Hyperfrank

History in the Making: Grime Scene Saviours at Outernet London 🐉 Chip took grime back to its raw essence with the sold-out Grime Scene Saviours show at Here Outernet London—a night packed with reloads, community, and legendary moments. What started as an intimate set at BAPE, back in late August, for the League Of My Own re-release has now turned into a vital brand and historic grime event, bringing together icons like D Double E, Frisco, Skepta, P Money, Flirta D, Jme, and more. The format? Pure grime energy—think Eskimo Dance meets F*ck Radio with a sprinkle of Sting—with rising stars and legends going back-to-back over hardcore riddims. From OGz Jendor and P Money shelling down the set to 16-year-old MCs like RB standing toe-to-toe with legends, this was grime at its finest. I’ve put together some of my personal highlights from the night—which moment was YOUR favourite? If you were there, just know we’re now family, connected forever through grime’s energy 🚀🔥 All footage captured by @hyperfrank ➡️ There were soooo many more moments I didn’t get to capture as I got a little lost in the skanks. Salutes to all the talent who passed through! Full #grimescenesaviours set incoming 🔜

DJ AG: The People’s Choice 🥇 If you’re an avid fan of UK music or have found yourself rushing through the bustling streets of Brixton, King’s Cross or Shoreditch over the past 18 months, you’ll have likely caught a glimpse of @djagonline ’s vibrant street party at some point 🎉 Equipped with his portable decks, mixer and speakers, live-streaming to his growing community on TikTok—which now stands at just over 420k followers, with thousands of regular live viewers tuning in—DJ AG spotlights emerging talent and creates fun moments filled with laughter and discovery, with locals and with passers-by. Fusing together elements of early-00s pirate radio, underground DIY culture and a busking-style setup—all while removing the barriers to entry for people to express themselves—his mission is clear and simple: to give a voice to the voiceless. What initially began as an at-home hobby in 2022—showcasing his mixing online, a simple idea brought to him by his two children—a year later, AG took it to the streets of London, with viewership on his livestreams and post-live clips growing at an exponential rate, especially over the last few weeks, with co-signs from the likes of The Guardian, the BBC, and DJ/writer/lecturer Elijah. For the past two months, TRENCH’s @hyperfank has been on the frontline capturing the growth of DJ AG’s live show. Having personally witnessed his moments of compassion, connection, and sparks of energy in unnurtured talent, it quickly became clear that this was more than just a live stream—it was something we all desperately needed. Hit the 🔗 in our bio for the full cover story. Words: @hyperfrank Photography: @hyperfrank via @frank.archives Art Design: @adamgstudio

Winner of Best Grime Act at the @moboawards 🏆 Supported by TRENCH 📸 @hyperfrank / @frank.archives

A photo I shot on a £3 camera from a charity shop is hanging up on the walls of the V&A East in the extremely vital exhibition The Music Is Black: A British Story & a part of the museum’s permanent collection. I’m beyond grateful to have my work acknowledged, let alone be apart of such an important collection of art pieces that help celebrate & tell such a pivotal story. There’s so much more I want to talk about within this exhibition and also the image I took, but for now I want to say: if you genuinely love music please support, buy a ticket & visit the #musicisblack. A couple thanks are truly in order cos a loving heart is a grateful one: Thank you to Jacqueline Springer (@cbmc_uk ), @josephine_bsmall , & the full team, every artificact & sound is filled with deep thought, love and passion. You truly set the levels HIGH. I also want to thank @chantellefiddy who I know is the connecting factor of so many things including my photography getting celebrated. I owe a huge thank you to @hattiecollins who originally commissioned my words and photography for i-D after I showed her the images I shot on the night of the Mercury Prize, after picking them up from Snappy Snaps, back in 2016. I also want to thank @oliviarosegarden for helping me in my ADHD last minute spiral to prepare a 35mm film, scan and print within 24 hours. I always have to big up @candicec_w who left her car on a double yellow to capture these images of me with my work. Thank you to grime and the whole creative community around it that has loved, encouraged and inspired me since I was 13. One last salute and thank you is to Ify Adenuga who in the seconds of hearing of her son’s success, showered Skepta (& others) with her joy (& wine). While my own mum is sadly not able to attend this exhibition, it’s not lost on me that since losing her she’s been my driving force to archive and document & out of the 1000s of images in my collection, my first image in a mainstream exhibition & collection is of a loving mother celebrating their child 💖🙏🏻✨ ‘The Music Is Black: A British Story’, the debut exhibition of V&A East is open from Saturday 19th April 2026. #musicisblack @vam_east @vamuseum

R.I.P. Dot Rotten aka Zeph Ellis 🕊️ I discovered some video archive of Dot from when he took part in my Volume Control over 15 years ago. I treasured these 6+ hours in the studio with him & no matter what clashes or friction were going on (or would later happen), I never forgot that Dot showed up for me by sharing his valuable time and gift, especially for an idea that many other artists left me on read about. The full footage includes moments of Dot recording ‘Thunder’, being silly in the studio and debating the frustrating place grime was in, at the time. Watch the full BTS & listen to final recording of the song over on my YouTube 📹 < link in bio hype> There was truly no one like him. R.I.P. Dot Rotten aka Young Dot aka Zeph Ellis 🥲

🚨 We’ll be at Above The Noise on 2nd April 2026. A one-day music event @bristol_beacon for active and aspiring artists and music professionals to come together, unlock industry insights and develop the skills needed to advance career development. 🏆 From the underground up, this session explores how artists can independently grow a strong brand identity through both online and offline networks, while learning how to effectively connect with music media platforms — all with a do-it-yourself mindset. Hosted by @hyperfrank , the panel will draw on the latest ideas shaping creative strategy and challenge what brand vision looks like for artists in 2026 with @iamcatcouture @saravieira_x @nazfromnewham 💫

MANCHESTER & LEEDS THIS WEEK ✨ Let’s go. Can’t believe it’s been a whole year since we linked up at the Launchpad Conference & the MOBO Summit! Today I’ll be sitting on a panel discussing authentic Community building! Beyond the reach and focusing on how to lead with real values & intention in your career. Thanks to UD, I’ll be returning later this week to Launchpad with a truly special line-up to get deeply frank with you all. This year we’ve curated a panel session on how we can rewrite outdated rules in the industry and learn to build a career on your own terms. From neurodiversity and queerness, to making music that can’t be classified, we sit down with real artists and creatives to learn how they’re learning to carve out their own lanes as we all navigate to survive and thrive when we don’t fit the industry. I’ll be sitting down with Yorkshire’s pop queer producer queen @Mollieiscoddled , East London’s genre-anarchist MC aka the Rap Game’s Cutie, @onlyreptileb and @sayhellototravis , an artist manager and founder of SOUNDAR ENTERTAINMENT, who continues to nurture, develop and find real-world solutions to champion creative visionary artists in an industry that does everything to profit and exploit their talent. If you’re local, please say hi! 👋🏻

FRANK ARCHIVES: Hattie Collins 📂 📂: Early Boy Better Know T-shirt & photography. Hatts shares the story behind her renowned picture of the first time Jme got the crew together to wear samples of, the now iconic, Boy Better Know T-shirts. The moment was captured during @chantellefiddy 's legendary event Straight Outta Bethnal at London’s 333 venue. The T-shirts created a widespread demand for more physical merchandise and played a huge part in shifting the landscape of DIY fashion, within grime and beyond. In the mid 2000s, BBK inspired emerging creatives to continue to utilise their resources and invest in themselves and their own ideas. 💿 Watch the full episode on YouTube 🎞️ Read more on my Substack Links in bio ✨ 📂 @frank.archives 🗒️ @tinchystryder , @skepta , @maximumbbk @wileycrackcity #boybetterknow #grime #ukmusic #physicalmedia #physicalmediaforever

📂 FRANK ARCHIVES: Hattie Collins 📂 Had this idea years ago to delve into the collections, memorabilia and archive of some of the amazing people I’ve met along my music journalism journey. Basically an excuse see what epic physical media people have lying around. 🗂️ ✨✨✨✨✨ I know people talk about prioritising your passion projects everyday of the week but as the years go by I’ve been completely burnt out trying to live and keep up. Please make time (even if it’s an hour or two) for the things that make your heart and mind light up. It matters. 🗂️ ✨✨✨✨✨ Here is episode 1 of Frank Archives 📂 Hyperfrank meets author, journalist and cultural archivist Hattie Collins for the first episode of Frank Archives — an intimate interview series exploring personal music collections, cultural archives, rare memorabilia and the stories that live within physical media. Filmed inside my good friend Hattie’s home, the episode opens her private archive to uncover rare photography, magazines, flyers, vinyl, gig tickets and memorabilia that trace the rise of grime, UK hip-hop, UK rap, DIY media and music journalism. 📂 I’ve started a Substack where I’ll be uploading deep dives, scans and loads more, both from the episodes and my own collection, for both paid & free subscribers. 💿 Watch on YouTube & subscribe to the Sub🥞 via my link in bio Who should I get next 🤔 📂 @frank.archives 🎧 @jakdanz #physicalmedia #grime #archive #frankarchives

🔈Host Laura @hyperfrank Brosnan will be joined by guests @simonwheatleyphoto @jojoldn and @nazfromnewham on Thursday 22nd January for an in-depth conversation on the importance of archiving, documentation, and storytelling in music 🎵 🚀 This session explores how preserving histories helps shape collective memory, cultural identity, and future legacies — particularly within underground and marginalised music scenes. 🏆 A recommended session for bloggers, journalists, content creators, audiophiles and anyone passionate about music and preserving stories/ history! 🎟️ Ltd tickets from £5 at UDtickets.com 📅 Thursday 22nd January, doors from 6.30pm, event starts 7pm. 📍Talent House, 3 Sugar House Lane, London E15 2QS.

HERITAGE: Dot Rotten, aka grime’s mad scientist, links up with @hyperfrank for ahead-of-the-curve, fan-voted series ‘Volume Control’, 2011 ⚡⚡️⚡️ Way back in the grime blog era, TRENCH exec editor Laura ‘Hyperfrank’ Brosnan ran a hugely influential video series that paired underground and emerging emcees and producers together. The format ran as follows: Hyperfrank would invite emerging producers from across the UK to send in three beats in completely different styles, from grime and dubstep to trap and rap, or a “lucky dip experimental.” Readers of Hypes’ blog and of Grimeforum.com would then vote for their favourite and that episode’s MC would take on the instrumental. Past editions included the likes of Lady Leshurr, Durrty Goodz, Griminal and more. For this episode, Hypes brought in the MC/producer Dot Rotten to come to the Roundhouse studios to record “Thunder”, using a production called “Nightmare” by the Beat Geeks. Dot Rotten, later known as Zeph Ellis, is essentially out of the game these days, but off-the-cuff moments like these were where Dot excelled. He was one of the most explosive creative forces, in the booth and on the boards; here’s hoping we haven’t heard the last of Dot or Zeph… ➡️ #trenchheritage