East London’s Rival is one of the scene’s unsung heroes, long before Grime’s recent resurgence, even when artists ventured into Afrobeats and the Rap realm as the spotlight was no longer on London’s own genre, he continued to create and elevate the sound, with no real industry cosign it might have felt like it fell on deaf ears, but he’s responsible for one of my favourite modern Grime tracks with Shaolin Techniques (from his 2023 release, Revenge of The Rivz). Over ten years in the game, from his critically acclaimed Biscuit series to his culture-driven ELMNTRY show, he’s continued to add to the foundations and much like his weekly soundcloud drops, he returns with a new take, the evolving mixtape, Optics & Design.
In the current era of music, there aren’t as many rules and creatives can find themselves using their circumstances to their advantage, so rather than create one body of work and then attempt to find new ways to keep promoting it, he’s released Optics & Design, currently featuring five tracks, but could continue to add to it (hence the evolving mixtape). Kicking off with 2049, a futuristic sound contrasted with his homage and introspection, similar to the Blizzard produced Cold Harbour, it’s notable that often in Grime, the production carries the track, yet he’s approached it with his vocal as the lead, allowing for his lyricism and flow to dictate, highlighting his artistry, further evident with Bring N Kill.
Grime gets boxed into 140bmp, yet it seems he’s found the formula to maintain it’s essences on any tempo and style, ever present with the fourth track, Twilight, sampling the famous Twilight Zone theme, an unorthodox choice but very much in the spirit of Grime. For example, If JME had dropped this, the word genius would be thrown about and emcees across the country would attempt to tackle the production, and so in this case I have to commend Rival for this, whilst it might not be my favourite, I appreciate the direction and what it represents, bringing us to my actual favourite thus far, Premium English. Many may recognise the sample from the Benny The Butcher & J.Cole hit, but this is an authentically British take on the sample (credits to Blizzard), providing the perfect canvas for Rival to lyrically paint on and his experience shows as he effortlessly flows with his distinct style, that sounds like a traditional structured song yet feels like an old school radio set.
Optics & Design is another solid effort, an evolution of Grime, and a smart way to deliver music overall, that could potentially be adopted by many, as it bridges the gap between singles and a full length project. As the scene enters a new era, I hope he achieves the desired results, so stay tuned for more from the Grime wordsmith as he continues his journey, encompassing both the science of optics and the practical application of design principles.
ONE Fáris 