On top of this, the tide was turning for the grime-cum-pop stars who were on the wane as the industry lost interest. The critical backlash towards the album was telling: NME even went as far to say that the album represented “the sound of grime destroying itself”. But Skepta sounded uncomfortable and conflicted throughout, making for an altogether hollow and vacuous listen. A clear attempt at breaking the mainstream, the album included the infamous remix to P Diddy’s “Hello Good Morning” and assists from N-Dubz and former EastEnders actress Preeya Kalidas. Though the latter had experimented with glossier, more accessible sounds (and even a Jay Sean feature), Doin’ It Again fully expounded on a new artistic direction for Skeppy.

The man from Meridian had just released Doin’ It Again, his third album -a visible and audible departure from previous opuses Greatest Hits and Microphone Champion. In the middle of these two worlds was Skepta, who would lead the charge for grime in its purist form gate-crashing the industry years later, but at the time, was heading down the same path as his mainstream-chasing peers. Meanwhile, the underground hadn’t stifled and stalwarts such as Jme, Footsie, P Money and more, trudged away at making grime in its purest form despite the public perception that it had reached its creative peak. For those who made the transition, this was the only way to make money from their music and reach artistic maturation, and the likes of Dizzee, Chip, Wiley and Tinie took it in their stride as they became new-age pop stars. The scene’s legends were forced to abscond their origins in the midst of a music industry yet to see the genre’s value, trading fiery underground bar-filled bangers for electro-pop leathered chart-toppers with a hint of edge. In 2011, grime was dead, or so the cynics said.

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