Bio

No Hats No Hoods is the UK’s leading Grime label. Created in 2007 when
Grime releases on 12” were few and far between and the market was
flooded with mixtapes, No Hats No Hoods set out to bring back vinyl
culture to the scene. The label was born out of also the only regular
club night in the grime music at the time, Dirty Canvas. Held at
various locations across London the night pushed grime alongside
dubstep, garage and the emerging ‘whatdoucallit’ sounds that would
come to be so synonamous with London in 2010. Having grown up on the
healthy vinyl singles scene of UK Garage, DJ Magic and Reecha (the duo
behind the night and label) saw this culture continue into dubstep and
lamented that this wasn’t continued through into capital that
regularly showcased 2007 grime – and so No Hats No Hoods was born.

The labels first release was a selection of the best tracks from
Frisco’s ‘Back to the Lab’ series, featuring production and guests
spots from Wiley, Plastician and JME, the release was a breath of
fresh air and led to further vocal releases as the legendary Ruff
Sqwad’s ‘RSMD’ and the first single from P Money ‘What Did He Say’. At
the same time as supporting the vocal side of grime, No Hats No Hoods
have led the way in pushing instrumental grime back to the forefront –
introducing the world to the production talents of Rude Kid ‘Are you
Ready EP’ and Royal T ‘1UP’. This early support and backing of
instrumental grime is a key factor in the good health grime finds
itself in at the end of 2010, with labels such as Hyperdub and Planet
Mu releasing instrumental albums and artists such as Terror Danjah,
Swindle and SRC finding fans and acclaim outside of their traditional
quarters.

In 2009 No Hats No Hoods released arguably the biggest grime track of
the past couple of years – Tempa T’s ‘Next Hype’. The single and
accompanying video (with over 1 million views to date) propelled Temps
into the mainstream and a sold out tour with Chase and Status. In 2010
No Hats No Hoods has turned its focus back to the instrumental side of
things and taking onboard the grimey side of the emergence of UK Funky
and the resurgence in UK Garage , doing more than most to bring it
back to the clubs – Spooky’s ‘Spartan’, SRC’s ‘Ryouko EP’ and Virgo’s
‘Home Alone’ all highlight the wide spectrum of production talent,
whilst 2010 also saw No Hats No Hoods release the first full
instrumental album of the year in Rude Kid’s ‘Are you Ready?’.
Combining that with releases and remixes from Mumdance, CRST, Coki,
Mosca, Mensah, Dok Daneeka, Trim and Jammer – plus releases already
scheduled in for early 2011 from Starkey and P Money, Lil Nasty and
Kozzie 2011 is set to be the year that grime firmly establishes itself
as a dominant force in British dance