Synonymous with grime, Lord Of The Mics is a brand that has provided a platform to seek and elevate underground UK street culture and the artists within it for almost 20 years. Beginning as a DVD box set that captured established MCs using their lyrical prowess to gain the upper hand against each other in a series of ‘clashes’, the DVD has since become an Official Charts Top 10 selling release upon its last two volumes. With a roster of past participants from its previous seven instalments that include Skepta, Wiley, Kano & Tinchy Stryder, it comes of no surprise that from the moment founder Jammer started tagging Lord of the Mics on Instagram, social media has been alive with the excitement of the highly anticipated release.
Everyone from Skepta to Wiley, through to superfan Drake have been pulled in to conversations about the line-up that will appear for the latest volume of the seminal clashing DVD with fans calling for the two UK music heavyweights (and former Lord of the Mics contenders) to settle their current feud through their art. Meanwhile, Drake, who has previously shown his passion for the LOTM platform by posting clashes on his own account, has been closely watching Jammer’s updates and hitting that ‘LIKE’ button.
Check out below the full LOTM 8 line-up, announced.
The clash rundown:
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TOMMY B vs JAY0117
“Tommy B is the Essex boy ready for war! He may be from a small town called Molden, but he’s looking for a big win and he’s not scared to show people what he’s capable of. If you want to know what he is about musically then check out the Silencer-produced ‘Martian’ freestyle.”
“JAY0117 is the first Bristolian to represent on LOTM bringing honour to his hometown, and is a fresh face to proceedings. His biggest tune to date is ‘Bristol City’, produced by Oh91 and featuring Dimpson. He’s hitting LOTM to be seen by a wider audience and throw light on the Bristol scene.”
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TEN DIXON vs TANA
“Ten Dixon is bringing raw energetic entertainment back to London grime clashes. Check for his latest tune ‘Only One/Man’s Outside’. His biggest accomplishment is putting energy and the hunger back into people’s stomaches for ‘real grime’.”
“Tana is from Birmingham, part of the historic Invasion Crew, and he’s ready to rage! Honing his craft supporting the likes of Mist, Jaykae, and AJ Tracey on tour with streams hitting 100k and a headline show in the pipeline, he’s ready to collect a body and bring it home for Birmingham.”
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RAWZA vs GEN
“Rawza has real grime energy and high level of bars. Considering himself the underdog, he feels he will deliver the shock factor from the jump. Nominated as a one to watch by Urban Music Awards, check out his EP ‘Code Name’, with another EP slated for release at the end of April.”
“Gen is another Essex representatative. He’s a lyrical MC with a technical approach, and bars packed with similes and metaphors rather than one-liners. There’s a debut EP scheduled to release following LOTM 8, and current single ‘Nottingham Trent’ is riding the AppleMusic grime playlist.”
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LOGAN vs ARMZ
“Logan debuts on LOTM after only two years spent honing his craft. Bringing fresh energy, versatility, style and bars with him, he’s hoping Lord Of The Mics will introduce him to a new wider audience ahead of a release to follow with other Micofcourse alumni later in the year.”
“Armz is bringing his A-game. He has passion, style, flow and experience in abundance having been in the game 10 years plus. Having gained notoriety for his 52 Armz project, whereby he dropped a new track every week for an entire year, this year is album time, with a long-player pending set to include big features from Wiley (The Godfather) and other established MCs.”
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T ROADZvs SBK
“T Roadz is bringing the kind of talent that shows no matter your age or where you are from you can get shelly on the mic. Check out his stand-out single ‘T 2 Da Roadz’. Created Black Box history as the youngest MC to get wheeled up every time in a freestyle series.”
“SBK has that pure grime energy and personality that he brings to the table. Multi-talented and also producing his own beats, check out his biggest track to date ‘Get Up!’, streaming on all platforms to see that talent in effect. He wants you to know he is here to win.”
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YIZZY vs MICOFCOURSE
“Yizzy is bringing the kind of performance you haven’t seen before, as Clash knows after having him perform at Clash Live last year. “It’s more than a clash, it’s not just about what I say but also how I say it,” he says. πWhen I diss the other guy I’m dissing him with lyrics, with body language, with everything I possibly can.” Check out ‘Yeah’, streaming now on all platforms produced by Mr. Virgo for a taste of things to come.”
“Micofcourse says LOTM is a massive opportunity for him and clashing is something he loves that was part of his come up. He loves the unfiltered approach, and has toured overseas including a radio circuit in the US. Check out ‘Of Course’, and you can also catch him performing at the Eskimo Dance this month.”
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JAFRO vs DIALECT
“Jafro is a new artist out of Leicester and key component of the new scene building there. With an album slated to follow his LOTM debut, to find out more dive into the ‘Style And Grace’ remix that he features on alongside Namesbliss, Melvillous and Prez T.”
“Dialect is bringing it. He considers himelf to be one of the best grime clashing MCs in the UK and has been in the scene from early doors. Bringing experience and authenticity to the clash, he’s jumped on LOTM8 because he wants people to know more about the genre that provides him a constant source of inspiration.”
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REECE WEST vs F.O.S
“Reece West hails from Alexandra Palace, London, and has already established his profile on the scene. Having toured overseas and put his name about he joins LOTM hoping it will push him onto bigger things. With a unique style and flow he’s looking to win! Check out his track ‘Walk On Water’ to see what he is about.”
“F.O.S has passion and energy in abundance. Having performed alongside veteran D Double E, he has already cut his teeth on stage and brings that energy to his clash. Check out his track ‘Pro’ for an insight into how he handles business.”
FUNKY DEE vs MISCHIEF
“Funky Dee is no stranger to the grime scene and is about bringing all-round entertainment and some positivity to LOTM8. His biggest achievement to date is a monster track doing the rounds in Europe – check out ‘Move With The Times’ featuring Wiley.”
“Mischief is from Hertfordshire and has been MCing since 2004. He is pulling all the stops out this year with LOTM8. He’s bringing flows, passion and venom to his clash as he says he’s been training for this the whole time. To get a taste check out his freestyle ‘Noizee’.”
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An official press launch for the event is set for March 28th in conjunction with City Cruises, for which guests will board their flagship vessel, The Millenium Diamond, and cruise down the River Thames towards East London, where grime originated in the early-2000s. Along the journey, guests will be entertained by top live acts including Lord Of The Mics co-founder Jahmek Power (Jammer) and friends. This will be the first in a series of LOTM events to be held throughout the UK this year, featuring some of the most elite grime artists from the scene.
To keep up with all Lord Of The Mics news and announcements, check www.lordofthemics.com and follow on IG and Twitter @LordOfTheMics
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