New photobook captures rise of grime in East London

WeTransfer's arts platform WePresent has released Hate Is A Strong Word, a photobook by British photographer Jamie-James Medina documenting the birth of grime in East London.

The book is available now as a digital download through WeTransfer.

Medina began his career at 21 as a staff photographer for The Observer. In 2003, he started photographing the emergence of grime, then a new sound taking shape in East London studios and pirate radio stations.

He describes the genre at the time as "insurgent, a self-proclaimed sound of the underground", documenting its rise with Pentax and Bronica cameras and various point-and-shoots, using Kodak film.

Over these three years, he shot early sets by Wiley, Dizzee Rascal, Skepta, JME, Kano and Crazy Titch, along with the pirate radio culture and estates that shaped the genre, for outlets including RWD, NME, VICE and the Observer.

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Hate Is A Strong Word is Medina's first monograph, and its title comes from a 2004 Wiley track of the same name, from his debut album ‘Treddin' on Thin Ice’.

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The photobook includes interviews with Wiley, Slimzee, Lethal Bizzle and Crazy Titch, conducted by Jaimie Hodgson, alongside an essay by writer Dan Hancox, who called the photos evidence of "the fearless bombast of youth".

Download Hate Is A Strong Word for free here.

Amira Waworuntu is Mixmag Asia’s Managing Editor, follow her on Instagram.

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