It's fair to say grime is the new punk. The scene threw its weight behind Corbyn during the 2017 general election and turned Nando's into an institution. So I'm going to spill some tea.
Unless you're a wasteman, it's easy for musicians to reach their audience. They perform in front of actual humans every night in places ranging from a local public toilet (figuratively speaking) to huge festivals. These events tend to be full of high-jinx - loads of mandem with their squad, gassed from drinking or getting high. So that musician becomes synonymous with that experience.
Musicians also have music that everyone, even non-musos, listen to on the radio, TV, streaming services, in shops, through friends, in the car, on the bus/train, through our phones, etc. And some have sexy music videos you want to watch again and again, like the fantastic Nadia Rose.
People are interested in music, so journalists and DJs will hunt them out. So, while it's a slow burn, marketing new music is a lot easier than launching a new product.
Grime took it one step further by making cultural changes. If you're a roadman, you'll know your area and pick up on a social nuance, turning it into a thing. Nando's is just a swankier chicken shop. Chicken shops tend to be the fast food of choice for black people, step forward Pengest Munch.
This then snowballed into a viral campaign that everyone could relate to, creating a trend or behaviour with a song about the South African Portugese restaurant. Now, everyone uses the expression "cheeky Nando's".
Stormzy tweeted about Nando's and it made such an impact that Nando's created a burger, especially for the Mercury-nominated rapper, as they were blinded by his grace.
Lethal Bizzle wasn't shipping Dame Judy when he coined the term 'dench' while playing a computer game. A 2010 single titled Dench Stamina followed. And before you know it, the word dench entered into our lexicon. As well as a rather fetching range of merchandise featuring the word.
The way these grime artists do it is by becoming a fam. Picking up on a trend, engaging with an audience on social by leading and being part of a conversation, then creating something unique off the back of it. Sounds bait, but brands are so insular and non-diverse, they miss opportunities.
Marketers need to ask themselves, what's in it for the individual. Why would someone want to engage in something? Why should they care? What do they get out of it?
It could be something simple, like being the cultural leader who takes pride in discovering new things and being the first to share it. Or it could be a more important conversation that appeals to your customers, like political policies that resonate with a disenfranchised youth.
Simply tapping into a sub-culture makes your brand looks like it has its finger on the pulse, innovative and savvy. As illustrated by Nike's phenomenal Nothing Beats a Londoner advert.
And as with all sub-cultures, they're ambassadors pick up on a mood, speaking to and representing them. A fair few years back hipsters were the in thing. They revolutionised just about everything, turning their back on the fabricated and taking it back to its roots - giving it a sense of home-grown authenticity.
Brands like BrewDog and Pret, with their industrial interiors, cottage industry ethics and no bollocks communication was exactly the change a bored, battle-hardened consumer wanted. To being with, they were revolutionary and disruptive but these trends eventually trickle into the mainstream and are camouflaged into the cultural landscape.
If you've struggled with some of the London slang used in this piece, here's Korean Billy with a translation.
