Grime: Documenting the scenes rise and reign
By (Author) Roony Keefe
HarperCollins Publishers
Pavilion
28th January 2026
6th November 2025
United Kingdom
General
Non Fiction
Biography: arts and entertainment
Popular music
Dialect, slang and jargon
Urban arts
Urban communities / city life
Social classes
Mixed heritage / Multiracial groups or people
Photojournalism and documentary photography
Hardback
288
Width 222mm, Height 282mm, Spine 21mm
270g
Experience the 140BPM beating heartbeat of grime as told by a pioneer of the scene not just as a music genre, but as a living, breathing culture that continues to thrive, inspire, and boldly challenge the status quo.
There are very few better placed than Roony to document the Grime scene and he does so perfectly ROMESH RANGANATHAN
Grime is a way of life, a voice for the ambitions and dreams of the inner-city youth. Its a vessel for our creativity and a way to express ourselves. Its a rebellion to the system; to those who said we cant or dont deserve to want more. Its a culture, its the heartbeat of the UKs underdog story for this generation; its our punk. Its acceptance across the world for the music we make and the respect weve commanded. Its the evolution of the sounds brought to England and the culmination of cultures: the black, the white, the Turkish and the Asian, the working classes, the poor and the wanting more. Its that little voice inside you that says, go the extra mile and dont give up.
Starting as a fan armed with a handy cam, Roony's RiskyRoadz series captured a new energy which blew up when YouTube emerged, cementing him as an integral part of the genre's visual identity. GRIME is a portal into this gritty, authentic world, offering a front-row seat to modern history: the social history, the personalities, the tracksuits, the tunes and the reality of a revolution that shaped a generation.
There are very few better placed than Roony to document the Grime scene and he does so perfectly Romesh Ranganathan
'Reading Riskys book, you see how the narrative strands of his life are woven into the very fabric of the Grime scene. Listening to Grime music, its impossible not to hear the reverberations of his life and the indelible contributions he has made to music culture in the UK. As grime continues its movement across the globe, RiskyRoadz remains part of both its unshakeable foundations and its evolution' Will Poulter
Roony Keefe, aka 'Risky Roadz', is a trusted name when it comes to documenting the early grime scene's nitty gritty. After starting out as a fan with a handy cam and his seminal Risky Roadz series, Roony Keefe has gone on to direct some of the most iconic videos in grime. His grandmother is viral sensation, Grime Gran.