A GRIME SUPREME is our national music outreach project that explores and creates connections between grime and jazz. The project builds bridges between the two forms of music which are often segregated and disconnected, largely due to social and economic inequalities as well as artistic differences.

We use music as the catalyst to engage with disenfranchised young people, away from education and perceived ‘establishment’ organisations, and build local partnerships to deliver relatable and identifiable initiatives, breaking down barriers to participation and inspiring new creative journeys.

The first A GRIME SUPREME was held in the Southbank Centre, London, in Spring 2022 with workshop sessions featuring TW alumni Moses Boyd and XVNGO alongside acclaimed producer Swindle and MC Consensus. These sessions were made possible by the amazing support of the Baytrilla Memorial Fund. Bailey Churchill (aka Baytrilla) was a talented DJ and music producer with a bright future, who tragically passed away in 2020 aged just 26. The Memorial Fund was established by Bailey’s mother, Jo, to honour his memory and help fulfil some of his music dreams.

The potential to build cross-genre creativity, collaboration, and community was clear. And, whilst to some extent, this was happening organically in London the same couldn’t be said for other areas of the country, as Gabriel Starkey, Tomorrow’s Warriors Learning and Development Co-Ordinator, explains:

“UK music is at a more collaborative point than ever. Perhaps, for those of us that live in London, this won’t come as news – the inclusive, bustling, ‘melting pot’ atmosphere of the city has always seemed a place where musical and cultural bridges are crossed. In jazz, we have seen this more markedly than ever over the past decade, with acts such as Moses Boyd, Ezra Collective and Blue Lab Beats, to name a few, paving the way for the fusion of jazz with grime, hip-hop, afrobeat, reggae, dub, neo-soul, RnB and more. 

However, this story looks a little different in other parts of the country. In areas where the economic and social geography is very different to that in the capital, often the infrastructure necessary for this sort of collaboration simply hasn’t been there.“

BUILDING COMMUNITIES IN GLOUCESTER, STROUD AND HULL

In July 2023 Tomorrow’s Warriors secured funding through the Youth Music Trailblazer scheme to deliver A GRIME SUPREME in Gloucester and Kingston-Upon-Hull.

Expanding the project into a series of inspiration sessions, panel discussions, and workshops structured over a period of two months, and with a community showcase performance at the end of each programme, we worked with our delivery partners, The Music Works and Jazz Stroud in the Gloucester/Stroud area, and Hull Jazz Festival, Hull Music Service, and Beats Bus in Hull, using their extensive networks of musicians to recruit both grime and jazz musicians for the project. 

In both destinations A GRIME SUPREME has inspired artistic collaborations, built stronger cultural communities that have overcome the musical, social and cultural barriers experienced by young people today, and delivered:

A GRIME SUPREME has created safe spaces for socio-economically under-resourced young musicians, particularly Black and female musicians, to make music in a style that reflects their culture; building a supportive community and peer network, and enabling young people to express themselves openly in an understanding environment. And, in doing this these young musicians have tapped in to their passion and worked hard to unlock their creative potential.

A GRIME SUPREME – MOVING FORWARD IN 2025

At the time of writing, and thanks to continued support from Youth Music, we are currently working with our new deliver partners Audio Active, New Generation Jazz, and Create Music to deliver A GRIME SUPREME in Brighton during spring/summer 2025.

Following a successful Big Give match-funding campaign in December 2024, we will also be able to run the full A GRIME SUPREME programme in London for the first time, and will be reaching out to deliver partners soon.