Ever since Grime’s inception in the early 2000s, the genre has long maintained a strenuous relationship with British authorities. It has been over a decade since Dizzee Rascal declared himself a “problem for Anthony Blair” on his Mercury-winning album “Boy in da Corner”, and nine years since Lethal Bizzle called David Cameron a donut because of the former PM’s condescending “hug a hoodie” comments.
However, Grime’s dissatisfaction with British PMs has only grown larger in recent years. 20-year-old rapper Novelist spat eloquent bars proclaiming a hardcore anti-Tory sentiment over his track “Street Politician” and debuted a bass-heavy instrumental especially for the former PM called “David Cameron Riddim” last year. The comments section strongly advise David to suck his Mum. While Skepta’s biggest engagement with politics came when he half-heartedly praised London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan for “going against the grain.” The internationally-acclaimed rapper prefers to avoid politics completely, proclaiming that him and his Gs “don’t listen to no politican” on his hit track “Shutdown“.
Nonetheless, Grime’s biggest stars have taken a new approach to politics by showing support for Labour following Theresa May’s call for a snap general election on 8 June 2017. Last week, big names including JME, AJ Tracey, Novelist and Akala have taken to Twitter to publicly and proudly endorse Jeremy Corbyn of the Labour Party as their candidate of choice. Grime has always been a vital political mouthpiece for working class Brits, meaning that encouragement to vote Labour from influential MCs such as Novelist and JME could potentially see a significant resurgence in votes for Labour during the upcoming election and pierce the London liberal bubble.
Thanks for the support @jmeBBK – if you haven’t already please do what he says and register to vote https://t.co/OMn7iamFTx
— Jeremy Corbyn MP (@jeremycorbyn) April 23, 2017
Corbyn was quick to realise the political potential the genre’s support for his viability as the next prime ministerial candidate holds, shouting out JME and simultaneously retweeting him. It appears Jeremy is not chatting shit, so he is safe to @ JME without getting blocked quick.
Seriously, everyone Vote for Jeremy Corbyn.
— Novelist (@Novelist) April 20, 2017
1. Tax goes back to the people, Jeremy wants to crack down on the rich youts avoiding tax, so that we have more funds for more facilities.
— Novelist (@Novelist) April 20, 2017
2. Jeremy opposes nuclear weapons, I don’t care what any person says, a NUC is wrong. Empowering an ethically correct person is important.
— Novelist (@Novelist) April 20, 2017
3. Jeremy is an advocate for women in parliament. That’s extremely important.
— Novelist (@Novelist) April 20, 2017
4. He has been on the back-bench not seeking power for 30 years: for him standing up for what’s right is more important than promotion.
— Novelist (@Novelist) April 20, 2017
Novelist displayed unwavering support for Corbyn in a series of tweets detailing the perks of the Labour leader’s policies, including his opposition to nuclear weapons and advocation for women in Parliament.
Homie @jeremycorbyn was anti-apartheid back when the Tories had Mandela down as a terrorist. Safe.
— Akala (@akalamusic) April 21, 2017
Fam if you tweet about politics you get bare mentions from accounts with display pictures of sunsets or clip art.
— Jme (@JmeBBK) April 23, 2017
As usual, Grime’s signature wit and humour comes to the surface with JME ridiculing those on Twitter trying to beef him.
It’s not a ‘I don’t care who you vote for, just please vote’ – it’s a ‘If you’re a real g vote Labour’ ting right about now ?
— AJ Tracey (@ajtracey) April 18, 2017
I am not and probably never will be a Labour supporter. However I will be voting for the first time and I’ll be voting for @jeremycorbyn
— Akala (@akalamusic) April 21, 2017
But if you want Corbyn in power, you know what to do. Step 1 anyway.
— Jme (@JmeBBK) April 23, 2017
AJ Tracey, Akala and JME however also declared more serious support for Corbyn in a number of tweets. This snap election is proving to be one of the most divisive in recent years and the Grime scene’s activity on social media could just make the difference this time.
Don’t forget to register to vote by 22 May hier