Words: James Keith

Before he was T.Williams, Tesfa Williams was operating as Dread D (or Dreddy), a pivotal member of the Black Ops crew alongside Jon E Cash and Charmzy. His roots are embedded in the underground UK sounds of jungle and UK garage, before teaming up with Jon E Cash and Charmzy to pioneer what they called ‘sublow’. That sound, a precursor to what would become known as grime, was the crowning achievement of the Black Ops crew and many of their instrumentals—both as a trio and as individual members—are still essential riddims for grime sets.

Now producing as simply T.Williams, his productions typically veer around the worlds of UK garage and house music. Without a doubt, these post-2010 releases are much more soulful than the rowdy, chugging, bass-heavy productions of his grime days. But those days are by no means behind him. In 2015, the beatsmith dug deep into his stockpile to release the Siege EP and then collaborated with Jammz for “10 Missed Calls”, a track which would go on to become a flagship release in the grime scene that year.

Whether it’s deep and soulful grooves or thundering grime riddims, T.Williams is one of the masters. Most importantly, however, he’s showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Here are 20 reasons to love T.Williams.