20 Years Of “21 Seconds”: The So Solid Gem That Inspired Generations 💎

Words: Lucy 'Elle J' Small
Artwork: Willkay

It’s August 2001. An unlikely rabble of rowdy MCs, underground producers, DJs and budding singers from South London have just catapulted themselves into the UK charts, knocking pop sensations Atomic Kitten off the top spot. Their name? So Solid Crew. The track? “21 Seconds”.

In what feels like a blink of the eye, that track turns 20 today—August 6, 2021. At the time, its significance was apparent, but perhaps for different reasons. Back then, it was clear “21 Seconds”—which quickly became an underground and overground anthem—was helping shape the scene and put UK garage firmly on the map. Yet now, with the ability to zoom out from the situation, two decades on, it’s clear this was a pivotal moment in UK garage: So Solid were influencing the next cohort of garage and grime artists.

Of course, there were other UK garage acts and tracks to make it into the Top 10 long before So Solid, but this crew had something the others didn’t. Artful Dodger released two feel-good, sing-a-long UKG bangers in ‘99: the first, “Movin’ Too Fast”, the second, “Re-Rewind: (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)”—both narrowly missing the top spot, making it to No. 2 in the UK singles chart. In the same year, Shanks & Bigfoot’s “Sweet Like Chocolate” hit No. 1 in the UK (and Top 10 in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland). Within the same vein, it would be rude not to mention 1997’s “Closer Than Close” by Rosie Gaines, which climbed to No. 4; though the B-side spawned a remix by UK garage duo Tuff Jam, it was America’s Mentor remake that went Top 10. Also in ‘97, Tina Moore’s “Never Gonna Let You Go” hit No. 7 in the charts but, again, the mix was by an American producer named Kelly G. It is, however, important to mention those US garage tracks as they were huge on the UK garage scene—a nugget for the nerds and purists reading this, or just those who want to learn more about the history of where UK garage and then grime came from (and then dubstep and UK drill, even).

The key differences between “21 Seconds” and these tracks? Aside from their easily palatable vibe, the aforementioned releases were predominantly singer-led and, perhaps, more importantly, largely welcomed by the underground UK garage scene (though even the cheesiness of “Sweet Like Chocolate” and “Bo Selecta” raised a few of the highbrow’s eyebrows). While “21 Seconds” followed their collectively contagious 2-step (thanks to Synth on production), that’s about where the similarities ended. So Solid were nothing like those producer-singer combos; they were a group predominantly consisting of MCs, DJs, producers and the odd singer (30 at current count!) with their roots firmly in London’s underbelly; Battersea’s Winstanley and York Road Estates, to be precise.

Though today the lyrics on “21 Seconds” could be considered “light” or “pop”, even in comparison to the garage and grime that followed, if you listen closely, there’s glamourisation of guns from founding member Megaman just three lines in: “Yo G, roll by in a blacked out TT/ Megaman carry two gats easy.” And it was these lyrics, along with the crew’s darker, edgier, younger (Asher D was only 17 at the time) vibe that some of the old skool garage artists were against. Of course, you could argue that So Solid were purely storytellers, poets even, narrating their lifestyle; conveying their reality and that art and freedom of speech should be welcomed and applauded.

But you have to understand where many of the older garage producers, DJs and MCs were coming from. UK garage was the lovechild of house, US garage and, of course, jungle. Many of the junglists had abandoned the UK’s jungle/drum & bass scene in the early ‘90s and fallen head-over-heels for house & garage. Why? Largely (and ironically) in an attempt to escape the male-heavy clubbers and the newfound aggression that came with parts of that testosterone-heavy scene; not to mention the gangs attracted by the vast amounts of drug-money to be made. House & garage, which preceded UK garage, was often found in the smaller “second room” of huge jungle raves and the lighter, slower production(130 versus 170bpm) stereotypically started to draw more female punters. It wasn’t long before house & garage nights were being promoted in their own right and the UK garage scene quickly evolved; much to the dismay of house & garage purists at the time. You see, people don’t like change.

Yet during the mid-nineties, UK garage’s basslines got heavier, more and more MCs were spitting over DJs, the clubs got busier and the punters were, yet again, becoming more male dominant. There was money to be made too, and lots of it. Promoters, clubs, DJs, producers, MCs and the occasional singer cashed in as thousands of ravers were lured by the sound. With lots of ravers comes lots of drugs, gangs and guns. The underground shootings that were occurring on the UK garage scene made any problems jungle encountered seem like a walk in the park. All this was long before So Solid. So what exactly was the problem?

Perhaps it was the fact that So Solid were so blatant with their documenting and glamourisation of inner-city London life; something UK garage hadn’t seen or heard before. Maybe it was because the music itself was changing too fast and the old skool producers couldn’t or didn’t want to keep up, moving away from the catchy vocals and simplistic MC deliveries (see DJ Pied Piper’s “Do You Really Like It” which topped the UK charts and Mis-Teeq’s “All I Want” which hit No. 2, both just months before “21 Seconds”).

The closest commercial release the scene had witnessed of this new wave of UK garage was “Bound 4 Da Reload” by Oxide & Neutrino (who joined So Solid). Again, that track caused controversy. Like “21 Seconds”, on the underground and overground, it was like marmite: you either loved it or hated it. Regardless of the haters, “21 Seconds” would quickly become an anthem and go on to spawn several high-profile solo music and acting careers in the process (namely Asher D, Lisa Maffia, Harvey and Romeo). So Solid were young, fresh and new, and their brazen, in-your-face MC-meets-rap deliveries would go on to pave the way for a whole legion of young, fresh and new grime artists in the process.


Posted on August 06, 2021