Name: Narst

Where He’s From: Plaistow, East London

When He Started: 2004

Genre: Grime

File Next To: Griminal, Roachee, Big H

Sounds Like: “I don’t have a particular sound. I cover all genres, which is what makes me so passionate and talented.”

First Music That Inspired Him: “Lil Wayne, Skepta and Tupac.”

“Flow crazy, dumb, stupid!” For a certain generation of grime heads, those words are like Pavlov’s bell—an instant launchpad to a very specific moment in grime when Channel U, blogs, F*ck Radio and the rest were all flying high.

Narst, fka Lil Nasty, has been right in the thick of things ever since he emerged in the 2000s with his own crew, Straight From Hell. “I started out as a DJ,” he tells TRENCH, “then I became an MC and started recruiting a few MCs. Together, we went to lots of clubs, and also stations like Deja Vu [FM], Flava [FM] and many more.” Narst soon joined the ranks of Younger N.A.S.T.Y, the youth wing of N.A.S.T.Y Crew; the foundational garage-turned-grime outfit his older brothers, Marcus Nasty and Mak 10, were a part of.

For a while, it was Narst and his younger brother, Griminal, alongside Snoopy, SubZero and Lightnin (Brutal and Yunga Hunga were also among the ranks around that time). After a few years, there was a personnel shift; D Double E, Footsie and Monkstar left to form Newham Generals, Kano jumped ship to go solo, and a merger was announced, binding together the two generations of N.A.S.T.Y Crew. Lil Nasty’s voice stood out from the pack, quickly making a name for himself with some infamous freestyles and sets, including “Mike Lowery”, F*ck Radio Vol. 5: Ghetts’ Birthday Set, and the YungnHungryTV freestyle. More than most, he’s a direct product of the spontaneity at grime’s heart. “My music isn’t written,” he explains. “It comes from a split decision based on how I feel and my mood. I have a very unique style of music that I can perform on the spot; I literally have no filter.”

Grime has changed a lot since the mid-2000s. There have been peaks and troughs, but Narst has weathered them all, largely down to those freestyles and clashes, but also a healthy drip of projects like 2008’s Hungry Season mixtape, the Nasty Piece Of Work EP, and two volumes of RockNRolla. In late 2013, he released his final project as Lil Nasty, Why So Serious?, via his clothing and record label, Naughty By Nature. In 2025, grime is once again on top, and Narst is ready to seize the moment. His most recent cut, “GOAT Outside”, has him fired up and ready for action. And with all this war talk, the timing couldn’t be better. “I’m really proud of the grime scene and what it’s become,” he says. “I’m glad to be part of that, and I look forward to what the next generation brings to the table.”