The Square is a

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 Wood ...

crew from

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The group was founded by DeeJillz, Elf Kid, Lolingo and

Novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

. The group has since expanded with all members hailing from

and surrounding areas of

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

. The crew is known for its youthfulness, adherence to an old school

sound as well as for the distinct individual styles of its MCs.

History

The group originally consisted of four members who met at the age of 15, members included: DeeJillz, Elf Kid, Novelist and Lolingo. The first collaborative material from Elf Kid, DeeJillz and Novelist was released in early 2012 and predates the name ''The Square''. By early 2013 the group had expanded to include three further MCs, Syder Sides, Faultsz and Streema. In June 2013 a bootleg mixtape was released featuring the original seven members of the crew. In late 2013 the crew began to make frequent pirate radio appearances alongside DJ Grandmixxer. Following on from this in late 2014 the crew officially released its first record, '''The Formula''' with No Hats No Hoods records. The EP featured one collaborative track, "Pengaleng" as well as solo tracks from all members of the group. Later in 2014, "Pengaleng" was re-recorded with additional verses from new crew members Hilts and DeeCee. A music video was recorded for the new version of the song which was named as one of the best tracks of 2014 by

Complex UK Complex Networks is an American media and entertainment company for youth culture, based in New York City. It was founded as a bi-monthly magazine, ''Complex'', by fashion designer Marc (Ecko) Milecofsky. Complex Networks reports on popular a ...

. In April 2015, highly anticipated single "Lewisham McDeez" was released, again with No Hats No Hoods records. Local paper, the ''

News Shopper The ''News Shopper'' titles are local newspapers published in South East London and North West Kent by Newsquest. The newsroom is in Orpington. There are five local editions: Bexley Borough, Bexley & North Kent, Bromley, Dartford & Gravesend, ...

'' reported that the Lewisham

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

in question had been "immortalised in the Grime world" due to the popularity of the song. In early 2015, Blakie, General Courts and Grandmixxer joined the crew. In 2015, the group received funding from

PRS for Music PRS for Music Limited (formerly The MCPS-PRS Alliance Limited) is a British music copyright collective, made up of two collection societies: the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and the Performing Right Society (PRS). It undertakes ...

to produce a debut album. On 1 September 2015, Novelist left The Square to further his solo career. DeeCee and Hilts subsequently announced their departures from the group on 7 September and 27 September respectively. On 19 December Syder Sides left the group and Faultsz also subsequently announced his departure on Boxing Day. However Faultsz rejoined the crew in May 2016. On 9 May 2016, grime documentist Simon Wheatley announced he had made a documentary about the crew called "Golden Boys" after Elf Kid and Lolingo's 2015 single "Golden Boy". On 25 May 2016,

Noisey ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Media, ...

premiered the first track from the crew's debut album "Defeat Us".

Members

Current members

* DeeJillz – MC (2012–present) * Elf Kid – MC (2012–present) * Lolingo - DJ, producer (2012–present) * Streema – MC, producer (2013–present) * Blakie – MC, producer (2015–present) * Faultsz – MC (2013–2015, 2016–present) * Deema – MC (2016–present)

Past members

– MC, producer (2012–2015) * Grandmixxer – DJ, Producer (2014–2015) * Dee Cee – MC (2014–2015) * Hilts (also known as Murkilla) – MC, producer (2014–2015) * Syder Sides – MC (2013–2015)

Discography

Singles

EPs

Bootlegs

References

External links

The Square's profile on No Hats No Hoods
{{DEFAULTSORT:Square, The Grime music groups Musicians from Lewisham English hip hop groups Rappers from London