Music & news to your desktop
This young lady is quite unique when it comes to grime music. With her striking image and soulful sound, she has switched up the stereotype of the typical shouting grime MC that likes to wear Nike and New Era apparel. The 24-year-old singer/songwriter from Essex has a certain style that can be likened to Blondie and has even used the slogan ‘Blonde grime’ to explain what she is all about, “Blonde grime was meant as a joke really, I think I said it once on my MySpace and then it kind of stuck. At first I was never Lauren Mason, I was just ‘that girl with bleached hair that sang on grime’. I don’t know if I fit in or not (laughs), but what I do know is, we need more grime singers,” says the songstress. Lauren’s charm and directness comes through in her vocals which are delivered with in-depth and intelligent lyrics, whilst still being witty and funny with it. Lauren has built up a steady following at her live gigs and a solid fan base via the internet with her MySpace and YouTube hits and it has seen her go on to become one of the grime scene’s most popular acts.
2003 was the year in which Lauren started her song writing journey, when one day she wrote a poem in response to a bitter break up with her first long term partner, which was then written and recorded as the amusing song ‘James’ and this was the spark that ignited her love for song writing. A few years after that she decided to sing what she wrote and something which started off as a hobby then became a passion. But what would make an innocent looking young lady want to involve herself with the male dominated grime scene? “Grime music is a genre that I enjoy and have listened to for years, the grimier it was, the more I liked it. My influences are much broader than grime though, my musical taste has always been mental and I blame my family for that. My Dad listens to all the oldies, but goodies like Sinatra and Elvis, while my Mum likes all the dance music from the 90’s like ‘Livin Joy’ etc, then there are my 2 older brothers that are huge Rap fans and that is probably why I’m so outspoken as a songwriter,” says Lauren.
In 2008 Lauren put out her first release entitled ‘Keeping It Blonde’ which was a album full of grime fuelled beats with sultry vocals and it saw her collaborate with the guy who started off the grime sound, Wiley.“The whole project was a massive challenge for me; an independent label picked it up in January of 2008 and wanted to put it out as an album. I am massively proud of the CD, but due to lack of promotion I feel like it let me down a bit, nevertheless I have learnt a lot from the experience and it has made me a lot more determined. I got to work with some great producer’s on that project, namely Bless Beats with tunes like ‘Don’t Cry’ and ‘PS’, it really opened the doors for me to then work with people like Scorcher, Swindle, Lewi White and more.” Following from that last year Lauren also received some Midland bassline love from producer Wittyboy, who remixed her track ‘PS’ and that became another rollercoaster for the singer, as she explains. “That was mental for me; I had no idea that the ‘PS’ remix was so popular in the Midlands, the bassline scene is amazing and has a huge following and I’m grateful that I got the chance to be part of it. The ravers up there are heavy and to them it’s all about good vibes. Performing at the bassline ball in Birmingham was one of my favourite gigs of last year.”
Dizzee Rascal, Wiley, Tinchy Stryder, Lethal Bizzle, Kano and Roll Deep are just a few of the acts that have brought grime music to the forefront of the mainstream and that’s something the scene are grateful for I’m sure, but it’s becoming increasingly noticeable that there is a lack of females in the scene, or who even listen to the music. Saying that, there have been a few female grime acts such as Lady Ny, Nolay, Shystie, Lioness, Lady Sov and Lady Fury (who is no longer an MC) that have made a name for themselves on the underground circuit, but have never been as successful as their male colleagues. Is grime a male only scene I ponder the question? Lauren explains, “I think that all the ladies in grime are bringing something different. There are lots of female singers and MCs and to me we all have a very different angle lyrically and vocally, everyone seems to be doing there own thing and we all have a lot to offer the music industry and not just one particular scene. There are also many girls out there supporting the scene as well as taking part and whilst people like Dizzee and Tinchy have come from this scene and done amazingly well, lets hope some of us girls can break through and give them a run for there money.”
With all the attention the grime scene has been getting recently and all the major’s clamming to sign the next hottest thing, it is almost if they’ve only just realized how big the underground scene is and how much of an impact it has on the youth of today in the UK. Some labels are still afraid of singing female grime acts because of the lack of sales previous artists received, but there the odd label that still has faith in the grimy female. With the recent singing of Mz.Bratt to AATW/Universal and it is something that gives Lauren the determination to keep on going, as it’s only a matter of time until they catch on to the ‘Blonde’ one.
While we are getting to see young stars of grime invade the mainstream charts, we have to ask the question, is it going to be a lasting effect with people such as Tinchy Stryder and N-Dubz gaining Gold and Platinum status? Or is it just a phase in which the overground show a little appreciation to the underground music scene before they get bored, again? “I’m not sure where grime is heading, but what I do know is that grime is no longer a genre that is under rated and acts like Wiley, Chipmunk and Tinchy are no longer just grime MCs, they are household names. I’m sure that there will be more stars born in 2010. For the rest of this year and next, I’m putting my work rate into fifth gear, I have a new single coming out called ‘Know It All’ produced by Agent X, followed by my new album due for release in December entitled ‘Stronger’ which includes productions from Agent X, Sunship, 2play, The Next Room, Rude Kid, Nocturnal and more. Watch out for some videos hitting the telly soon as well.”
‘Keeping It Blonde’ is out now
A version of this appears in The Independent Newspaper today.
