If you stopped caring about grime music around the same time Dizzee did, then Ghetts’ ‘Who’s on the Panel?’ is a brilliant re-introduction to a scene that’s been nurturing a whole generation of bona fide rap stars for almost a decade. On Sunday night, a panel show aired on MTV Base, aiming to discuss and rank the top ten UK MC’s of 2010. After being left off the list, Plaistow MC Ghetts (formerly Ghetto) took to Twitter to air his anger, before heading straight to the studio to lay his feelings down on tape. His disgruntled response was finished by sunrise, premiering on Kiss that Monday night before the video (filmed between recording the track and its first play) dropped yesterday morning.
It’s easy to feel Ghetts’ pain, especially now that almost every member of his original crew The Movement have major label deals (Devlin – Island, Scorcher – Geffen, Wretch 32 – Ministry of Sound) whilst he continues to fly the flag for independence. But who and what exactly is he talking about in this track, and why’s he so riled up? I’ve got nothing to do for the next hour, so let’s analyse some lyrics:
“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t know who P Money was.” – The beef between Ghetts and P Money (#8 on MTV’s list) is very well documented. Put both their names in the youtube search bar and you can entertain yourself for hours. In Ghetts’ eyes, P Money wouldn’t have been able to make a name for himself without the conflict.
“As for D Double E, he aint done shit but light up a set.” – Ghetts’ sets out his parameters for what it takes to be a top ten MC in the song’s hook (“CD, show or battle”), implying that although D Double E (one half of Newham generals and #9 on MTV’s list) can entertain a crowd in a live setting, he can’t do much else. I’d have to disagree though – Street Fighter Riddim A was easily one of 2010′s biggest grime tunes…and isn’t far off a million youtube hits.
“Let’s talk about my discography: ‘Two Thousand and Life’, ‘Ghetto Gospel’,'Freedom of Speech’” – Three brilliant mixes: that more than highlight Ghetts’ lyrical ability. He also mentions releasing “an EP on Christmas day, for free”. – well worth a download and available here.
“And I like Pro Green, but when I paid for his album, daylight robbery.” – A brilliant lyric, and one that’s hard to argue with, although DJ Semtex makes a very good case for Green’s inclusion at #4 explaining that he “made the near impossible transition from battle rapper to Super Star…and killed Game Over.” Even Ghetts would struggle to argue with Green’s verse on Tinchy Stryder’s incredible Game Over: All together now: “I try to relax.”
“Lowkey must have had someone on the inside.” – Lowkey (joint #10) definitely seems out of place on this list…as if making albums with members of Babyshambles and Reverend and the Makers wasn’t confusing/upsetting enough.
Considering this is a diss track (of sorts) though, Ghetts doesn’t end up coming across as embittered as he might, spending the second half of the track bigging up those he respects, whether they made the list or not.
“Devlin, number 7, what? Mockery.” – Mutual respect is a beautiful thing, and clearly Devlin hasn’t forgotten his roots. Not only did he invite Ghetts to feature on the track ‘Finally’ on his Island records debut, but also dropped a verse on Ghetts’ aforementioned Christmas EP. The gulf between MC’s who get record deals and those who don’t is often a touchy subject…follow Wiley for a few days on Twitter, and I can guarantee you’ll soon know exactly what I’m talking about.
“What about Kane? What about Wretch? What about Scorch? What about Ghetts?” – Kano (Kane to his parents) remains a rapper’s rapper, despite fading from the public eye slightly over the last few years. He and Ghetts’ go a long way back, with Ghetts’ having had a strong affiliation with N.A.S.T.Y Crew (of which Kano was a core member), a collective whose influence can probably only be matched/topped by Roll Deep in their early days. We mentioned Wretch 32 and Scorcher above as members of Ghetts’ original crew The Movement, so it’s easy to see why he’d be fighting their corner. For my money, Scorcher’s not much to write home about, and Wretch’s Major Lazer-esque new direction is far from grimy but at least it’s not Calvin Harris on the hook.
“What about Jamie? What about Grim? What about Dot, they forgot about him.” – Now this is a lyric I can g(h)et(t) behind. JME (Jamie) is quite simply, one of the most entertaining British rappers of all time. I wouldn’t know how to begin to explain, but his recent re-up of the first three Boy Better Know mixtapes on iTunes is a pretty good place to start – and at 32 tracks for £7.99, there’s no excuse. Dot Rotten and Griminal are two of the most exciting up and coming talents from the last few years of grime, and as Ghetts points out, they should probably be getting a little more attention than they are.
“Hold tight Giggs, hold tight Devs, hold tight Chip and hold tight Skeps.” – Ghetts shows his respect for those who made the panel’s top ten and (in his eyes) deserve to be there. Whether you see Giggs’ as an ‘MC’ or not (he makes hip hop as opposed to grime), he’s had a great year, and brought back a much needed credibility and grit to a world that Chipmunk (Chip) did his best to destroy, by knocking down the very necessary wall between UK rap and euro house. As for Skepta, Ghetts’ respect is completely justified: Three top forty singles followed by the album ‘Doin It Again’ going top 20, all whilst working with budgets that are probably about a tenth of what gets spent on any of his major label contemporaries. No wonder he gained P Diddy’s respect. And let’s not forget where it all began – nothing short of quintessential.
“Hold tight Tinie, hold tight Diz, all six deserve that shit.” – So Ghetts is happy with six out of MTV’s ten. Out of his six, I’d probably agree with four. It’s odd that the track doesn’t mention Wiley at any point though, as the panel agreed on him as #5 and Ghetts doesn’t pass comment either way. Nonetheless, I’d add Wiley to Skepta, Devlin, Giggs and Tinie Tempah to make five, along with Trim (check out Soulfood Vol. 1-4, Monkey Features 1, and the imminent Monkey Features 2), Dot Rotten, Tempa T as Next Hype alone puts him in the history books – JME and of course Ghetts to make ten.
Who’d make your list? Who do you think MTV left out? Who shouldn’t have been left in? And is Ghetts being harsh, or nowhere near harsh enough?
Let us know, comments below.
Peace.
