Butterz is an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

based in London that specializes in

grime music Grime is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) that emerged in London in the early 2000s. It developed out of the earlier UK dance style UK garage, and draws influences from jungle, dancehall, and hip hop. The style is typified by rapid, sy ...

. It was founded by DJs and

music producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

s Elijah and Skilliam. The label helped bring grime instrumentals to the forefront of the electronic music scene, and was ranked 10th in '' Fact's'' "The 10 Best Record Labels of 2011".

History

Butterz began as a blog in 2007, run by Elijah and Skilliam. The blog consisted of downloads, interviews and features with

grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust Music * Grime music, a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * "Grime", a 2023 song by Macklemore from ''Ben'' * "Grime", a 2024 song by Kittie from ''Fire ...

musicians. The label was formed in March 2010 and has since released grime music both digitally and on vinyl, from artists including

Terror Danjah Rodney Pryce (17 August 1979 – 10 February 2025), better known by his stage name Terror Danjah, was an English record producer, DJ, songwriter and label manager from Forest Gate, London. As the co-founder of the grime record label and musical ...

, Newham Generals,

Royal-T Mark Daniel Taylor, professionally known as Royal-T, is a British UK garage, bassline and grime DJ and music producer from Southampton. He is signed to Butterz and Rinse Recordings. Taylor was spotted in 2010 by Butterz label founders Elijah an ...

DJ Q Shollen Michael Quarshie (born 16 August 1985), known by his stage name DJ Q, is a DJ and record producer from Huddersfield, England. He forms part of the supergroup TQD alongside Flava D and Royal-T. Early life DJ Q’s musical journey star ...

Flava D Danielle Anne Louise Gooding, professionally known as Flava D, is an English UK garage, grime, bassline and drum and bass DJ and music producer. She was previously signed to the Butterz record label and is now signed to Hospital Records. She is ...

Swindle, Champion,

P Money Paris Joel Moore-Williams (born 8 April 1989), better known by his stage name P Money, is a British grime MC, rapper and songwriter from New Cross, South East London, who is also active in the drum and bass scene. He is best known for his li ...

and Trim. In 2010 it was announced that the blog was ending so as to focus solely on the label. David Kelly has designed all of the label's artwork, which for a long time, only used two colours: black and yellow.

Radio show

Elijah and Skilliam had a weekly regular show on

Rinse FM Rinse FM is a London-based community radio station, licensed for "young people living and/or working within the central, east and south London areas". It plays garage, grime, dubstep, house, jungle, UK funky and other dance music genres po ...

from 2008 to 2014. In 2011, Elijah and Skilliam released ''Rinse: 17'', a mixed compilation album featuring material from the radio show and the label.

Events

Butterz events take place in various nightclubs with label artists alongside guests. They have included appearances from JME,

Skepta Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. (born 19 September 1982), known professionally as Skepta, is a British grime MC, rapper, record producer and DJ. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined Roll Deep before they became founding members of ...

, Kode 9,

DJ EZ Otis Roberts, better known by his stage name DJ EZ (pronounced "DJ ee zed") is a UK garage DJ from Tottenham, North London. He was one of the earliest proponents of UK garage music, hosting a long-running Kiss 100 radio show and mixing the '' ...

, Joker and Kano. From 2013 to 2016 Elijah & Skilliam ran an offshoot night Jamz, with regular parties in Leeds, Manchester, Berlin and Liverpool, which ended with a final session streamed live on Boiler Room.

Catalog

References

External links