Yesterday producer, DJ and BBC Radio presenter DJ Target (Darren Joseph) released his first ever book titled Grime Kids, which documents the history of the revolutionary subgenre of grime.
Grime Kids candidly tells the story of grime and how it came to become one of the most prominent genres of the past 20 years while including first-hand experiences with those who contributed to its creation. From selling a jungle vinyl to a young Dizzee Rascal, to him and Wiley getting fired from their catering jobs for having a food fight, the book discloses anecdotes that made the culturally significant subgenre what it is today.
As a leading figure in the genre, Target has more of a right to tell this tale than anyone else; from growing up in the council estates of east London where grime was born, to producing and DJing in grime group Roll Deep from 2002 to 2013 alongside the “Godfather of Grime” Wiley. Wiley is also featured on the cover of the book as a photo of him and Target in their youth is used. This image alone gives a glimpse into grime’s history as they grew up together, sharing their love of music and coming together to devise something new and innovative.
However, in an interview with London In Stereo, Target points out “The thing is, if you had said to me when we started doing all this that we would be here 15 years later making a living out of it and talking about the importance of what we had done I don’t think anyone of us would have believed it. We were just doing what we wanted to do for fun and making it up as we went along.”
In his own words, DJ Target uses Grime Kids to highlight the importance of grime in our current society, and how a small east London subgenre became an international sensation that shook the music world.