British grime legend Flowdan is reflecting on making history after becoming the first artist from the subgenre to win a Grammy Award.
The U.K. rap scene experienced a resurgence in 2023, with rappers breaking records and topping the charts with No. 1 albums. 2024 has got off to a good start, with a Grammy win for pioneering grime artist Flowdan.
On Sunday (February 4), Flowdan achieved a major milestone for the U.K. grime scene. He won the Best Dance/Electronic Recording Grammy for “Rumble,” alongside Fred again.. and Skrillex.
He opened up about the award’s significance during an interview with fellow Roll Deep crew legend DJ Target on his Radio 1Xtra show.
Flowdan also dropped off a freestyle over a classic grime instrumental from 2014. Stormzy later popularized the beat with his 2015 banger “Shut Up.”
“When you talk about doing music, this is probably the most proud way I can speak about it,” he explained. “Now I can have some confidence whenever I’ve explained I’m not talking gibberish when speaking about grime.”
Furthermore, Flowdan says the Grammy award will open doors to people unfamiliar with the subgenre.
“Obviously if you don’t know about the culture, you might not know what grime music is,” he said. “When I say I’m in the top 10… I’ve got a Grammy, the conversation has just been made very short.”
After a two-decades-plus-long career that began on pirate radio stations, Flowdan hopes his new-found Grammys success will bring new fans to grime culture.
“The UK is a gem in itself, our way of thinking, talking and how we put things together,” he added. “It’s like no other place.”
