News

New five-part documentary explores the evolution of Black British music

The series features Fabio & Grooverider, Goldie, DJ Ron, and more

A new limited documentary series spanning Black British dance music's timeline is now out via My5.

The Evolution of Black British Music, which first aired on August 11 on Channel 5’s streaming service, features a range of musicians including Fabio & Grooverider (pictured), Goldie, DJ Ron, and more.

Each episode documents different genres through history, with the first episode taking a close look at jungle and how it surfaced in the early ‘90s.

Read this next: Why dancehall isn't a major industry in the UK, and what needs to be done

“Jungle emerged out of the acid house scene, reflected the experiences of young people growing up in the concrete jungle of council estates and became the most popular Black British Music genre in the early 90s,” reads the episode description.

The second of five episodes highlights the history of garage, which emerged shortly after jungle and was one of the most popular genres in dance music throughout the late ‘90s and early noughties.

"UK garage came to the fore after jungle, we will speak to the pioneers of the scene, its rise to mainstream success and the fact that it directly led to the creation of grime,” reads the description.

Read this next: How GIRLSofGRIME are overturning imbalances in the UK rap scene

The next three episodes are due for release over the course of the next three weeks and set to document grime, Afro bashment and UK funky, road rap and drill.

Each episode spans 60 minutes, all of which directed by Femi Oyeniran and Nicky Slimting Walker. The series was made for Black British culture and content platform BET UK.

Watch the trailer for The Evolution of Black British Music below, and check out the first two episodes here.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Editorial Assistant, follow her on Twitter