Nasty Crew

Nasty Crew (commonly stylised as N.A.S.T.Y., short for Natural Artistic Sounds Touching You)^[12][13][14] was a British grime crew from East London, with its members primarily from Newham. The group was founded by MCs Sharky Major and Stormin and DJ Marcus Nasty in 1999,^[1] and its membership underwent frequent changes in the following years,^[3] with most artists forming or joining successor crews by 2006. It is regarded as a pioneering collective within grime music history and several of its former members have charted in the United Kingdom, including Jammer, D Double E, Ghetts, and Kano.^{[3][4][14][15][16]}

Nasty Crew was founded by Plaistow-based artists Sharky Major, Stormin and Marcus Nasty in 1999^[1] as a UK garage crew, when they were teenagers.^{[17][10][15][18]} Prior to the crew's formation, Sharky was performing at youth clubs and house parties, typically alongside Crazy Titch and Demon.^[19] Stormin had previously been a jungle MC in YGS Crew alongside Armour and Dizzee Rascal (then a DJ by the name Dizzy D),^[20] performing in Bow youth club the Lincoln Arches and house parties,^[21][22] and already had a reputation for freestyling, beatboxing and clashing other artists.^[6]

Sharky, who was originally a garage DJ as well as a rapper, met Marcus Nasty at a DJ competition where he failed to progress to the final and decided to MC at the event instead.^[19] Marcus, who already had a Flava FM pirate radio show, asked Sharky to join him for an appearance; Sharky also invited Demon, who was unavailable, so Stormin was brought in by a mutual friend in his place and the three together went on to establish Nasty Crew.^[19] Stormin invited Armour to join the group shortly after its inception.^[6] The three MCs appeared on their debut single "Good U Know", produced by Jammer.^[15][13] By 2000, Jammer, D Double E, and Hitman Hyper had been recruited^[7] from fellow Newham crew 187, who had also had their own show on Flava FM.^[9][5] Marcus Nasty has credited Jammer and his productions with the evolution of the group's sound from garage to grime.^[17]

Around 2001, Kano was invited into the crew by Jammer, who claims to have been asked to pick between Kano and Dizzee Rascal and made the decision based on whose vocals would complement his productions better.^[23] Marcus Nasty spent two years in prison between 2001 and November 2003,^[1] and during this period his brother, Makten, became the crew's primary DJ.^[24] He had an existing residency on Deja Vu FM, through which the crew went on to gain regional prominence in London with a show broadcast on Mondays between 8 and 10pm.^[14][15] They were known to clash rival crew Roll Deep on air.^[25] Jammer's label, Jahmek the World, became an outlet for the group's early releases including Kano's 2003 single "Boys Love Girls"—later featured as a bonus track on his debut album Home Sweet Home—and the crew's 2003 single "Take You Out".^{[23][26][2][15]} Ghetts, then known as Ghetto, joined Nasty Crew in 2003 following his release from HMP Huntercombe, where he had been incarcerated for car crimes.^[27][28]

D Double E, Footsie, and Monkstar had left the group by 2004^[1] due to a disagreement about them soliciting live bookings in the name of the collective.^[13] The same year, Jammer co-founded the grime battle rap platform Lord of the Mics and invited fellow Nasty Crew member Kano to clash Wiley for its first DVD, which brought him significant attention and ultimately resulted in Kano signing to 679 Recordings as a solo artist and parting ways with the crew.^[29][23] Jammer was kicked out the group following a public dispute about royalty payments.^[13][17]

New member Lightnin joined Younger Nasty, a faction of the group consisting of its junior members, in 2004, before being promoted to the main crew in 2005.^[11] The crew collaborated with producer Agent X on the April 2005 single "Nasty Bonanza", which also featured various guests and was released via Agent X's label Heatseeker. Ghetts left later in 2005 due to a fall-out between Marcus Nasty and the newly signed and managed Kano,^[13] events he later referenced on the 2021 song "Autobiography".

A later iteration of the group was led by Stormin and Nasty Jack, who independently organised and funded the group's recording sessions and release campaigns.^[6] "In the Place" and "Run 4 Cover", both produced by Rossi B and Luca, were released as a double single in 2005.^[30] The latter features the first appearance of Stormin's then-anonymous alias Teddy Bruckshot. Hitman Hyper returned to feature on Blackjack's "Nasty Gang Banga" in 2005 alongside Younger Nasty graduates Griminal and Kasimo.^[6] The song was re-released in August 2006 under the name "Girls Love N.A.S.T.Y." as a double single alongside "Run It Up", originally taken from Stormin's 2005 mixtape Storm the Streets, accompanied by a combined music video. A remix of "Run It Up" featuring Wizzy B and Demon was also released. The group intended to release a third single entitled "This Song" during what Jack refers to as the "Myspace era"; the track, which was produced by Sir Spyro, was featured on radio playlists but was not released.^[6]

Some of the crew's last appearances during this era were under the name N.A.S.T.Y. UK, particularly associated with the output of the younger Ramsay brothers Lil Nasty and Griminal.^[13] Griminal's 2008 mixtape It's Not Just Barz and its singles "It's Alot" and "Not Just Bars" were credited to the labels N.A.S.T.Y. UK and Alwayz Recording.^[31]

Although the crew collectively never achieved chart success, awards, or a major record deal, several of its members have since launched successful solo careers. D Double E reached number eleven on the UK Singles Chart and received a MOBO Award in 2004 for the Lethal Bizzle song "Pow! (Forward)".^{[32][33] [34]} After leaving N.A.S.T.Y., he formed Newham Generals with Footsie, Monkstar and DJ Tubby, regarded as some of the first dubstep MCs.^[13][7][22] D Double E has since charted on his own, including with his 2018 sophomore album Jackuum!, which reached number 61 on the UK Albums Chart,^[35] and "Fresh N Clean (Silence the Critics)", created for IKEA's 2019 Christmas advert, which reached number 47 in the UK.^[36][35] Jammer went on to form his own crew Neckle Camp before joining Boy Better Know.^[23] He reached number 111 in the UK with his 2016 Skepta collaboration "Detox",^[37] and number 58 with his 2020 Frisco collaboration "Red Card".^[38] Griminal briefly signed to All Around the World, part of major label Universal, in 2010, although has never charted.^[39][40]

Kano's debut album Home Sweet Home, released in 2005 shortly after he left N.A.S.T.Y., reached number 36 in the UK and featured appearances from fellow alumni Ghetts and D Double E.^[41] It was certified Gold by the BPI in 2013.^[42] His 2016 album Made in the Manor, his first with Parlophone, reached number eight on the UK Albums Chart,^[41] won a MOBO Award, and was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize. Certified Gold by the BPI,^[42] it includes various lyrics where he reminisces back to 2004, when he was a member of N.A.S.T.Y.^[43] His 2019 single "Class of Deja", which features D Double E and Ghetts and charted at number 79 in the UK,^[41] is named after the crew's former Deja Vu FM radio show.

Ghetts and Lightnin went on to form The Movement with Wretch 32, Scorcher, Devlin, Mercston and DJ Unique.^[44][45][46] Ghetts independently achieved chart success in the UK with his first two studio albums, the number 23 entry Rebel with a Cause in 2014 and the number 30 entry Ghetto Gospel: The New Testament in 2018.^[47] He signed to Warner Records in 2021 to release his third studio album Conflict of Interest.^[48] The album is the highest-charting by a N.A.S.T.Y. alumnus to date, reaching number two on the UK Albums Chart, 2,900 sales behind Mogwai's As the Love Continues.^[49] His fourth album and last with Warner, On Purpose, with Purpose, reached number 29 in 2024^[47] and was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize.^[50]

Co-founder Marcus Nasty secured a long-standing residency on Rinse FM, through which he has been credited as an early champion of the UK funky genre.^[51] Sharky Major later founded the events company, record label and clothing brand Grime Originals, which has featured appearances from both pioneers of grime and newer artists at its club nights.^[22] Stormin became a prominent MC in the jump up style of drum and bass, later forming the supergroup SaSaSaS with Macky Gee, DJ Phantasy, MC Skibadee, Shabba D and Harry Shotta. He remained an active grime artist at the same time, including under his Teddy Bruckshot alias, until his death from skin cancer in February 2018.^[52]

BRIT Award nominee CASisDEAD has credited the crew's Deja Vu FM show with introducing him to grime,^[53] as has Grammy Award-winning producer and songwriter Scribz Riley.^[54]

• Crew members Marcus Nasty, Makten, Lil Nasty and Griminal are all siblings;^[24][12][40] Nasty Jack is their cousin.