Genealogy Tree by Nicholas Gow

Skepta

1033234_2 — 2024-02-13 01:54:58 UTC

Skepta is a British rapper and producer who is known for his undoubtful influence in building and cementing the UK grime music scene. He has influenced me through his ability to authentically converse his background and experiences. His grime aesthetics and overall sound have influenced the way I integrate UK grime/rap into my tracks.

Sammy Virji

1033234_2 — 2024-02-13 01:55:02 UTC

Sammy Virji is a British DJ and producer who is recognized as one of the key figures in the UK house music scene with his original fusions of garage, bassline, and 4x4. He has influenced me through his many production techniques and his infectious rhythmic sounds. I have taken many of his different sounds and infused them into my productions.

Nick Gow (Me)

1033234_2 — 2024-02-13 01:55:42 UTC

I am a producer based in Sydney whose musical focus is on fusing the UK Rap/Grime scene with aspects of House music.

D Double E

1033234_2 — 2024-02-13 01:59:49 UTC

Constantly being described as the Greatest of all time by Skepta (Onapa, 2023), D Double E was an original and authentic MC within the UK Grime scene. He had a signature style of moderating his rapid-fire delivery to suit the slower tempos of grime. Skepta was in awe of his crowd presence and the way he delivered his bars with maximum energy on stage. This influence is shown today as Skepta is known for his wild shows. They both collaborated on a track in 2018 called Nang, Where both of their similar skill sets where shown collectively.

Wiley

1033234_2 — 2024-02-13 02:03:00 UTC

If there’s one thing Wiley could be credited with other than for other than being the ‘Godfather of Grime’, it would be inspiring Skepta to start making grime music. In his youth, Skepta was a DJ for some MC's. Wiley was the one to see potential in Skepta, stating "I took him from a DJ to an MC". (Andreson, 2017). For the first stages of his grime career, Skepta was guided by Wiley as a sort of father figure. Skepta also took influence from the way Wiley meticulously wrote his bars (Hancox, 2020).

Snoop Dogg

1033234_2 — 2024-02-13 02:10:24 UTC

Snoop Dogg's influence on Skepta was the first to do it. Snoop Dogg's album 'Doggystyle was the first album to trigger Skepta's desire to become a musician and MC, "I was waiting in the car when my dad came out and handed me a tape,” he explained (Rafter, 2015). The album cover was very audacious and R-rated but it was still such a hit, Skepta says "That was the album that made me think ‘yeah I can do this’.” (Rafter, 2015). Snoop Dogg made Skepta realise that his raw experiences and rough upbringing could be loved through art and music.

Skrillex

1033234_2 — 2024-02-13 02:17:59 UTC

Sammy Virji looks up to Skrillex as not only an artist but also as a staple for electronic music. In fact it's on his bucket list to do a song with Skrillex (Barkan, 2024). The genre of dubstep was made popular by Skrillex in the early 2000s and at this time Sammy was experimenting with the genre. The genre was a huge influence on Sammy getting into electronic music (Barkan, 2024). He has fused many aspects of the dubstep sounds into his own UK garage productions, fusing the two genres.

Flava D

1033234_2 — 2024-02-13 02:24:23 UTC

Flava D's influence on Sammy Virji was one of admiration and self-belief. She was the first garage DJ Sammy ever saw live. That night his "mind was blown" thinking to himself "I wanna do that" (Hansen, 2018). The performance made Sammy Virji take his music career seriously (Hansen, 2018), she gave him a visual representation of what he could achieve. Sammy's early production sound was very similar to that of Flava D with his heavy use of baselines.

Fayyaz Virji

1033234_2 — 2024-02-20 01:11:13 UTC

Sammy Virji's one dividing musical influence would be his father, Fayyaz Virji. Fayyaz was a jazz musician who played in many bands. Sammy learned basic music music theory and other key musical ideas from Fayyaz (Barkan, 2024). Fayyaz's soul sound continues to influence Sammy as he states "he's been on a couple of my tracks [like '5 Star'], I'll get him on more in the future" (Barkan, 2024).