D Double E
Darren Jason Dixon started out as a jungle and UK garage DJ in 1990s East London before helping define grime's earliest sound through Nasty Crew and, later, Newham Generals alongside Footsie. His booming ad-libs — "bud-a-bup-bup," "it's mree, mree" — and 2010 solo single "Street Fighter Riddim" made him one of the genre's most quoted and imitated voices, with Skepta calling him grime's greatest of all time.
D Double E has named American hip-hop acts like Snoop Dogg among his formative influences; the laconic, half-sung swagger of West Coast G-funk shows up in D Double E's own drawling, singsong ad-libs.
listen forCompare "Who Am I (What's My Name)?" to "Back Then": both ride a loose, conversational cadence that sounds relaxed even while it dominates the beat.
D Double E is of Jamaican descent and his rapid-fire, patois-inflected delivery draws on the soundsystem and dancehall culture Shabba Ranks carried to a global audience.
listen forSet "Mr. Loverman" against "Live Tonight": both let a booming, rhythmic voice ride a track more through vocal texture than melody.
D Double E and Kano came up together in the early-2000s Nasty Crew, trading bars back-to-back on pirate radio; Kano's rapid, technically dense flow was part of the crew's shared vocabulary that fed into D Double E's own delivery as the group's sound evolved.
listen forPlay "P's and Q's" against "Street Fighter Riddim": both pack a barrage of dense, quick-fire bars over a stripped, bass-led grime riddim.