One of the UK grime pioneer groups Meridian Crew has returned to the scene with a new single, "Man In Meridian," the first since they first got together in the early 2000s before each member went to find individual successes in the game. The original members made up of Bossman Birdie, JME (Skepta's blood brother), Big H, President T, and Paper Pabs hit the studio with the help of producer Dre Minor who concocts a gritty instrumental for the OGs to flex their lyrical muscles over. The result speaks for itself with vivid bravado-driven bars laced with fiery intent from each rapper as they bring their different flows to the forefront. The title itself is a nod to the very first freestyle they all performed together on a pirate radio show back in the 2000s and is a culmination of turning that legendary moment into a song that could be remembered for years to come.
The visuals shot by Coldshots bridges the old and new and reintroduces the crew to newer audiences while highlighting the crew's past. The director makes use of old clips of the rappers and splices them with performances by kids in the modern era. The kids' scenes were shot on Meridian Estate, the very location where the crew formed and spent their early years developing their style to gaining notoriety around North London. I love the way the scenes seamlessly go back and forth from the past to the present and in a nutshell, it helps bring to full circle the early days of Grime music and how it framed and changed the London underground scene forever.
"Man In Meridian" can be streamed on all platforms here.
Connect with JME : SoundCloud | Twitter
Connect with President T: Twitter | Instagram
Connect with Big H : Twitter | Instagram
Connect with Paper Pabs : SoundCloud | Twitter | Instagram