care” by Jme
Song Year: 2004 One of the original grime hits, “Wot Do U Call It,” was on Wiley’s breakout album. The song has a bright beat, reminiscent of early 2000s British garage music, but soon overlays it with intense lyrics. Wiley makes it very clear that he’s not a garage artist, saying it explicitly in the song and revealing it with his music style. Wil...
Song Year: 2004 Lethal Bizzle is a highly influential grime artist, and his song “Pow” took the British hip-hop world by storm. “Pow” is highly energetic and features Lethal Bizzle’s fast lyrics over the classic grime beat. This song is one of the most famous grime songs. “Pow (Forward)” is the original version of the song, later re-released as sim...
Song Year: 2015 Lady Leshurr, also known as the “Queen of Grime,” was one of the first female grime artists to make it big on the scene. She is known for her intense lyrics, her ability to include banter and humor in her songs, and the stunning visuals in her music videos. Lady Leshurr’s Queen’s Speech series is all excellent, but the most famous s...
Song Year: 2005 “Ps and Qs” was one of the first huge grime songs, released as a single and later as part of an album. It took the world by storm and made Kano a household name long before he played Sully in the Netflix show “Top Boy.” Kano is known for his intense lyrics and emotional honesty, paired with some amazing beats. “Ps and Qs” began his ...
Song Year: 2009 Dizzee Rascal is one of the most successful grime artists of all time and has had several songs make it to number one on British billboards (you’ll also see several of his songs on this list). “Bonkers” was his second number-one hit in 2009, cementing him as a staple of the grime genre. “Bonkers” is a classic grime song with banter,...
Song Year: 2007 Skepta has several songs on this list because he’s one of the most iconic British grime artists and rappers of all time. This song is famous for the backing beat and the dozens of remixes it inspired (including an instrumental version almost as popular as the original). “I Spy” is one of Skepta’s greatest hits and continues to be an...
Song Year: 2010 Although early grime songs intended to show that they were not any other genre, the later artists began to merge and meld with other types of rap to experiment. D Double E was originally a dubbing artist but made it big with his grime and dub mixes. “Street Fighter Riddim” is a classic dub/grime sound with heavy beats and fast lyric...
Song Year: 2008 We’ve already heard from Dizzee Rascal with his fast rapping about his life, but we haven’t heard his more romantic side. Dance Wiv Me was one of the original grime masterpieces, mixing garage music, electronic hip-hop, and originality to create a new genre. Dizzee Rascal and Calvin Harris collaborated to make a song that would rema...
Song Year: 2016 Once again hitting home with his controversial lyrics and excellent background music, Skepta takes a stand against the commercialism of the music industry in this song. It features JME, another grime artist, and Skepta’s younger brother. With “That’s Not Me,” Skepta signaled a renaissance for the genre and cemented the outsider aspe...
Song Year: 2015 Although grime music was most popular in the early 2000s, the 2010s saw a renaissance, mostly thanks to Skepta and JME. JME was inspired by his older brother’s success but made his name with signature beats and more mosh-pit-inspired raps. “Man Don’t Care” was one of the biggest hits of 2015, featuring a strong beat and incredibly f...
- Pay As U Go Cartel – Know We (2000) Garage crew Pay As U Go Cartel were hugely influential in pioneering the sound of grime alongside the likes of So Solid Crew and Heartless Crew.
- Youngstar/Musical Mob – Pulse X (2002) Widely regarded as one of the earliest examples of the grime style of production, the influence of Youngstar’s Pulse X can’t be overstated.
- Wiley – Eskimo (2002) As grime emerged from the shadows of garage, the burgeoning genre needed its own identity to establish itself as a serious player – and Wiley provided it with his Eskimo riddim.
- Dizzee Rascal – I Luv U (2003) A list documenting the most important grime records of all time isn’t a real list without the inclusion of Dizzee Rascal’sI Luv U. When Dylan Mills detonated this bass-heavy atomic bomb, which he produced at just 16 years old, it sent shockwaves through Britain’s mainstream music scene and became grime’s first major pop anthem.
- Pay As U Go. 'Know We' (2000) Understanding grime means understanding where it came from – run-down inner London council estates, in the anxious atmosphere of a new millennium, with UK garage's bottle of Cristal champagne shattering into a million pieces on the pavement.
- Wiley. 'Eskimo' (2002) Breaking free from UK garage meant building something new, “an even colder sound” than So Solid had managed, as Wiley put it. In the first years of the 2000s, he created a whole sound-world, ‘eskibeat’ or ‘eskimo’, characterised by sparse arrangements, sci-fi synths, devastating basslines and awkward, off-kilter rhythms: with track names like Ice Rink, Igloo, Ice Pole, Blizzard, Ice Cream Man, Snowman, Frostbite, Freeze, Colder and Morgue.
- Dizzee Rascal. 'Imagine' (2004) On his classic first two albums, 'Boy in da Corner' and 'Showtime', Dizzee shows himself to be not just a genius lyricist and beat-maker – while still a teenager, no less – but a kind of frontline reporter, on overlooked lives and untold stories from the troubled world around him: paranoid, marginalised, and scapegoated by cops, politicians and the media, precarious and yet trapped.
- Lethal Bizzle. 'Pow! (Forward)'(2004) Where to start with a tune so raucous it was banned from clubs across London and Essex? ‘ All Lethal B tracks are banned from this venue (including instrumentals)’ read one such sign, a testament to the power of Dexplicit’s 'Forward' riddim: even the instrumental alone was too liable to start a riot.
What do you lot think are the most important grime songs of all time (vocal or instrumental) and why? Important in terms of influence, relevancy...
Nov 25, 2019 · The 2010s: Grime’s Most Impactful Songs. As the decade draws to a close, we take a look back at the grime tracks that pushed things forward the most. Did your favourite make the cut? Tap...
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Feb 9, 2023 · JME is a highly acclaimed grime artist, and his top streamed song alongside Giggs is a primary reason why. The song "Man Don't Care" has over 88 million streams on Spotify alone, and it's clear why. The aggressive delivery is a perfect fit for the thoughtful bars and gritty grime production.
