How So Solid Crew Changed The Game Forever
Jude Yawson takes us back to the new millennium and life growing up with So Solid as your soundtrack.
Sky Line Of London's Battersea Power Station by Jan Van BizarTRENCH
To be young at the dawn of the new millennium was something special, but to be young and Black and have So Solid Crew to look up to was priceless.
Boasting more than a dozen multifaceted members, the Battersea-bred collective's creativity spanned MCing, DJing, producing and even business.
Comprising Megaman, Asher D (Ashley Walters), Lisa Maffia, Romeo, Harvey, Oxide & Neutrino and many more, So Solid entered our consciousness through pirate radio—specifically Supreme and Delight FM—infecting UK garage with the sullen tone of the UK streets.
A Mixing Deck For A Home Studio by Stephen NiemeierTRENCH
The energy instilled in garage's usual 160BPM pacing, built to have the heart racing, accompanied by the raw lyricism of MCs spitting swiftly through its pockets, would imply the early embers of grime to come.
Oxide & Neutrino and "Oh No (Sentimental Things)" were my first introductions to the crew, but "21 Seconds" was So Solid's introduction to the mainstream, hitting No. 1 on the Official Singles Chart in 2001.
"21 Seconds"
A song forced into 3 minutes 54 seconds—with each member given 21 seconds to lay their bars—its gripping, Gotham-like visual accompaniment won Video Of The Year at the 2002 Brit Awards, a year after winning Best Newcomer and Best UK Garage Act at The MOBO Awards.
Aerial Shot Of London During A Sunset by Pierre BlachéTRENCH
A generation of youth glaring at our TV screens, seeing characters from ends—unfiltered, loud, taking on an industry and society set up against them—was game-changing.
They were leaders, frontrunners, in Black British culture, whose works continue to inspire generations.
This digital work has been produced in collaboration with PRS Foundation and POWER UP. The article first featured in TRENCH x Union Black's Chapter One: Game Changers zine.
Words by Jude Blay Yawson
Videos by So Solid Crew, Luke Hyams, MOBO Awards
Commissioned by TRENCH
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