2015 was a huge year for grime no matter where you stand on the music spectrum – or in the world. From Skepta’s radical expansion, to Kanye cosigns, to Stormzy’s assault on the charts, you couldn’t switch your laptop on without seeing or hearing a British MC spitting bars, whether it was onstage with Drake at Wireless, during a clash at Mode FM, or supporting Lil Wayne in the US. Hell, it even made its way to Japan. It was rife at all levels, with new names like AJ Tracey, Jammz and Cadell following fast on the heels of Novelist and Stormzy; indicative of a hardworking scene that’s only ever weeks away from spitting out your favourite new artist.
Documenting all of this from the heart of the storm are two photographers that make up the photo blog Wot Do You Call It. We first profiled Marco and George at the end of 2014, and they’ve continued to chronicle grime culture in the most dedicated and passionate way, placing themselves on the frontline of every clash, rave and radio set, capturing the live moments that make the genre what it is.
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We asked the duo to send us a selection of their photos taken over the last twelve months – ones that document their year on the scene and really capture the essence of grime in 2015. This is what we got back.
BIG ZUU AT THE OLD BLUE LAST, LONDON – FEBRUARY
Wot Do You Call It: “This was one of the year’s first unforgettable raves, and here’s Big Zuu on the microphone surrounded by the mandem, at the Old Blue Last.”
GHOSTLY VS ELF KID AT FLEX FM – MARCH
“This was an amazing moment as it was totally unexpected. Both of the MCs had sent for eachother in the past, but neither expected to end up at the same set.” (You can still hear it here)
KANO AND GHETTS AT BOILER ROOM – MARCH
“Kano and Ghetts have been a legendary tag team since the early grime days, and getting the opportunity to see them go back to back was sick. The chemistry between these two is uncomparable.”
GRIMEY MICPOL AT THE ‘WOT DO YOU CALL IT’ BIRTHDAY SET – MAY
“We celebrated our first Wot Do You Call It birthday in May. We decided to throw a set and invite as many MCs as possible. We rented this space in London and got DJ Spooky to jump on the decks. Over 50 MCs turned up and there was only one microphone, so it was some real royal rumble stuff. Grimey Micpol and YGG ended up clashing, and that became one of the most memorable moments of the night.” (You can watch it here)
D DOUBLE E, FUDA GUY AND LOGAN SAMA AT SOMERSET HOUSE – MAY
“Tim and Barry, of Just Jam fame, got themselves an event at Somerset House during the summer, which was impressive in itself, especially considering it was free and had a free bar. But even more impressive was the set from D Double E and Logan Sama captured above.”
WILEY AT BORN N’ BRED FESTIVAL – JUNE
“The ever elusive Wiley turned up to Born N’ Bred festival a little bit late, and his lateness resulted in most people assuming he just wasn’t coming. So you can imagine the scenes when he arrived. Granted his set was late, but the legend made it.”
LORD OF THE MICS 7 – JULY
“Here’s Jammer engaging in conversation with Blessed and Pawz straight after their heated clash on LOTM 7.”
BONKAZ AND JAMMER AT HACKNEY SHAPES – AUGUST
“Here’s Bonkaz and Jammer smashing up the rave as expected, but I especially love the joy in Jammer’s face. Priceless.”
STORMZY FILMING “WICKED SKENGMAN 4” IN CROYDON – AUGUST
“Stormzy sent out a tweet telling people to be at a location in Croydon for a certain time. Mobs of young people gathered together for this moment which was later uploaded to Youtube as ‘Wicked Skengman 4’. And so the story goes, it became the first ever grime freestyle to enter the UK top 40.”
SHIZZ, BOW – SEPTEMBER
“Shizz invited us to Bow and brought us around the younger generation in the area. Spending time there with him showed how important Shizz is to Bow’s grime scene.”
ESKIMO DANCE, LONDON – OCTOBER
“Seeing the guys that we’ve followed around pirate radio get the opportunity to spray bars at eskimo dance was a proud moment. From left to right here we’ve got AJ Tracey, PK, Saint, Jammz, Mic Ty, Big Zuu, RD, Row D and Rocks FOE.”
AJ TRACEY BACKSTAGE AT ESKIMO DANCE – OCTOBER
“The set times for the night read ‘Spooky + New Wave’. AJ Tracey (featured in Noisey’s grime tracks of the year) scratched out ‘New Wave’, whilst uttering, ‘We’re not fucking new wave’.”
THE BEAT BOSS CLASH – DECEMBER
“The MC section before the heated Beat Boss producer clash (as organised by Tiatsim). This is Beat Boss host Capo Lee getting a reload amongst his MC peers for his notorious ‘Liff’ lyric.”
SPOOKY AT THE BEAT BOSS CLASH – DECEMBER
“Spooky stepped up to the Beat Boss clash dressed for War. He ended up making the final but lost to DOK on sudden death.”
You can find Marco and George of Wot Do You Call It on the Internet and Twitter.
