Music / Music NationMusic / Music NationOur grime documentary is up for a UK Music Video Award!Rewind back to the birth of a cult genre in Ewen Spencer’s raw film ‘Open Mic’, featuring Dizzee Rascal, Wiley and KanoShareLink copied ✔️November 5, 2015November 5, 2015TextAnnachiara Biondi Later today, the brightest talents in film will be heading to London's UK Music Video Awards to celebrate the greatest videos from around the world, and we’re excited to announce that Dazed are up for an award in the ‘Best Music Documentary’ category for our Music Nation documentary Open Mic, co-produced by Channel 4. In Open Mic, iconic counter-culture photographer Ewen Spencer takes us to the streets, raves and council estates of East London to trip back to the birth of grime; the authentic sound created by a mid-00’s generation that needed to find its voice. Through raw beats, original footage and the bars of Dizzee Rascal, Kano and many others, the short film captures the urgent necessity of expression that merged and exploded into the cult music scene. From the original break with garage, passing through basic equipment, homemade videos and street rapping, Spencer creates an unseen visual representation of the nascent movement, exploring its intrinsically British roots and sketching its possible future. Ewen Spencer: OPEN MICEscape the algorithm! Get The DropEmail address SIGN UP Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday. Privacy policy Thank you. You have been subscribed Privacy policy Expand your creative community and connect with 15,000 creatives from around the world.READ MOREKneecap, Erika de Casier, Smerz and more call to boycott Eurovision Ethel Cain’s Coachella stage was a ‘graveyard of American industry’Oakley What Went Down at Oakley’s Field Gear Line Collection launch TOMORA are the dance-pop superduo out to ‘connect unexpected people’If Geese are a psy-op, so is everything elseA deep dive into the fan-led SOPHIE archive projectThe secret history of Black British musicSilvana Estrada: ‘Bad Bunny is my hero, but Latin America is a continent’ The ultimate guide to music festivals in 2026Stop calling Justin Bieber’s Coachella set ‘lazy’Xaviersobased’s online obsessions: NBA 2K, skate videos and NickelodeonQueer nightlife is thriving in Bucharest’s abandoned backroomsEscape the algorithm! Get The DropEmail address SIGN UP Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday. Privacy policy Thank you. You have been subscribed Privacy policy