Grime
Grime is a fast, raw British genre from East London in which MCs rap over stark electronic beats at about 140 beats per minute.
It grew out of UK garage, jungle and dancehall in the early 2000s, spread by pirate radio stations and home-made DVDs. Beats use cold, jagged synth stabs, heavy sub-bass and off-kilter drums, and MCs trade quick, aggressive verses. Dizzee Rascal's 2003 album Boy in da Corner brought it wide notice, and Skepta and Stormzy led a revival in the mid-2010s.
Artists it is known for: Wiley, Dizzee Rascal, Skepta, Kano.
- Family
- Hip-Hop & Rap
- On Spotify
- A current genre
- What it is
- A genre
- From
- East London, early 2000s
- Also called
- eskibeat
- Trackify listeners who play it
- 5%
About 4,400 of 83,000 Trackify listeners with public profiles have grime among their top artists of the last four weeks. Rounded; updated 13 November 2026.
Grime artists
Dave
Skepta
Knucks
D-Block Europe
Stormzy
J Hus
Nines
Jme
AJ Tracey
DiggaThe grime artists most Trackify listeners have in their top fifty. Each opens on Spotify.
Sources
The definition is written for this site from open sources, and was checked against them on 13 November 2026.