Behind the scenes of the first ever grime and rap songwriting camp

Some of the biggest grime and rap talent including Flohio, Ms Banks, Novelist and Big Zuu came together this week, for a first-of-its-kind songwriting camp

Marking the end of 2018, a year that saw Godfather of Grime, Wiley, receive an MBE for services to music, PRS for Music and ASCAP, two of the world’s leading performing rights societies, hosted the first ever two-day grime/rap songwriting camp.

Bringing together 25 music creators, the camp was a rare and unique opportunity for both masters of the genre and acclaimed up-and-coming talent, including highly respected songwriters, topliners, producers and performers, to collaborate at the renowned Tileyard Studios, London.

PRS for Music's M Magazine went behind the scenes to capture the magic of the camp, in a short film available to watch now. 

Carefully selected based on outstanding ability, attendees included: Aitch, Ali Tennant, Ayah Marar, Big Zuu, Dolapo, Elshay, Flohio, Isaiah Dreads, Joe Killington, LD, Lily McKenzie, Lisa Mercedez, Miraa May, Ms Banks, Novelist, Yizzy and producers; Daktyl, Flyo, Mazza, MK The Plug, Sevaqk, Shadow On The Beat, Show N Prove, Treble Clef, and whYJay.  

As well as huge successes in the production world, working with the likes of Kanye West and Major Lazer, as performers they have secured 46 weeks in the Official UK Charts and have 2 million monthly Spotify listeners between them. *  

PRS for Music, the organisation that represents the rights of more than 140,000 songwriters, composers, producers and music publishers, also nurtures the creation of music through its partnerships, songwriting camps and educational programmes.

Songwriting camps serve not only as a platform for new hits to be written but provide an intimate space for networking – encouraging new creative relationships to continue and develop into the future. Attendees took part in three studio sessions each, culminating in a playback session at the end of the two days.

This was a ground-breaking event for all involved. It’s impressive to see the true power of collaboration; the calibre of music that came out of this songwriting camp was phenomenal.

PRS for Music hosted this event with its American counterpart, ASCAP, with support from Notting Hill Music Publishing, Tileyard Music Publishing and Ultra Music Publishing Europe. 

*Figures correct at time of publication

About PRS for Music

Here for music since 1914, PRS for Music is a world-leading music collective management organisation representing the rights of more than 175,000 talented songwriters, composers and music publishers. Redefining the global standard for music royalties, PRS for Music ensures songwriters and composers are paid whenever their musical compositions and songs are streamed, downloaded, broadcast, performed and played in public. 

For 110 years it has grown and protected the rights of the music creator community, paying out royalties with more accuracy, transparency and speed. In 2023, PRS for Music paid out £943.6m in royalties and collected a record £1.08 billion in revenues. prsformusic.com

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers and music publishers of every kind of music. ASCAP's mission is to license and promote the music of its members and foreign affiliates, obtain fair compensation for the public performance of their works and to distribute the royalties that it collects based upon those performances. ASCAP members write the world's best-loved music and ASCAP has pioneered the efficient licensing of that music to hundreds of thousands of enterprises who use it to add value to their business - from bars, restaurants and retail, to radio, TV and cable, to Internet, mobile services and more. The ASCAP license offers an efficient solution for businesses to legally perform ASCAP music while respecting the right of songwriters and composers to be paid fairly. With more than 680,000 members representing more than 11.5 million copyrighted works, ASCAP is the worldwide leader in performance royalties, service and advocacy for songwriters and composers, and the only American performing rights organization (PRO) owned and governed by its writer and publisher members. Learn more and stay in touch at www.ascap.com, on Twitter and Instagram @ASCAP and on Facebook.

Tileyard Music is a management, publishing, and record company formed in October 2012. Our company is home to writers, producers, and artists, both signed and in development. Tileyard Music Publishing represents a catalogue of over 1,000 songs, and has signed a variety of songwriting talent, including topliners, lyricists, and producers. The publishing company is administered by Notting Hill Music throughout the world.

About Tileyard Studios

Tileyard Studios is a thriving creative ecosystem in the exciting King’s Cross area of Central London. With over 105,000 sq ft of flexible studio and office facilities, the complex has more than 70 state of the art music studios, as well as more than 100 office spaces that provide a home to a wide spectrum of companies predominantly operating in the music, film & television, fashion and creative tech sectors. With a mix of business startups, small to medium-sized businesses, emerging artists and established A-list talent, Tileyard offers spaces to suit our client’s specific needs as well as the chance to be part of a community of like-minded creative people.