New Prince of Grime
Royal-T is part of grime's next generation
With a fair few releases under his belt for labels like Butterz and No Hats No Hoods and remixes for cats like Zinc and Katy B, Royal-T has now been entrusted with helming the latest 'Rinse Presents:' CD, showcasing the spectrum of his wickedly produced grime shizz.
On his Rinse show every Wednesday night 1-3am he drops a range of stuff, and this is reflected in the productions that adorn his Rinse release. 'Cruel To Be Kind' is a frenetic grime assault featuring hype vocals from P Money, who Royal-T has collaborated with on five or six occasions. “My first ever release '1UP' was vocalled by him and that was more or less the track that made everyone hear about me, so it's nice for him to be the first track on my first LP,” Royal-T tells DJ Mag.
Recent single 'Inside The Ride', brimming with garagey vibes, is also present and correct, while 'Music Box', featuring grime uber-producer Terror Danjah — offsetting what sounds like a quaint chiming music box with dastardly bass — flows into 'Gully Funk', a grimey breakbeat opus with a warping b-line.
Another highlight, 'Work Your Body', meanwhile, is a fresh, uppy funky/garage piece with a rude bassline rasp that he crafted with UK funky don Roska. “He's done two 'Rinse Presents' before, so when I first started the project I was going to him for advice and stuff, then we made the tune,” says Royal-T. “It was kinda cool working with someone outside of grime, I think we created this fusion between what he does and what I do.”
The number of ideas, quality production and cracking tunes are what truly mark this release out. “I'm strict with myself in what I make, so I always try and do something completely different on every track,” he says. “It's just fun as well. I wanted to push the boundaries with the album. It's not necessarily something deliberate, but everything's got to be different or exciting — otherwise there's no point.”
Still based in his hometown of Southampton, Royal-T considers himself part of the new generation of grime. “The scene is a whole lot different now to what it was for me growing up, so it almost doesn't feel like the same genre but I'm glad to be doing my bit and being a part of its legacy.”