Grime blog Once Upon A Grime have recently released a new collection of tees.  Check them out here:

For Koko Magazine readers they’re giving a 10% discount when you use the promo code ‘kokomag’

Get the tees here

http://www.onceuponagrime.blogspot.com/

Want to know where to get all the latest news in the world of grime?  Graeme Day of the Once Upon A Grime blog is your go-to man for the job.  Read his interview below to find out more about his blog.

What prompted you to start your blog?

Originally I started my blog at the end of November 2009, but before that I was a part of another blog called Grime Garms. Grime Garms is still running, but without me. That blog was about Grime artists and what clothes they were wearing and where you could buy it from. For instance, if JME got snapped in a pair of Nike trainers, we’d find out what style they are, how much they’d cost, and where you could buy them from. But the other person involved concentrated more on his Univercity course, and the blog suffered. Instead of carrying on with Grime Garms, I decided to start my own little blog to showcase everything about Grime as I actually started to enjoy writting, unlike in school.

Why the name ‘Once Upon A Grime’?

It just randomly came to me. I was lying in bed one night trying to think of a name for the blog with the name Grime in it. I think it may be due to I just moved into my aunt’s house, and she still had Winnie the Pooh sketches on the wall, and I took it from there. Once Upon A Time, Once Upon A Grime.

What do you enjoy most about running your own music blog?

With Grime Garms, I had to send my writting to another person to get it featured, but with my own, I can add whatever I want, whenever I want. It’s the freedom I suppose. I take all the credit when something goes well, but then again, I also get the blame if I make a mistake.

What do you think has propelled grime into the mainstream in recent years?

Wiley. He’s the Godfather or Grime, and he’s had an impact on every Grime artist you’ll see coming through the mainstream. He brought Chipmunk to Tim Westwoods show age sixteen, and look where he is now. He’s been working with Skepta for years, he’s featured on several tracks with Tinchy Stryder and his crew Ruff Sqwad, plus there was a point where Wiley and Devlin were sending diss tracks known as war dubs towards each other. Those war dubs helped push Devlins career forward too. But, you can’t forget DJ Logan Sama either. Sadly his two hour show on Kiss 100 recently got cut in half to one hour, but he’s put in countless hours helping out the Grime scene and pushing unknown artists at the time and getting their music on a mainstream station.

Which grime artists do you see making a standout impression by the end of the year, and why?

The most obvious person would be Devlin. He recently signed to Island Records who boast the names of Wiley, Tinchy Stryder and the producer Bless Beats. Island Records will open doors for Devlin, and as long as he doesn’t change his sound too much and water it down, the Grime fans will continue to support him.

He’s already had a number one this year already, so Tinie Tempah is going to go places this year. Getting a number one with your debut track is amazing. The interesting part is that he wasn’t even going to release ‘Pass Out’, he was at one point only going to use it as a promotional song. If he’s got more tracks like that up his sleeve, 2010 could be a big year for him. Tinie is an example that you don’t have to water down your tracks to get big in the mainstream.

Skepta I think will be the third for me. He’s been around in the Grime scene since the start, and he’s finally pushing for mainstream sucess off the back of his own music lable, Boy Better Know. Last year ‘Too Many Man’ was placed throughout the year in all clubs in the UK and abroad in the summer. ‘Goin’ In’ wasn’t as big as ‘Too Many Man’, but ‘Bad Boy’ has made him stand out in the mainstream scene. With his next single ‘Resuce Me’ being released soon, Skepta alongside Devlin and Tinie Tempah will hopefully dominate the charts in 2010.

What else can readers expect from your blog as you continue to develop?

Currently I’m working on getting a more professional layout for the blog. I’m trying to take it from a little unknown blog into a well known website where Grime fans come to read out and find out about the latest in Grime music. I’m going to set up monthly competitions too and look out for a few mixtapes I’ll help put out and push forward too. Basically, this time next year, the blog is going to be completely different and more professional.

Check out Graeme’s blog http://www.onceuponagrime.blogspot.com/ and keep an eye out for his grime features on Koko Magazine!