Roll Deep (formerly Roll Deep Entourage) are a British

grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust * Grime (music genre), a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * ''Grime'' (video game), a 2021 Metroidvania video game * "Grime", a 2022 song by Dallas Woo ...

crew. They were founded in 2001 by

Wiley Wiley may refer to: Locations * Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town *Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S. * Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany People * Wiley (musician), British grime MC, rapper, and producer * Wiley Mill ...

shortly before the disbandment of

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. It ...

crew Pay As U Go Cartel. The group have had two UK No. 1 singles, "

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first African ...

" and " Green Light", won an

Urban Music Award The Urban Music Awards (UMA) is a hip-hop, R&B, dance, and soul music awards ceremony which was launched by Jordan Kensington in 2003 and is now held in several countries. The US version of the award ceremony, the Urban Music Awards USA, was ...

, and between 2001 and 2012 they released five studio albums before entering an indefinite hiatus in 2013. Current member Wiley and former members

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. Dizze ...

and

Tinchy Stryder Kwasi Esono Danquah III ( ; born 14 September 1986), known by the stage name Tinchy Stryder, is a Ghanaian British, Ghanaian-British rapper, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and investor. Stryder has released three solo (music), solo studio al ...

have gone on to be successful solo artists in the UK, with songs that have topped charts.

History

Inspired by the success of

So Solid Crew So Solid Crew are a British UK garage and hip hop collective originating from the area on and surrounding the Winstanley and York Road Estates in Battersea, London which achieved wide success in the early 2000s. The group consisted of many m ...

founded the

crew Ladies Hit Squad alongside DJ Target and Maxwell D around the end of the 20th century (2000). At the same time, Plague, Slimzee, Geeneus, Major Ace and God's Gift were enjoying relative success with another garage crew called Pay As U Go Kartel. Geeneus, who also founded

Rinse FM Rinse FM is a London-based community radio station, licensed for "young people living and/or working within the central, east and south London areas". It plays garage, grime, dubstep, house, jungle, UK funky and other dance music genres popula ...

, invited both Wiley and

Flowdan Marc Veira (born 17 March 1980), better known by his stage name Flowdan, is an English grime MC and record producer from Bow and Poplar, East London. A founding member of Roll Deep, he was responsible for naming the group and remained a member ...

to join Pay As U Go. The group released their debut single, "Know We", in 2000. Two years later, Wiley, Flowdan, Jamakabi and Breeze recorded a song entitled "Terrible", which record stores perceived to be a follow-up to "Know We". Wiley decided he didn't want to release it under the Pay As U Go name, so Flowdan suggested the name Roll Deep: a homage to the phrase 'rolling deep', popular within bashment songs. Flowdan cites the introduction of

to Roll Deep and his subsequent popularity as the reason why Pay As U Go eventually disbanded and Roll Deep rose to prominence. The crew distributed a number of mixtapes and vinyl singles independently before being signed to a major label and releasing their debut album ''

In at the Deep End ''In at the Deep End'' is the debut album of London-based grime collective Roll Deep. It went silver in the United Kingdom, selling more than 85,000 copies. The album won ''Best Album'' at the 2005 Urban Music Awards. " Shake a Leg" and "The ...

'' in June 2005. Four singles were released from the album: "Heat Up", "The Avenue", "When I'm 'Ere" and "Shake a Leg". They won an

. In October 2006, Roll Deep participated in a project of

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is ...

museum where various groups and songwriters were invited to choose a work that inspired them from the gallery's collection of modern art and then write a track about it. Roll Deep's submission, ''Searching'', was inspired by the

Anish Kapoor Sir Anish Mikhail Kapoor (born 12 March 1954) is a British-Indian sculptor specializing in installation art and conceptual art. Born in Mumbai, Kapoor attended the elite all-boys Indian boarding school The Doon School, before moving to the UK ...

sculpture ''Ishi's Light'', and can be heard on headphones in front of the work or on the Tate Tracks website. Their second album ''Rules and Regulations'' was released in 2007, followed by the release of ''Return of the Big Money Sound'' in 2008. The group got their first UK No. 1 single with the song "

" in May 2010 and the group's second UK No. 1 single was " Green Light" in August 2010. Their next single was "

Take Control "Take Control" is a song by the American singer Amerie from her third studio album, ''Because I Love It'' (2007). It was released as the album's lead single on October 17, 2006. The song was written by Cee-Lo Green, Mike Caren and Amerie, and wa ...

", featuring R&B singer

Alesha Dixon Alesha Anjanette Dixon (born 7 October 1978) is an English singer, rapper, dancer, television personality, and author. She gained recognition in the early 2000s as a member of the R&B, garage and hip hop group Mis-Teeq. The group disbanded in ...

, which charted at No. 29 on 7 November 2010. Roll Deep released their next single "Picture Perfect" (produced by Agent X) peaking at No. 19 in the indie charts. Roll Deep have appeared on

BBC 1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been cod ...

on numerous occasions. Members that appeared on the show include Wiley, Scratchy, Flowdan, Breeze, Brazen, Riko and Manga. In later years the group's work began to take a more mainstream oriented approach which led to members such as Riko and Flowdan becoming less active within the crew. In March 2014 Flowdan confirmed in an interview on

the group's current hiatus and discussed the lack of drive from other members to work on music collectively. However many members of the crew are still active as solo artists and none have ruled out a return to writing music together in the future. In August 2018, DJ Karnage, Breeze, Manga, Brazen, Scratchy, Riko Dan and Flowdan all appeared at Riko Dan's ''Hard Food'' EP launch party, collectively billed as Roll Deep on the lineup. Later the same month, Manga told ''Grime.com'': "We've got tunes, but it just takes long to organise. We've got new songs — or we had new songs — I don't know where they are, I think Wiley's got them somewhere. But we've started about three ewRoll Deep albums between us, but... oh, it's just long to get everyone together, man. Wiley lives in Cyprus, Target's on radio everyday, Flowdan's doing shows everyday, J2K's making restaurants and creps and all these type of ting there." In August 2019, Scratchy and Flowdan appeared as Roll Deep on "Don't Lie", featuring

Jammer Jammer may refer to: Signal blocking devices * Radar jammer, a device used in radar jamming and deception * Radio jammer, a device used in radio jamming * Radio-controlled Improvised Explosive Device jammer, a counter-IED device * Mobile phon ...

and taken from his ''

Lord of the Mics Lord of the Mics (also known as LOTM) is a series of recorded grime clashes, headed by Jammer and Chad ‘Ratty’ Stennett. Each edition of LOTM features grime MC's participating in recorded clashes, where they 'battle' each other over grime ins ...

VIII'' compilation album.

Members

Current members

(Richard Kylea Cowie) – The leader of the crew/group/collective. Formed the crew and has featured on many Roll Deep songs. Achieved his first number-one's with the group in 2010 with song's

and Green Light. Wiley has announced via Twitter that he is still a member of Roll Deep and always will be, but was not featured on the album in 2012. * Scratchy (Ryan Robert Williams) – One of the founder members of Roll Deep from 2002. Featured on many Roll Deep tracks like "When I'm 'Ere", "Badman" & "Club 7". He also featured on Roll Deep's number-one singles '

' and ' Green Light'. He has a distinctive flow. Also known as Scratchy Demus. *

(Marc Veira) – One of the founder members of Roll Deep from 2002. Features on many Roll Deep tracks like 'Celebrate', 'Heat Up' & 'Club 7' Has a deep voice and speaks in patois, although the accent is not as strong as Riko's. * Breeze (Ibrahim Ali) – One of the founder members of Roll Deep from 2002. Older brother of fellow Roll Deep member Brazen. He featured on Roll Deep's number-one single's '

' and ' Green Light'. Known for witty lyrics and distinctive style. * Brazen (Ardom Ali) – Member of Roll Deep from 2004, and younger brother of Breeze. He featured on Roll Deep's number-one singles '

' and ' Green Light'. Known for his aggressive voice on the mic. * Manga (Matthew Reid) – Member of Roll Deep from 2004. Featured on Roll Deep tracks "When I'm 'Ere", "Poltergeist (Remix)" and "Do Me Wrong". Has a speedy, jumpy flow. Now going by the name Manga Saint Hilare. * Riko (Zane Benson Williams) – Member of Roll Deep from 2004. Well known for his distinctive and sometimes very aggressive style of rapping in Patois. Took a back seat from the crew in early 2010 to concentrate on his solo career, though he has stated on Twitter he will never leave Roll Deep. More commonly known as Riko Dan. * DJ Target (Darren Joseph) – Long-time member of Roll Deep from 2002. Main Producer and DJ of Roll Deep. Made the instrumentals for many Roll Deep tracks. Since gone on to host his own

BBC Radio 1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been cod ...

show. * DJ Karnage – Long-time member of Roll Deep from 2002. He is the cousin of former member Trim, and Roll Deep's main DJ. A former Roll Deep MC. * J2K (Jason Black) – Member of Roll Deep from 2008, although he did feature on track "Good Girl" on their 2005 album "In at the Deep End". He has featured on many Roll Deep tracks, including number-one single ' Green Light'.

Past members

(Dylan Mills) – Joined Roll Deep when asked to provide the hook for the track "Bounce" in 2002, but left Roll Deep in 2003 after the Ayia Napa stabbing incident. Featured on tracks "Bounce", "U Were Always", "Roll Deep Regular" and "Eskimo Vocal". He is now one of the most well-known grime artists in the UK, with five number-ones. *

(Kwasi Danquah III) – affiliate of Roll Deep from 2002, but had his own grime crew

Ruff Sqwad Ruff may refer to: Places * Ruff, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community * Ruff, Washington, United States, an unincorporated community Other uses *Ruff (bird) (''Calidris pugnax'' or ''Philomachus pugnax''), a bird in the wader fa ...

and focus on his solo career. He featured on Roll Deep's 2004 mixtape ''Creeper Vol. 2'' and performed on some songs including "U Were Always" in 2002, which was released years later on Roll Deep's compilations album ''

Street Anthems Street Anthems is a compilation album by Roll Deep, released on 19 October 2009. It features well-known tracks from 2001 to 2009 and some previously unreleased tracks, showing the early days of grime and Roll Deep, as well as presenting tracks f ...

'' in 2009. Has since recorded many top 40 hits including two number-ones. * Biggie Pitbull – Also known as Pitbull T, he was an early member of Roll Deep from 2002. He featured on tracks 'Bounce' as well as 'Poltergeist Relay' and other songs. Had an angry voice. He is

's cousin. Left the group in 2004. * Wonder – Early member of Roll Deep from 2002. Wonder was a producer for the group, but he left in 2004. He now no longer produces grime. * Jamakabi – Early member of Roll Deep from 2002, he featured on many tracks like 'Terrible', 'Roll Deep Regular' & 'Bounce'. He left the group in 2004, after a disagreement with Wiley. * Bubbles – Early member of Roll Deep from 2002, but left the group in 2004. He featured on the song 'Bounce' amongst others. Released a solo mixtape in 2008. * DJ Bionics – Early member of Roll Deep from 2002. Bionics was one of the DJ's for the group, but left in 2004 to DJ in support of his cousin

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria * Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State **Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries **Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...

. * Jet Le – Early member of Roll Deep from 2002. He featured on albums

and Rules and Regulations. Had a verse on 'Celebrate'. Left the group in 2006. *

Trim Trim or TRIM may refer to: Cutting * Cutting or trimming small pieces off something to remove them ** Book trimming, a stage of the publishing process ** Pruning, trimming as a form of pruning often used on trees Decoration * Trim (sewing), or ...

(Javan St. Prix) – Member of Roll Deep from 2004, featured on tracks 'Heat Up' and 'When I'm 'Ere'. Has an off-kilter, poetic flow. He left the group in 2006, after a disagreement with Flowdan. Also known as Trimbal. * Roachee (Richard Roach) – Member of Roll Deep from 2004, joined the group the same time as his cousin Trim. Featured on 'When I'm Here'. He left the group in 2006, as he was sent to prison. * DJ Maximum – Affiliate of Roll Deep from 2004. Part of grime crew

Boy Better Know Boy Better Know, often abbreviated as BBK, is a British grime collective and record label. The collective was founded in North London in 2005 as an independent record label by brothers Jamie and Joseph Adenuga, better known as Jme, and Skepta ...

. *

Skepta Chief Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. (born 19 September 1982), known professionally as Skepta, is a British-Nigerian grime MC, rapper and record producer. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined Roll Deep before they became founding ...

(Joseph Adenuga) – Affiliate of Roll Deep had his own grime crew

and his solo career. Skepta appeared on Roll Deep's album Rules and Regulations and featured on the hit 'Celebrate'. *

(Jahmek Power) – Affiliate of Roll Deep from 2006, Appeared on Roll Deep's album Rules and Regulations and featured on tracks 'Ride or Die Chick' and 'Bring Ur Crew Then'. Part of another grime crew

. * Danny Weed – Long-time member of Roll Deep from 2002. He was a producer for the group, but left in 2010. * Killa P (Patrick Knight) – Member of Roll Deep from 2006, and the cousin of Roll Deep member Flowdan. Killa P's flow is like Riko's, he MC's in patois. Featured on the track "Club 7". Left the group in 2010. * Little Dee – Member of Roll Deep from 2008. He featured on one Roll Deep track 'Give Up', but left the group in 2008 on good terms to pursue his own solo career. Currently a member of OGz alongside

P Money Paris Moore-Williams (born 8 April 1989), better known by his stage name P Money, is a British grime MC, rapper and songwriter from New Cross, South East London, who is also active in the drum and bass scene. He is best known for his live per ...

. * Syer Barz – Member of Roll Deep briefly around 2004. Also former member of the

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Forest ...

-based O.T. Crew. * Jme (Jamie Adenuga) – Affiliate of Roll Deep from 2006. He is

's younger brother. Part of grime collective

Politics

Roll Deep have been consistent supporters of

Love Music Hate Racism Love Music Hate Racism (LMHR) is a music-oriented antiracism campaign based in Britain. The campaign aims to bring people together and promote unity through the power of music. LMHR was born in the tradition of the Rock Against Racism (RAR) movem ...

and have played at many of the organisation's more high-profile events including the memorial for murdered teenager Anthony Walker, and released a single and video of "Racist People", from the ''Rules and Regulations'' LP.

Discography

Studio albums

* 2005: ''

'' * 2007: '' Rules and Regulations'' * 2008: ''

Return of the Big Money Sound ''Return of the Big Money Sound'' is London grime collective Roll Deep Roll Deep (formerly Roll Deep Entourage) are a British grime crew. They were founded in 2001 by Wiley shortly before the disbandment of UK garage crew Pay As U Go Carte ...

'' * 2010: ''

Winner Stays On ''Winner Stays On'' is the fourth studio album by London-based grime music collective Roll Deep, it was released on 8 November 2010. Three singles have been released from the album, including "Good Times" and " Green Light", which both went to n ...

'' * 2012: '' X''

Compilation album

* 2009: ''

Mixtapes

* 2003: Creeper Vol. 1 * 2004: Creeper Vol. 2 * 2004: Rollin’ Deeper * 2006: Roll Deep Presents Grimey Vol. 1 * 2010: Say No More * 2012: No Comment Star

Timeline

2002–2003

The Original and First line up of Roll Deep: *

* Scratchy *

* Breeze * DJ Target * DJ Karnage * Danny Weed * Jet Le * Biggie Pitbull * Dom P * Wonder * Jamakabi * Bubbles * DJ Bionics

2004–2005

Second line up of the group: Once Dizzee Rascal, Tinchy Stryder, Biggie Pitbull, Dom P, Wonder, Jamakabi, Bubbles & DJ Bionics left the group, Wiley brought in 7 new members for their 2005 album "In at the Deep End". *

* Scratchy *

* Breeze * DJ Target * DJ Karnage * Danny Weed * Jet Le * Brazen – Joined the group in 2003 *

Manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

– Joined the group in 2004 * Riko – Joined the group in 2004 *

– Joined the group in 2003 * Roachee – Joined the group in 2004 * DJ Maximum – Joined the group in 2004 * Syer Bars – Joined the group in 2004

2006–2007

Third line up of the group: Once Jet Le, Trim, Roachee, DJ Maximum & Syer Bars left the group, Wiley brought in 3 new members for their 2007 album "Rules and Regulations" and one new member to contribute to the album. *

* Scratchy *

* Breeze * DJ Target * DJ Karnage * Danny Weed * Brazen *

* Riko * Killa P – Joined the group in 2006 *

– Joined the group in 2006 *

- Joined the group in 2006 * JME - Joined the group in 2006. Left the same year.

2008–2010

Fourth line up of the group: Once Skepta, JME & Jammer left the group, Wiley brought in 2 new members for their 2008 album "Return of the Big Money Sound". *

* Scratchy *

* Breeze * DJ Target * DJ Karnage * Danny Weed * Brazen *

* Riko * Killa P * J2K – Joined the group in 2008 * Little Dee – Joined the group in 2008

2010–2012

Fifth and final line up of the group: Once Danny Weed, Killa P & Little Dee left the group, Wiley replaced them with female R&B singer Tania Foster. *

* Scratchy *

* Breeze * DJ Target * DJ Karnage * Brazen *

* Riko * J2K * Tania Foster – Joined the group in 2011

References

External links

* – official site *
Roll Deep
on GrimePedia
''Music Video masterclass with Mo filming Roll Deep''
on

BBC Blast BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...

''UK Grime Group Roll Deep Scores UK No. 1''
by

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

{{Authority control Musical groups from London English hip hop groups Grime music groups Cooking Vinyl artists Relentless Records artists Virgin Records artists