Welcome to JP’s UK Culture Picks, your one-stop monthly column for all the best in UK music and culture! Expect everything from my favourite tracks and albums of the month to random YouTube finds, fire food spots to club night recommendations. You can find me on IG: @josephjppatterson.
R.I.P. Dot Rotten, grime’s mad scientist…
Dot Rotten and I definitely had our differences throughout the years. Grime’s mad scientist was a strong-minded character—sometimes stubborn, and not always right when it came to the inner workings of the music biz.
Our most recent spat came in 2022 and centred on the relationship between artist and journalist. In short, he believed press should be available to him at the click of a finger. My response was simple: it does not work like that. There’s a process—how and when artists receive coverage, the timing that makes sense, how it fits into a promo run and the wider campaign—but he didn’t see my points. None at all. Around three weeks after our aggy phone calls and back-and-forth texts, Dot released a track that dissed me in it (not the first time an MC had sent for me lol). It was deleted shortly after; people close to both of us advised him it probably wasn’t the smartest move to not have me—someone who had championed him at every level—on side.
Looking back, though, I smile at the situation because, in truth, Dot Rotten was a crazily-musical genius, and sometimes you have to let geniuses be the off-kilter minds that they are. He had Kanye-level artistic finesse, but, like Mr. West, we’ve all seen how that creative chaos doesn’t always translate to the real world. My respect for Dot’s talent, however—a super-lyrical MC and future-facing producer I had worked with sporadically since 2008, first as a club night promoter and later as a journalist—superseded any qualms that we had. This guy single-handedly pushed grime’s sonics and lyricism forward in ways that can never be duplicated, whether as Young Dot, Dot Rotten, Zeph Ellis, or The Spirit.
Joseph Ellis-Stevenson, who died in the Gambia earlier this month, was one of British music’s most intriguing and complex talents. Born in Stockwell, South-West London, he built his reputation on skill rather than hype, helping to shape grime’s sound via late-late-night studio sessions (some of which I attended), pirate radio sets (and on-air rants), plus a string of mixtape drops that still feel ahead of their time. From his 2007 debut, This Is The Beginning, to 2008’s R.I.P Young Dot and the Rotten Riddims he released in between, Dot’s early output rivalled that of grime’s godfather, Wiley. During that run, he built his own movement rooted in grime and LDN, but with a truly global feel. The labels came calling in 2011 and he eventually signed with Mercury, earning some mainstream chart recognition before returning to his independent grind and feeding the streets with the rawness that made him so beloved. He had more beef than a Morley’s Triple M burger (see: P Money, Stormzy, Wiley…), but his war-ready stance was always admired. He also produced some of UK rap’s most timeless jams (see: Nines’ “I See You Shining”, Potter Payper’s “Poetry In Motion”, MoStack & Mist’s “Screw & Brew”...), cuts that still hit like they landed yesterday and remind everyone why Dot was truly a force to be reckoned with.
Now, I am no psychologist, but it was clear to see that Dot was a troubled soul—he carried a darkness that he channelled into some genuinely beautiful music. In our deep (offline) conversations about life, it became apparent that family struggles, and not being able to trust those around him, caused a lot of his pain. But wherever his soul is now, I hope it can rest in the knowledge that his work on earth will always be valued and appreciated.
And who knows? One day, we might just meet again.
R.I.P. Young Dot.
The MOBO Awards… There is NONE greater.
I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with the MOBO Awards team for the past six years, and every year—after our (sometimes tense) meetings at MOBO HQ—I leave grinning ear to ear, knowing we continue to represent the Black British music scene like no other award show. Founded by Kanya King in 1996, the MOBO Awards have consistently shown why representation matters, and why a ceremony like this is essential. If we relied on the BRITs alone, we’d often come away feeling defeated, both as a culture and as a people. They do try, but somehow still fall short—our scene deserves better than that. Other award shows have come and gone, but the Music Of Black Origin awards have endured; long may their reign continue.
This year, on Thursday 26th March, the MOBOs will celebrate 30 years of greatness at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena. With performances from Olivia Dean, Tiwa Savage and FLO, through to a (long-awaited) grime spesh including Wiley, Scorcher and Nolay, it’s set to be an absolute movie! Be sure to grab your tickets (here) as we mark this epic milestone and celebrate the MOBOs’ lasting cultural impact. (And after that, head on over to TRENCH and check out the brilliant Grime Is Forever x MOBO 30 cover story).
Album Of The Month: Ms Banks flips the script on debut LP South LDN Lover Girl
Ms Banks’ debut album, South LDN Lover Girl, is finally here. Across 14 tracks, we see Banks—easily one of the UK’s sharpest emcees—trade in some of her bad gyal bravado for heartfelt reflections on love, identity as a second-generation Black woman in Britain, and the hustle and bustle of London livin’. She effortlessly switches between rapid-fire verses and trap (“Catch You Lackin’”) and sweet melodies over Afrobeats (“War Outside”), blending grit and vulnerability with ease. A confident, well-rounded debut here from Ms Banks—she should be proud. 4/5.
Ravers’ Delight: Circoloco in Paris was for the BIG steppers!
On March 7, me and the gang hopped on the Eurostar to Paris for Circoloco at Porte de Versailles, and let’s just say: a time was definitely had! Rampa b2b ANOTR stole the show as Paris Fashion Week laggers and ravers from all over got into the groove. You can always count on Circo for a proper, grown-up night out; blurry nights in Sweet Pari for the win! S/O to Juliette and Antonio for the hospitality.
Tracks Of The Month
Tracks added for March 2026:
Chase & Status f/ Pozer, “Through The Pain”
Morrisson, “Legends Don’t Die”
Jorja Smith, “Price Of It All”
163Margs, “Rev”
James Blake, “Rest Of Your Life”
Kibo, “ShubzOnline”
Manga Saint Hilare, “In The Dance”
DJ Zinc & Duppy, “Beware”
Digga D, “Let Them Know”
Headie One, “You’ve Changed”
