Musical Style
Grime is typified by complex 2-step, 4X4, breakbeats, generally around 140 beats per minute, or sometimes structured around a halftime rhythm, and constructed from different synth, string and electronic sounds. Stylistically, grime draws on many genres including UK Garage, Drum and Bass, Hip Hop/Rap and Dancehall. The lyrics and music combine futuristic electronic elements and dark, guttural bass lines.
According to Sasha Frere-Jones of the The New Yorker, grime has developed a fierce sound by "distilling" rhythms to a minimal style resulting in a choppy, off-centre sound. Whereas hip hop is inherently dance music, the writer argues that "grime sounds as if it had been made for a boxing gym, one where the fighters have a lot of punching to do but not much room to move." Frere-Jones also states that Grime has maintained a style distinct from Hip Hop, with clear African and Caribbean influences. Hattie Collins supports Frere-Jones' analysis, asserting that Grime is "an amalgamation of UK Garage with a bit of Drum'n'Bass, a splash of Punk and a touch of Hip-Hop thrown in for good measure." According to Alex de Jong and Marc Schuilenburg, Grime music also samples sawtooth wave sounds (chiptunes) from video game music and ringtones which had become part of everyday life in East London and other parts of the capital.
Read more about this topic: Grime (music)
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—Dame Ethel Smyth (1858–1944)