Roll Deep vs Anish Kapoor @Tate Modern

Skip the waste ticketing system for the impressive uber-slides in the Tate Modern's Turbine Hall, and don the headphones on floor 3 for Grime's encounter with high art. Those boys Roll Deep continued the Tate Tracks monthly series, which previously saw Chemical Brothers soundtrack Jacob Epstein's amazing 'Rock Drill' (from 1914!). Brooding, industrial and futuristic in a Blade Runner mist, this is the Tate Modern's effort to think forward - towards a marriage of contemporary beats and art. Wiley and those E3 boys had quite the act to follow.

They opted to compose a production for Anish Kapoor's sparse and enveloping Ishi's Light. Working with such a physical piece, I was curious to see whether this was capable of smudging the boundaries of art and UK street music... or a marketing exercise in getting the yutes dem into a previously exclusive culture.

The track in question was produced by Wiley and featured Breeze and bad man Flow Dan on mic duties - but sadly no Trim, Scratch, Skepta or even Wiley himself, who have more depth lyrically. The loop sample is reliably Roll Deep, developing space and solitude as a theme both in beats and bars. The lyrics are tight, humorous and well thought out, without ever losing that edge which can get lost in their chart-seeking output. They are surely the cleverest lyrics that the normally mild Breeze and ragga Flow Dan have laid down. Rewind bars (and I did... about 8 times!):

"Lost in the dark, gotta stay sharp, Never catch me in a suit like Clark, I am a raider of the lost ark... Now I'm doing art for the gallery"

Don't think the braaaps went down too well. Fuck 'em. At times it did seem a little out of place and the production initially ventured into awkward, given it accompanied a mysterious, all encompasing art piece. This could partly be due to headphones situated stupidly far away from an installation that needs to be experienced up close. Nevertheless, the significance of fellow emcees developing literally as artists - in galleries that previously frowned upon youth culture - cannot be underestimated. Estelle takes the mantle in February 07. Best catch Roll Deep quick though... it dusts by the end of the month.

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