#006 Elijah on Yellow Squares, peak authenticity, and the unfortunate ubiquity of Joe Budden

Apr 8, 2025

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Watch the full video version of this episode over at youtube.com/@WeNotDiving

Elijah is one of the deepest thinkers in underground culture. Having first come to prominence in the second wave of Grime along with Skilliam and their label Butterz, and as an artist manager to UK DJ Flava D amongst others, he has reinvented himself in recent years with the Yellow Squares project which seeks to encourage debate around the changing nature of the UK music scene.

His appearance on episode 41 of the audio-only predecessor of this show (link below) was one of the most popular and best episodes, so it's great to welcome him back for a full video episode.

The Yellow Squares project is now a book which you can get hold of here: https://velocitypress.uk/product/elijah-close-the-app-make-the-ting/

We discuss the changing landscape of the UK music scene, from the decline of music's audibility generally in London itself to the obligation (or not) of successful acts to support smaller venues. We also discuss the push for diversity in recent years and associated trap of tokenism, as well as the changing role of artist management over time and the obsession of Xtra radio programmers with a particular 20 year-old Joe Budden track.

And we also touch on the cultural influence of professional wrestling and the need for more heels in music...

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