The Square

Comprised of 6 members - a fluid mix of producers and emcees - Lewisham-based collective The Square represent the next generation of conscious-minded, new school grime artists. Combining genuine hunger and pedigree with natural lyrical ability, DeeJillz, Faultsz, Streama, Elf Kid and Blakie head up the emcee arm of the crew, whilst in-house super producer Lolingo - responsible for the majority of production work on debut mixtape ‘The Formula’ - and as well as producers-in-the-making Blakie and Streama, are tasked with providing the beats. After first recording together as a crew in the early months of 2014, The Square have impressed from the get go. Deemed by some as an unworkable throwback to grime’s volatile formative years, their crew mentality has been a defining factor in their work that, despite their young age, makes their music feel all the more impressive. Joining the dots between more traditional vocal grime fare and that of the new, Boxed-inspired instrumental grime world, they are the first to fully utilise the bustling scene that has developed around them over the last 12 months. Although only sitting on one body of work proper - aforementioned debut mixtape ‘The Formula’, released in August 2014 via iconic grime hub No Hats No Hoods - The Square have also placed a large focus on their visual identity, as the videos for most recent single ‘Pengaleng’ and the cult ‘Lewisham McDeez’ testify. Often conceptually tongue-in-cheek, fevered online reaction, combined with radio support from some of the UK’s most influential DJs including Mista Jam, DJ Target and Toddla T, recently earned them an appearance at Milan Fashion Week. Energy and live performance are also a key component in the crew’s make-up, an element of their collective identity that feeds into their dedication to radio. With a host of The Square’s emcees performing across London-centric platforms like NTS and Rinse FM as well as guest appearing on BBC Radio 1Xtra and Kiss FM throughout 2014, they remain a collective rooted in grime’s grassroots past but firmly invested in it’s future. The Future of Grime