The 10 best grime tracks, according to Ruff Sqwad

The always-prolific Ruff Sqwad are releasing their ‘White Label Classics’ this month, a record made up of all the limited and rare white labels they’ve put out since they first started putting out tracks over a decade ago. To celebrate, producers Rapid and Dirty Danger had a chat with Dummy about their 10 favourite tracks from the genre they loom large over.

1. Nasty Crew – Take You Out
   “We used to look up to Jammer, and he definitely influenced us as producers. We used to go to his basement and play each other tracks. Nasty Crew were one of the top crews at the start of grime and this was their anthem.”
   
2. More Fire Crew – Oi
   “More Fire were also one of top early crews; this track was one of the few grime tracks to chart in the Top 20.”
   
3. Roll Deep – I Will Not Lose
   “At the time we were starting to produce music, Wiley was bringing out vinyls on an almost weekly basis. All his beats seemed so futuristic and in another world.”
   
4. Dizzee Rascal – I Luv U
   “We grew up with Dizzee Rascal and used to MC with him on pirate radio, watching him go from performing in Youth Clubs to become a house hold name was amazing. This track had such a big impact and at the time he was just 16.”
   
5. Tinchy Stryder – Underground
   “While people know Tinchy Stryder for his more commercial tracks, he was big in the grime scene before his voice had broken! This was his biggest grime hit and smashed up every rave in 2005. Rapid’s drum patterns on the production really got people’s attention as no one had really done anything like it.”
   
6. Ruff Sqwad Ft Maxwell D – I’m From Place
   “Maxwell D was a big MC from the end of garage to the start of grime. When Rapid made it, we knew we had to get him lay one of his classic hooks from those days on the chorus. The way the beat switches up just as the track is about to end gets me every time.”
   
7. Lethal Bizzle – Pow
   “This track doesn’t need any introduction to grime fans, it was so powerful clubs banned DJs from playing it because of the reaction it was getting.”
   
8. Ruff Sqwad feat. Wiley – Together
   “Around the time we were making ‘Guns and Roses Vol. 1’, Wiley was helping us, taking us to proper studios so our tracks could get mixed down properly. Most grime tracks at the time were talking about violence/road stuff so this was quite unusual for us to do a love song.”
   
9. Ruff Sqwad – Xtra
   “What makes this unique is none of the MCs have set verses, everyone finishes off each others’ lines and comes up with another two lines. We could do this because we were such good friends and knew each others’ bars inside out. This still gets played at grime raves today.”
   
10. Rapid – Go Rapid
    “This one always gets people skanking! I loved the way I flowed and expressed my views about my music and my life. The chorus was simple and effective which made it go down well at the raves and the video was very unique being the was no performance scenes.”
    

No Hats No Hoods will release ‘White Label Classics’ on the 10th December 2012.