KTD EXCLUSIVE: BLENDING CROYDON'S URBAN GRIT WITH IKEA CAR PARK CYPHERS - CR0 BTS
With Flowdan bagging a Grammy for a DnB track, Skepta creating his own movie and music festival, and Kano boasting a lead role in Netflix's recent film 'The Kitchen' the Grime scene in 2024 has come far from its gritty origins of E3 tower blocks, pirate radio sets, and basement cyphers. As these artists find success in 2024, at a rate comparable to their 140bpm origins, it's commonplace for the younger generation to be stunned when they discover Top Boy’s Sully was ‘Made In The Manor’. This lack of recognition from today's youth is often used to argue that the UK's revolutionary genre is dead.
However, there's a New Era of Grime coming through. This is evident from House Of Pharaohs new song 'New Era' with JME and the successful sounds by mellow grime producers like Ryder, Afrosurrealist, and Bexblu, who have found fame on both TikTok and Spotify by flipping old-school Grime vocals with melodic beats. Although these examples stray from the gritty culture many fans love about Grime, Rome and Floetic have shown its heart is still beating strong at 140bpm in their home of Croydon.
Floetic and Rome took to social media, leveraging the power of TikTok and Instagram stories to amplify anticipation for the ‘CR0’ music video shoot. They didn’t just share snippets and teasers; they turned these platforms into interactive hubs, inviting fans directly into the creative process. The climax of this engagement was the orchestration of the main scene in the Ikea car park. Through a specially created group chat, open to anyone eager to be a part of the video, the artists shared crucial details—where to meet, what time to gather, and even what to wear—ensuring a seamless blend of organized chaos and communal spirit. This strategic use of digital platforms not only heightened the buzz around the shoot but fostered a sense of unity and participation, echoing the inclusive ethos that Grime has always championed.
Produced by Rome himself, the song "CR0" filmed its music video in Croydon estates and later at Croydon's IKEA car park. Sampling the Grime classic "Oi" by legends Lethal Bizzle and More Fire Crew, they invited friends and fans to join, bringing the gritty essence of the genre with them. While it may not be the iconic Shoreditch car park shutdown, the parallels to Grime's history are undeniable.
It's evident both artists are bringing the grimy elements that gave the genre its name with them. It might not be shutting down Shoreditch car park, but as they say, history finds a way to repeat itself, and in this IKEA car park, many parallels to the culture's history can be found.
After having to put the music video on hold as it began to rain, DJ and Producer JTEA set up decks in the boot of a car, playing instrumentals for a car park fire in the boot cypher that saw Floetic and Rome joined by Pablomari and Zuko to take up the mic and keep the energy going. Rather than the FM frequencies that pirate radio stations once used to carry the sound of Grime, Floetic took to his Instagram live to share the experience. It doesn't get more grimy than an impromptu cypher in a London car park being streamed to fans directly by the MC himself.
Watch the CR0 video