Ewen Spencer's grime documentary '8 Bar: The Evolution of Grime' available to stream now
A new documentary exploring the uprising of grime in the UK is now available to stream on iPlayer as part of BBC Four's Storyville series.
8 Bar: The Evolution of Grime features a number of pioneers credited with pushing the grime sound to the world, including Skepta, Kano, Dizzee Rascal, Jammer, D Double E, Slimzee and DJ Target.
The documentary recounts how a DIY culture emerged on pirate radio stations and at basement raves, clipping together rare archive footage and recent interviews to tell the story of the biggest the biggest UK culture phenomenon since punk music in 70s.
Directed by iconic filmmaker and photographer Ewen Spencer, 8 Bar: The Evolution of Grime was originally screened as part of the 2021 London Film Festival. Spencer has left an indelible mark on the iconography of grime music with his visual projects. His previous work includes Street, Sound and Style, looking at youth style and music from 1980 to present day, Brandy & Coke and UKG respectively a film and book focused on UK garage, and his award-winning 2005 picture book, Open Mic, one of the earliest long-form journalistic celebrations of grime.
The full documentary is available here.
Watch a trailer for the documentary below:
