What is it about?
This article looks at the East Australian grime scene, and how its artists signal a sense of belonging to both their locales (Melbourne, Sydney) and the UK as its point of origin. It is concerned with how artists understand grime's 'do's and don'ts' and how Australian artists often take tips from YouTube videos and old videos of 'classic performances' from London. Artists are interviewed for the piece, and a flavour of Australian practice is captured through a focus on two key performances: a radio set on Australian broadcaster Triple J from November 2018 and a showcase on London’s Rinse FM from January 2019.
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Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash
Why is it important?
This is the first academic study of Australian grime, and it offers an interesting take on global flow in musical scenes. Locality is still of utmost importance for artists, however the internet and old records and CDs have also impacted these artists' practice.
Perspectives
I put this piece together following a long-term examination of Australian practice, interviews with artists, and a visit to Sydney and Melbourne at the start of 2020. Getting to see Australian artists performing grime first-hand helped me crystallise this piece. As a practitioner of grime from the UK, it's interesting to see how this form is developing across the world, and this piece captures on particular global iteration of grime music.
Alex de Lacey
University of London
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: ‘Wot do u call it? Doof doof’: Articulations of glocality in Australian grime music, Global Hip Hop Studies, June 2020, Intellect,
DOI: 10.1386/ghhs_00007_1.
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