Name: M.I.C

Where He’s From: North London

When He Started: 2015

Genre: Grime/Alternative Rap

File Next To: Master Peace, Ammi Boyz, PK Brako

Sounds Like: “Grime. Super-conceptual and really sonically daring, but definitely grime.”

First Music That Inspired Him: “Shouldn’t Of by Danny Brown. A lot of the alternative American rap of that era, like Odd Future and Bruiser Brigade, it inspired me a lot when I first heard it.”

At this point, we’re probably all used to hearing different stories from MCs and DJs who reminisce about the formative years of the grime scene, speaking about the struggles of pirate radio, living through the hysteria of the original Lord Of The Mics clashes, and the underrated spitters who may not be hall-of-famers but still provided legendary freestyles and building blocks in the early days of the genre. But it’s also interesting to hear the stories of those who grew up in the era of grime’s resurgence—such as the talented M.I.C, whose mother was “probably most into Sade and The Temptations” when he was very young and “liked Coldplay’s early material, Outkast and Busta Rhymes”, but who also introduced him to “grime by showing me ‘Wot Do U Call It?’ when I was in Year 7 or 8”, helping to lead him on a path to be one of the people experimenting with, and aiding in, the push to expand the scope of the sound.

When asked about what inspired him to get involved in grime, M.I.C tells TRENCH that it was “definitely the 2008-2012 era. It was a beautiful time, even if we didn’t realise it. I got into Merky ACE, Durrty Goodz and CASisDEAD in that era. And instrumental grime was so strong too, namely Nocturnal, Silencer, Darq E Freaker, Dot Rotten, Royal T and S-X, to name but a few,” his range of name selections proving he has one foot firmly in grime’s past, but also one in its present and therefore its future.

It has been exactly one year since M.I.C released his debut project, Heaven Is Black, referring to it as “an Afrofuturist retelling of the last part of the Divine Comedy, imagining what heaven or a paradise for black people of all shades, sexualities and identities might look like,” before revealing: “I had actually released two projects before this but they no longer exist on the web, so Heaven Is Black has now been reborn as my first project, which well reflects my own personal journey. 2017/2018 was a time of real reflection for me, so I almost feel like I’ve been reborn as well.”

However, this emcee’s contribution to grime isn’t just in the making of the music—it’s also in the facilitation in the growth and exposure of others through his NTS radio show with PK Brako, which he describes as having had a big role in helping him “understand the importance of musicians being polymaths in this modern age. If you want to do well, you cannot just be a recording artist and that’s it—you need to be multifaceted to survive in this environment.”

With his focus renewed and his understanding of both grime and music in general and it’s position in this modern age improved, M.I.C seems suitably prepared for the challenges that may lie ahead. Having not released new music for over a year, “never over-saturating listener’s ears with mediocre music”, it seems like the perfect time to reveal that he is working with Secundus and PK Brako on his debut album which is due for release later this year. Although he couldn’t reveal its title, he did disclose that “it’s all about the nighttime” and that “it’s going to be nocturnal bops only until 2021”—adding intrigue into how close to the line of grime’s original sound he will tread, or how left will he go in the wake of his self-proclaimed rebirth.