Company type | Privately held |
---|---|
Industry | Entertainment, music |
Genre | |
Founded | 2009 |
Founders | Matt 'Sketchy' Thorne Pierre Godson-Amamoo Koby 'Posty' Hagan |
Area served | United Kingdom |
Website | grmdaily.com |
GRM Daily (Grime & Rap Music Daily), formerly Grime Daily, is a British urban music outlet and entertainment platform. [1] [2] [3] As the name suggests, the platform is an outlet for UK rap and its various genres, such as UK drill, afroswing, trap, and British hip hop. The platform also serves electronic genres such as UK garage and grime. [4] [5]
GRM Daily is the largest media outlet platform in the UK, followed by Link Up TV, SB.TV, Pressplay Media and Mixtape Madness. [6]
In the early 2000s, pirate radio stations such as Rinse FM and DvDs such as Risky Roadz and Lord of the Mics were the only major platforms that grime and UK rap artists could promote themselves through. [7] [8] [9] [10] This meant it was often difficult for an artist to find an audience. With this in mind, Jamal Edwards founded SB.TV in 2007, an online music platform that would be used to showcase artists and allow them an easy platform to release music through. This was followed by the founding of Link Up TV a year later, and finally Grime Daily in 2009, all based on the same concept. Collectively these platforms have served as the backbone to much of UK urban music and provided a large outlets for artists to gain popularity and fame. [11] [12]
Grime Daily was formed in 2009 by founders Matt 'Sketchy' Thorne, Pierre Godson-Amamoo and Koby 'Posty' Hagan. The platform was created in order to create a space for UK urban artists to showcase themselves and release music. At the time, the platform was named 'Grime Daily', to denote its affiliation with the grime music scene. For the first week, the website was used to upload old grime DvDs and videos, however they also wanted to film their own unique content. Initially, the plan was to have Jamal Edwards film content which would then be uploaded to Grime Daily, however Jamal instead filmed content for his own platform SB.TV. Posty instead decided to buy a camera and film content for Grime Daily himself. [13] The "Daily" is a reference to the fact that the outlet originally intended to release grime related content every single day. [14] Early on, one way this was done was by doing long interviews with artists, splitting the interview into parts, and releasing the parts from the interview throughout the week. [11] An interview with grime artist J2K was Grime Daily's first ever interview. [7] Co-founder Sketchy had previously built J2K's MySpace page, which led to Posty asking Sketchy to build the Grime Daily website. [13] In its early days, the website struggled with high traffic and would go down on occasion. Within the first year, they hit over a million views a month. [15]
In 2011, the original Grime Daily YouTube channel was taken down by YouTube, resulting in the loss of over 2000 videos. [16] [17] [18] It was alleged that this was because a man had shown a knife on a music video for one of Scorcher's songs, however this was denied by both Scorcher and Grime Daily (the music video was still actually available on the artist's own channel). [19] Posty also stated it was claimed the channel was terminated due to receiving 3 copyright strikes, however this was disputed by Posty and Sketchy. Posty also stated they were told someone had bought views for a video. [20] Posty, one of GRM's founders, stated in a 2020 interview that he still did not know why the channel was originally taken down. The platform rebranded as GRM Daily in 2012, which stands for "Grime and Rap Music", and created a new YouTube channel (the one-year delay was due to a fear that the channel would be banned again if they returned too quickly). [18] The new name was to clarify its expanded scope with not just grime, but also British hip hop and related genres. [2] [3] [17]
In 2012 Grime Daily joined with The BiG! Agency, now taking responsibility for the commercial operations of GRM Daily's website, and Silver Bullet Digital (SBD). [2]
In 2013, GRM Daily had over 40,000 subscribers on their YouTube channel. [21] It took 7 years (from its founding) for GRM Daily to gain over 100,000 subscribers on YouTube. The channel rapidly grew from there, earning over a million in 2018, [22] [23] and 5 million by 2022. [24] In 2015, GRM created the Rated Awards, an awards show dedicated to UK urban music. [25] [26] [27]
In 2020, GRM released a documentary entitled "Together We Rise", detailing the platforms history. [28] The platform released "GRM 10", an album to celebrate the platforms 10 year anniversary. The album featured artists such as Aitch, B Young, Unknown T, D Double E, M Huncho, Dutchavelli, Not3s, Blade Brown, Nafe Smallz, Yxng Bane, and others. [15] [29]
"Daily Duppy" is a platform for freestyle releases. The platform was launched as a response to the success of Jamal Edwards' "Fresh 64" ("F64") release series on SB.TV, where artists rapped 64 bars of original ("fresh") content. [30] [31] As of 2022 [update] , after more than a decade of releases, [32] "Daily Duppy" singles have charted seven times on the UK Singles Chart and three of them, by Aitch, J Hus, and Fredo, have been certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). [33] [34]
Artist | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
---|---|---|---|
UK [33] | |||
Aitch | 2018 | 99 | |
J Hus | 2019 | 42 |
|
Fredo | 2020 | 46 |
|
Digga D | 59 | ||
Young Adz | 2021 | 44 | |
Central Cee | 35 | ||
Bugzy Malone | 2022 | 55 | |
Nines | 2023 | 20 |
By 2012, the Grime Daily website was taking in 70 million website hits and had over 50,000 daily visitors. The platform played a part in popularising artists such as Tinie Tempah, Tinchy Stryder, and Wretch 32 in the early 2010s. [2]
GRM Daily has been very influential in propping up UK urban artists from various genres, such as grime, British hip hop, and Afroswing. The platform has been credited for bringing fame to artists such as Stormzy, Dave, J Hus, [35] B Young, Amelia Monét, Kojo Funds, Steel Banglez, Not3s, Mabel, and many others. [11] [36] GRM Daily, along with related platforms such as Link Up TV and Pressplay Media, have created an ecosystem that allows artists to easily record, produce, and release music to the masses without the need of support from traditional media or the music industry. [37] [38]
In 2010, DJ Werewolf was hit in the chest and buttocks after an individual pulled out a Mac-10 submachine gun and fired rounds at a GRM Daily event, containing over 600 people, celebrating their anniversary. Another unidentified woman and man were also shot in the incident. Police claimed they were not informed the event was happening. [39] [40] [41] [42] Donatella Panayiotou, the presenter of the event, quit working for GRM Daily as a result of the shooting, and criticised them for their handling of the event. [43]
In 2018, British rapper Young Spray was stabbed at GRM Daily's Rated Awards event. [4] [44] [5]
UK rap, also known as British hip hop or UK hip hop, is a music genre and culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. It is generally classified as one of a number of styles of R&B/hip-hop. British hip hop can also be referred to as Brit-hop, a term coined and popularised mainly by British Vogue magazine and the BBC. British hip hop was originally influenced by the dub/toasting introduced to the United Kingdom by Jamaican migrants in the 1950s–70s, who eventually developed uniquely influenced rapping in order to match the rhythm of the ever-increasing pace and aggression of Jamaican-influenced dub in the UK. Toasting and soundsystem cultures were also influential in genres outside of hip hop that still included rapping – such as grime, jungle, and UK garage.
Grime is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) that emerged in London in the early 2000s. It developed out of the earlier UK dance style UK garage, and draws influences from jungle, dancehall, and hip hop. The style is typified by rapid, syncopated breakbeats, generally around 140 beats per minute, and often features an aggressive or jagged electronic sound. Emceeing is a significant element of the style, and lyrics often revolve around gritty depictions of urban life.
Now 70s is a British free-to-air music television channel, owned by All Around the World Productions, available through Sky UK, Freeview and Virgin Media within the UK. It focuses on music from the 1970s, being the third decade-oriented channel in the Now portfolio, along with Now 80s and Now 90s & 00s.
Kane Brett Robinson, better known as Kano, is a British rapper, songwriter and actor from East Ham, London. His fifth album, Made in the Manor was shortlisted for the 2016 Mercury Prize and won Best Album at the 2016 MOBO Awards. On screen, he played the role of Sully in Top Boy.
RWD Magazine is a British-based magazine which features music, style, sport, gaming, film, technology, news, interviews and charts on hip hop, grime, dubstep, R&B, UK garage, drum and bass and U.S. house music. Running from 2001–2014 It was released monthly, distributing 98,300 copies each time and was ABC certified. It was considered the largest magazine on youth music and lifestyle in the United Kingdom.
Jahmaal Noel Fyffe, better known by his stage name Chip, is an English rapper from Tottenham, London. In the past 14 years he has collaborated with the likes of Skepta, T.I., Meek Mill, Young Adz and many others. In 2009, he released his debut album, I Am Chipmunk, featuring four songs which peaked in the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart, including the chart-topping "Oopsy Daisy". In 2011, Chipmunk released his follow-up album, the American hip hop-influenced Transition. It included the single "Champion" featuring Chris Brown, which peaked at #2 on the UK Singles Chart.
SB.TV Global Ltd, also known as SB.TV or SmokeyBarz, is a British music media and creative cultural industry company founded by Jamal Edwards. The platform was created on 2 November 2006, and has its origins in urban music. Most of the content can be seen on its own YouTube channel, or on the official SB.TV website and includes freestyle raps and music videos. SB.TV has diversified into events and have curated stages at Bestival, Wireless, Outlook and other festivals. SB.TV were also invited to film interviews with a host of leading politicians at 10 Downing Street, including the Prime Minister David Cameron. Edwards has also built a relationship with the Royal Family and first interviewed Prince Charles in 2013.
Jamal Brendan Edwards was an English music entrepreneur, DJ and founder of the online R&B/Hip-Hop platform SB.TV.
Tyrone Mark Lindo, known by his stage name Big Narstie, is a British MC, author, rapper, singer, songwriter, comedian and television presenter. He started his career in 2002 as a member of grime crew "N Double A," though he is better known for his solo work and as an internet personality performing comedy relating to grime music and the surrounding culture. He is also known for hosting his own chat show, The Big Narstie Show.
Julie Oluwatoyin Chidozie Adenuga is a British broadcaster, radio host and the creator of Don't Trust The Internet. She was one of the three lead DJs for Beats 1, Apple's 24/7 radio station as part of Apple Music.
Rap vs. Grime is the tenth mixtape by British rapper Chip, released for free download on 25 December 2015. The project, which is hosted by Hot 97's Peter Rosenberg, includes diss tracks aimed at Bugzy Malone and Tinie Tempah. While six music videos from the mixtape were released, "Hear Dis" / "BlukuByeByeBye" was the only single released onto iTunes, and the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 199. It also peaked at number 26 on the UK Indie Chart.
Link Up TV is a music promotional platform based in London, United Kingdom. It has the second largest rap-based promotional YouTube channel in the United Kingdom after GRM Daily with over 11,111 videos uploaded, 1.7 million subscribers and 1.6 billion views. The site is owned by Rashid Kasirye and Enea Tanku, with the YouTube channel being launched in 2008 and the company being incorporated in 2012.
Blaine Cameron Johnson, known professionally as Cadet, was a British rapper. Blaine Johnson began pursuing a career as a rapper in 2011, releasing a number of freestyles through YouTube outlets such as OSM Vision and Link Up TV. His debut project, The Commitment, was released in 2016, followed by The Commitment 2 the following year. He is perhaps best known for his single "Advice" featuring Deno, which peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart.
Devonte Kasi Martin Perkins, better known by his stage name K-Trap, is a British rapper and songwriter from South London. He is known for his prominence in the UK drill scene, releasing notable mixtapes such as The Last Whip (2017), The Re-Up (2018) and No Magic (2019). Previously, K-Trap was widely known for wearing a balaclava to conceal his identity until June 2019 when he revealed his face for the first time in the music video for his single ‘Big Mood’, promoting his mixtape No Magic.
Afroswing, also known as Afrobashment, or less commonly Afrobbean, or Afrowave is a genre of music that developed in the UK during the mid-2010s, derivative of dancehall and afrobeats, with influences from trap, British hip hop, R&B, and grime. Commercially, the genre has been very successful, with many afroswing artists making it into the British charts.
Mixtape Madness is a British urban music outlet and an entertainment and distribution platform based in London, United Kingdom. The platform was founded in 2010 by a group of friends. Mixtape Madness is the 3rd biggest media outlet platform in the UK, behind GRM Daily and Link Up TV.
OFB, short for Original Farm Boys, is a British hip hop collective based in Broadwater Farm, North London. OFB is one of the most prominent UK drill groups.
Kenneth Erhahon, better known by his stage name Shocka, is a rapper and mental health advocate from Tottenham, London. He gained recognition for being one/third of Grime collective Marvell alongside Double S and Vertex. After dealing with mental health issues himself, Shocka became a Mental health advocate to help those with their own problems with his music. He has since aimed to raise awareness of mental issues and has been a speaker on TED and a guest on numerous talk shows.
Hodifa Abdalla Elshabli, known professionally as Geko, is a British rapper and singer from Manchester. He is best known for singles such as "6:30" and "New Money" which charted on the UK Singles Chart and were certified by the BPI.
Andrés Felipe Valencia Barrientos, known professionally as Yung Filly or simply Filly, is a British YouTuber and rapper. Born in Colombia and later moving to the United Kingdom, he began his YouTube career in 2013, starting a music career in 2017. Beginning in 2018, he appeared on numerous BBC shows, several of which he hosted.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)