backronym
A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...
for Natural Artistic Sounds Touching You) was a British
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
...
crew from
East London
East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...
, with its members primarily from
Newham
The London Borough of Newham () is a London boroughs, London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of County Borough of West Ham, West Ham and County ...
. The group was founded by DJ Marcus Nasty and MCs Sharky Major and Stormin in 1999, and its membership underwent frequent changes in the following years, with most artists forming or joining successor crews by 2006. It is regarded as a pioneering collective within grime music history and several of its former members have charted in the United Kingdom, including
Jammer
Jammer may refer to:
Signal blocking devices
* Radar jammer, a device used in radar jamming and deception
* Radio jammer, a device used in radio jamming
* Radio-controlled Improvised Explosive Device jammer, a counter-IED device
* Mobile phon ...
,
D Double E
Darren Jason Dixon (born 19 January 1980), known professionally as D Double E, is a British grime MC, DJ and record producer from Forest Gate, East London. He performs both as a solo artist and as a member of the grime duo Newham Generals.
...
,
Ghetts
Justin Jude Clarke-Samuel (born 9 October 1984), better known by his stage name Ghetts (formerly Ghetto), is a British Grime (music), grime MC, rapper, songwriter and actor. His music has been played on national radio stations such as BBC Radio ...
, and
Kano
Kano may refer to:
Places
*Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria
*Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State
** Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries
** Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom betwee ...
.
History
1999–2001: Formation
Nasty Crew was founded by Plaistow-based artists Marcus Nasty, Sharky Major and Stormin in 1999 as a
UK garage
UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house and jungle production methods, but also incorporates elements from ...
crew, when they were teenagers. Prior to the crew's formation, Sharky was performing at youth clubs and house parties, typically alongside
Crazy Titch
Carl Dobson (''née'' Carl Nathaniel, 31 January 1983), better known by his stage name Crazy Titch, is a convicted murderer and British grime MC who is, , currently serving a life sentence for murder. Crazy Titch was a successful and well-known ...
and Demon. Stormin had previously been a
jungle
jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century.
Etymology
The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...
MC in YGS Crew alongside Armour and
Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), known professionally as Dizzee Rascal, is a British rapper and MC. He is often credited as a pioneer of British hip hop and grime music and was ranked by ''Complex'' as one of the greatest British ...
(then a DJ by the name Dizzy D), performing in
Bow BOW as an acronym may refer to:
* Bag of waters, amniotic sac
* Bartow Municipal Airport (IATA:BOW), a public use airport near Bartow, Florida, United States
* Basic operating weight of an aircraft
* BOW counties, made of Brown, Outagamie, and Winn ...
youth club the Lincoln Arches and house parties, and already had a reputation for
freestyling
Freestyle rap, also simply known as Freestyle, is a style of hip hop music where an artist normally improvises an unwritten verse from the head, with or without instrumental beats, in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure ...
,
beatboxing
Beatboxing (also, and sometimes, called beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (usually a Roland TR-808, TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.clashing other artists.
Sharky, who was originally a garage DJ as well as a rapper, met Marcus Nasty at a DJ competition where he failed to progress to the final and decided to MC at the event instead. Marcus, who already had a Flava FM
pirate radio
Pirate radio is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license, whether an invalid license or no license at all. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are rec ...
show, asked Sharky to join him for an appearance; Sharky also invited Demon, who was unavailable, so Stormin was brought in by a mutual friend in his place and the three established Nasty Crew after a fellow presenter gave them the name during their first broadcast. Stormin invited Armour to join the group shortly after its inception, and Dizzee participated in several of the crew's early radio sets, also collaborating with them on the
dubplate
A dubplate is an acetate disc usually of 10 inches diameter, traditionally used by studios to test recordings prior to mastering for the subsequent pressing of a vinyl record, but pioneered by reggae sound systems as a way to play exclusive mu ...
"Ready 4 War" which later appeared on the 20th anniversary edition of his debut album ''
Boy in da Corner
''Boy in da Corner'' is the debut studio album by English rapper and producer Dizzee Rascal. It was first released on 21 July 2003 by XL Recordings in the United Kingdom before being released the following year in the United States.
A widespread ...
''.
2001–2003: Recruitment of new members and Jahmek the World releases
Marcus Nasty spent two years in prison between mid-2001 and November 2003, and during this period his brother, Mak 10, became the crew's primary DJ.
D Double E
Darren Jason Dixon (born 19 January 1980), known professionally as D Double E, is a British grime MC, DJ and record producer from Forest Gate, East London. He performs both as a solo artist and as a member of the grime duo Newham Generals.
...
, Hitman Hyper and
Jammer
Jammer may refer to:
Signal blocking devices
* Radar jammer, a device used in radar jamming and deception
* Radio jammer, a device used in radio jamming
* Radio-controlled Improvised Explosive Device jammer, a counter-IED device
* Mobile phon ...
each individually joined the crew over the course of three or four months, after their own Newham-based crew 187 had disbanded following in-fighting and had given up their own Flava FM show. As D Double E remembers it:
One day at school Sharky came up to me and said he’d heard we weren’t on the station anymore and said we join their crew. I was kinda sceptical because he was a younger, but I jumped on a set with them and enjoyed it, so I brought Hyper and Jammer with me next time.
By 2002, the crew had secured a Monday night show on Deja Vu FM, through which they went on to gain regional prominence in London. Fans would record the shows onto bootleg
cassette tapes
Cassette, also known as cassette tape, refers to a small plastic unit containing a length of magnetic tape on two reels. The design was created to replicate the way a reel-to-reel machine works with tape moving from one reel to another while bein ...
which they shared with friends across the country, furthering the group's popularity and attracting regional bookings outside of London. Producer
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 ...
, who attended St. Bonaventure's school alongside D Double E, joined the crew around this time.
Jammer and his productions, predominantly created using
Korg Trinity
The Korg Trinity is a synthesizer and music workstation released by Korg in 1995. It was Korg's first modern workstation and marked a significant evolution from its predecessors by offering features such as built-in digital audio recording, 32-no ...
sounds, are credited by Marcus Nasty with the evolution of the group's sound from garage to grime. Early songs recorded to his instrumentals included D Double E's "Birds in the Sky" and Sharky Major's "Dis Ain't a Game". Jammer also produced the crew's October 2002 debut single "Good U Know", which sold out "on promo".
Kano
Kano may refer to:
Places
*Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria
*Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State
** Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries
** Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom betwee ...
, who knew Sharky growing up, and Monkstar, then known as Monkey and a former member of D Double E's prior crew M.A.D., joined the crew at the same time in 2002. The pair were asked to prove themselves with a back-to-back freestyle in Jammer's basement, after which they were invited into the group. Jammer claims that he was asked to choose between Kano and Dizzee Rascal, and made the decision based on whose tones he felt would best complement his productions.
Jammer's label, Jahmek the World, became an outlet for the group's releases including the crew's December 2002 single "Take You Out", his 2003 single "Destruction", and Kano's 2003 single "Vice Versa (Boys Love Girls)", which sold several thousand copies and later featured as a bonus track on his debut album ''
Home Sweet Home
Home Sweet Home may refer to:
Film
* ''Home, Sweet Home'' (1914 film), a film about the life of John Howard Payne
* ''Home Sweet Home'' (1917 film), a British silent film
* ''Home Sweet Home'' (1926 film), a silent film drama
* ''Home, Swe ...
''. During this time, Mak 10's cousin Nasty Jack began inviting the crew onto his Freeze FM show on a regular basis, and was later recognised as a member of the crew in 2004.
Ghetts
Justin Jude Clarke-Samuel (born 9 October 1984), better known by his stage name Ghetts (formerly Ghetto), is a British Grime (music), grime MC, rapper, songwriter and actor. His music has been played on national radio stations such as BBC Radio ...
, then known as Ghetto, had been in correspondence with Sharky and Stormin during his time served in
HMP Huntercombe
HM Prison Huntercombe is a Category C men's prison, located near Nuffield in Oxfordshire, England. It is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
History
Huntercombe was built as an internment camp during World War II, and originally known as ...
for car crimes. He was released on 4 August 2003 and soon joined the group; his first recorded song was the Jammer-produced Dancehall Mafia song "Mind Works", which appeared on the ''Lord of the Decks Vol. 2'' compilation.
Another Nasty Crew single, "Cock Back", was released in September 2003; produced by Terror Danjah and released via his label
Aftershock
In seismology, an aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in Epicenter, the same area of the Mainshock, main shock, caused as the displaced Crust (geology), crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthq ...
, it saw Hitman Hyper and D Double E joined by guests
Crazy Titch
Carl Dobson (''née'' Carl Nathaniel, 31 January 1983), better known by his stage name Crazy Titch, is a convicted murderer and British grime MC who is, , currently serving a life sentence for murder. Crazy Titch was a successful and well-known ...
and Riko Dan. The song was picked as the 'Power Play' on Deja Vu FM and topped the sales chart at specialist London record store Rhythm Division; Terror Danjah has claimed it sold around 10,000 copies in total. Footsie formally joined the crew following Marcus Nasty's November 2003 release from prison, while Jammer left the group the same month following a public dispute about unpaid royalties from Jahmek the World releases. Despite this, plans remained at the time to release a Nasty Crew album featuring several Jammer productions.
2003–2005: Departure of members, Lord of the Mics and Younger Nasty
D Double E, Footsie and Monkstar had left the group by the end of 2003, due to a disagreement about Double soliciting live bookings in the name of the collective. Kano signed to
679 Recordings
679 Artists (formally known as Sixsevenine and 679 Recordings) was a Warner Music Group-owned record label based in London, England.
It was started by Nick Worthington who after leaving XL Recordings in 2001, started the company with Warner Mu ...
as a solo artist on his 19th birthday in May 2004. In July, Kano appeared on the first edition of Jammer's
battle rap
Battle rap (also known as rap battling)Edwards, Paul, 2009, p. 25. is a type of rapping performed between two or more performers that incorporates boasts, insults, wordplay and Diss (music), disses originating in the African Americans, African-Amer ...
DVD series
Lord of the Mics
Lord of the Mics (also known as LOTM) is a series of recorded grime clashes, headed by Jammer and Chad 'Ratty' Stennett. Each edition of LOTM features grime MCs participating in recorded clashes, in which they 'battle' each other over grime in ...
, clashing
Wiley
Wiley may refer to:
Locations
*Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town
*Wiley, Georgia, an U.S. unincorporated community
* Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S.
* Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany
People
*Wiley (musician), ...
, which brought him further attention from the industry. Younger Nasty, a then-new faction of the group consisting of its junior members, appeared on the same DVD, teaming up with local crew Kids in da Hood to clash North West London's SLK. As of July 2004, Younger Nasty was made up of Lil Nasty, Griminal, Snoopy, Sub Zero and Lightnin. In September, Marcus Nasty announced that the group would release a double CD "street album", with the first disc to feature him, Stormin and garage MC Sharky P and the second to feature Kano, Demon, Ghetts and Younger Nasty. The album was never released.
In March 2005, the group announced to ''
RWD Magazine
''RWD Magazine'' (also known as ''RWD'' or ''RWDmag'') is a British-based magazine which features music, style, sport, gaming, film, technology, news, interviews and charts on hip hop, grime, dubstep, R&B, UK garage, drum and bass and U.S. hous ...
'' what they termed a "
merger
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...
" of Younger Nasty into Nasty Crew, with junior members such as Lil Nasty, Griminal, Brutal, Lightnin and Yunga Hunga incorporated into the main crew, some of them having previously appeared as a part of Griminal's crew M.I.C. Nasty Crew collaborated with producer Agent X on two songs released in April 2005: "Nasty Bonanza", a single which also featured members of Dynasty Crew, and "City Life", a song in which Stormin, Demon and Big Seac appeared as Nasty Crew. Both were released via Agent X's label, Heatseeker, with the latter exclusively found on the '' RWD Access All Artists Mixtape Vol. 1'', mixed by
Logan Sama
Logan Sama is an English Grime DJ and esports commentator from Brentwood, Essex. He has appeared regularly throughout his career on radio stations Rinse, Kiss 100 and BBC Radio 1. He also runs the record labels Adamantium Music, Earth616 an ...
. Kano, Ghetts and Demon left the crew later in 2005 due to a fall-out between Marcus Nasty and the newly signed and managed Kano, events Ghetts later referenced on the 2021 song "
Autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
".
2005–2006: Scrapped album ''N.A.S.T.Y. By Nature''
A later iteration of the group was fronted by Stormin and Nasty Jack, who independently organised and funded the group's recording sessions and release campaigns. "In the Place" and "Run 4 Cover", both produced by Rossi B and Luca, were released as a double single in 2005, with the video released in September. The former was originally produced by J Sweet, before being swapped for the new instrumental, described by Stormin as "on some old skool, pimp style". The latter features the first appearance of Stormin's then-anonymous alias Teddy Bruckshot. Marcus Nasty admitted in a September 2005 interview with ''RWD'' that the collective had become "more of a massive label" than a crew, planning to release solo material from members such as Fizz's "My Way" and Blade's "Bussing It", and had found themselves having to "beg for beats" after parting ways with Jammer.
The group collaborated with producer Blackjack on the single "Nasty Gang Banga" in 2005, released via
DJ Cameo
DJ Cameo is an English DJ and former host of "Pirate Sessions", a now-defunct Sunday afternoon grime show on the digital UK radio station BBC 1Xtra. He later hosted the Tuesday night UKG show, but on 4 November 2015 it was announced that he w ...
's label On a Level. The song was independently re-released in August 2006 under the name "Girls Love N.A.S.T.Y." as a double single alongside "Run It Up", originally taken from Stormin's 2005 mixtape ''Storm the Streets'', accompanied by a combined music video. A remix of "Run It Up" featuring Wizzy B and Demon was also released. The group opened for
Joe Budden
Joseph Anthony Budden II (born August 31, 1980) is an American broadcaster and former rapper. He first gained recognition with his 2003 single " Pump It Up", which peaked in the top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and preceded the release of h ...
in Amsterdam while promoting the single, and the music video reportedly won an
Urban Music Award
The Urban Music Awards (UMA) are a hip-hop, R&B, dance, and soul music awards ceremony that was launched in the UK by Jordan Kensington in 2003 and is now held in multiple countries.
The US version of the award ceremony, the Urban Music Awards ...
following an online public vote. The group intended to release a third single entitled "This Song" during what Jack refers to as the "
Myspace
Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...
era"; the track, which was produced by
Sir Spyro
Karl Joseph (born 29 June 1986), better known by his stage name Sir Spyro, is a grime record producer, DJ, radio personality and label manager from Manor Park and Stratford, East London. He was a Rinse FM resident for twelve years between 2005 ...
, was featured on radio playlists but was not released. The group also announced a debut project, ''N.A.S.T.Y. By Nature'', to feature "Girls Love N.A.S.T.Y.", "Run 4 Cover" and "In the Place", which never materialised.
2006–2011: Label and internet radio ventures
Members of the crew subsequently released music under the label name N.A.S.T.Y. UK, particularly associated with the online output of the younger Ramsay brothers Lil Nasty and Griminal. Griminal's 2008 mixtape ''It's Not Just Barz'' and its singles "It's Alot" and "Not Just Bars" were credited to the labels N.A.S.T.Y. UK and Alwayz Recording. In 2010, the Ramsays launched the
internet radio
Internet radio, also known as online radio, web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio and IP radio, is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not ...
station Nasty FM; notable resident DJs on their roster included Mak 10, Ahadadream, Serocee and Freeza Chin. In a February 2011 interview for the new station, Marcus Nasty referred to Nasty Crew in the past tense; he claimed "just the brothers" were continuing to use the N.A.S.T.Y. name as "this is our brand", and anyone else claiming to still be part of the crew were "more the people that haven’t got anything and are just holding onto something that’s not really there anymore". Several former members of Nasty Crew including Stormin, Hitman Hyper and Griminal appeared alongside Yunga Hunga on the 2012 song "Big Bang", taken from his free EP ''About to Land''.
Legacy
Although the crew collectively never achieved chart success or a major record deal, several of its members have since launched successful solo careers. After leaving Nasty Crew,
D Double E
Darren Jason Dixon (born 19 January 1980), known professionally as D Double E, is a British grime MC, DJ and record producer from Forest Gate, East London. He performs both as a solo artist and as a member of the grime duo Newham Generals.
...
MOBO Award
The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Bant ...
in 2004 for the
Lethal Bizzle
Maxwell Owusu Ansah (born 14 September 1984), known by his stage name Lethal Bizzle, is a British rapper from Walthamstow, London, of Ghanaian origin. He emerged in 2002 as a grime MC as part of More Fire Crew, with their grime single "Oi!" c ...
song "
Pow! (Forward)
"Pow! (Forward)" is the debut commercial solo single by English grime artist Lethal Bizzle. The track features guest appearances from a variety of underground grime artists from East London. It was released on 25 October 2004 for digital downlo ...
". He later formed
Newham Generals
Newham Generals are a grime duo from East London, currently consisting of MCs D Double E and Footsie.
They are best known for their singles "Frontline", "Hard" and "Like It Or Not" as well as their live performances. The group was founded in ...
with Footsie, Monkstar and DJ Tubby, regarded as some of the first
dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken ...
MCs, and has since charted as a solo artist, including with his 2018 debut album ''Jackuum!'', which reached number 61 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
, and "Fresh N Clean (Silence the Critics)", created for
IKEA
IKEA ( , ) is a Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in Sweden that designs and sells , household goods, and various related services.
IKEA is owned and operated by a series of not-for-profit an ...
's 2019 Christmas advert, which reached number 47 in the UK.
Jammer
Jammer may refer to:
Signal blocking devices
* Radar jammer, a device used in radar jamming and deception
* Radio jammer, a device used in radio jamming
* Radio-controlled Improvised Explosive Device jammer, a counter-IED device
* Mobile phon ...
went on to form his own crew Neckle Camp before joining
Boy Better Know
Boy Better Know, often abbreviated as BBK, is a British grime collective and record label. The collective was founded in North London in 2005 as an independent record label by brothers Jamie and Joseph Adenuga, better known as Jme and Skepta, ...
. He reached number 111 in the UK with the 2016
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 ...
collaboration "Detox", and number 58 with the 2020 Frisco collaboration "Red Card". Griminal briefly signed to All Around the World, part of major label
Universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...
, in 2010, although has never charted.
Kano
Kano may refer to:
Places
*Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria
*Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State
** Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries
** Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom betwee ...
's 2005 debut album ''
Home Sweet Home
Home Sweet Home may refer to:
Film
* ''Home, Sweet Home'' (1914 film), a film about the life of John Howard Payne
* ''Home Sweet Home'' (1917 film), a British silent film
* ''Home Sweet Home'' (1926 film), a silent film drama
* ''Home, Swe ...
'' reached number 36 in the UK and featured appearances from fellow alumni
Ghetts
Justin Jude Clarke-Samuel (born 9 October 1984), better known by his stage name Ghetts (formerly Ghetto), is a British Grime (music), grime MC, rapper, songwriter and actor. His music has been played on national radio stations such as BBC Radio ...
, Demon and D Double E. It was certified Gold by the BPI in 2013. His 2016 album ''
Made in the Manor
''Made in the Manor'' is the fifth studio album by English rapper Kano. The album was released on 4 March 2016 by Parlophone Records and Bigger Picture Music. It is Kano's first album release for six years following '' Method to the Maadness'' ...
'', his first with
Parlophone
Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...
, reached number eight on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
, won a
MOBO Award
The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Bant ...
, and was shortlisted for the
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...
. Certified Gold by the BPI, it includes various lyrics where he reminisces back to 2004, when he was a member of Nasty Crew. His 2019 single " Class of Deja", which features D Double E and Ghetts, charted at number 79 in the UK and is named after the crew's former Deja Vu FM radio show.
Ghetts and Lightnin went on to form The Movement with
Wretch 32
Jermaine Sinclaire Scott (born 9 March 1985), better known by his stage name Wretch 32, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from Tottenham, North London. He was a member of the grime collective Combination Chain Gang, before forming The ...
Devlin Devlin may refer to:
* Devlin (surname)
* Devlin (given name)
* Devlin (rapper), a British rapper
* ''Devlin'' (TV series), a 1974 animated TV series by Hanna-Barbera
* ''Devlin'', a 1988 novel by Roderick Thorp
* ''The Devil and Max Devlin
' ...
, Mercston and DJ Unique. Ghetts independently achieved chart success in the UK with his first two albums, the number 23 entry ''Rebel with a Cause'' in 2014 and the number 30 entry ''Ghetto Gospel: The New Testament'' in 2018. He signed to
Warner
Warner can refer to:
People
* Warner (writer)
* Warner (given name)
* Warner (surname)
Fictional characters
* Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs''
* Aaron Warner, a character in '' Shatter M ...
in 2021 to release his third album ''
Conflict of Interest
A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...
''. The album is the highest-charting by a Nasty Crew alumnus to date, reaching number two on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
. His fourth album and last with Warner, '' On Purpose, with Purpose'', reached number 29 in 2024 and was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize.
Co-founder Marcus Nasty secured a long-standing residency 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 ...
, through which he has been credited as an early champion of the
UK funky
UK funky (sometimes known as UKF or funky) is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England that is heavily influenced by soca, soulful house, tribal house, funky house, UK garage, broken beat and grime. Typically, UK funky ...
genre. Sharky Major later founded the events company, record label and clothing brand Grime Originals, which has featured appearances from both pioneers of grime and newer artists at its club nights.Stormin became a prominent MC in the jump up style of
drum and bass
Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...
, later forming the supergroup SaSaSaS with Macky Gee, DJ Phantasy, MC Skibadee, Shabba D and Harry Shotta. He remained an active grime artist at the same time, including under his Teddy Bruckshot alias, until his death from skin cancer in February 2018.
Journalist
Chantelle Fiddy
Chantelle Fiddy is a British journalist, columnist, event promoter and music industry professional. She is well known as a commentator on London's grime scene and as a social activist as the former editor of Ctrl.Alt.Shift. She is currently con ...
has credited Jammer and Nasty Crew with "providing one of the first consistent sounds with a crew" within the grime scene. In his youth, platinum-selling rapper
Tinie Tempah
Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu (born 7 November 1988), better known by his stage name Tinie (formerly Tinie Tempah), is a British rapper and singer. He has been signed to Parlophone since 2009, now a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. He created his ...
would borrow bootleg tapes of the crew's Deja Vu FM shows, describing Sharky Major and D Double E as "the main MCs back then" and Sharky as " neof my heroes". BRIT Award nominee CASisDEAD has claimed the crew's Deja Vu FM show introduced him to the genre, as has
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
-winning producer and songwriter
Scribz Riley
Michael Orabiyi (born 25 August 1993), known professionally as Scribz Riley, is a British record producer, songwriter, singer, and rapper from London, England. He is sometimes credited as Mike "Scribz" Riley or Mike Riley. He is the brother of s ...
. Grime videographer Rooney Keefe of Risky Roadz has claimed he "grew up listening to" Nasty Crew.
Members
Timeline
Discography
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Guest appearances
Trivia
* Crew members Marcus Nasty, Mak 10, Lil Nasty and Griminal are all siblings; Nasty Jack is their cousin.