The journey of Big Narstie. The story of the modern-day renaissance man
Meet Grime MC Big Narstie
Born Tyrone Lindo, Big Narstie made a name for himself as a grime MC during the early 2000s. Here, he was known for a mixture of comedic lyricism, and his love of cannabis. Although he also did socially conscious songs, the majority of his fans enjoyed the lighter side of his music. As a result, he quickly gained the reputation of a bit of a comedy rapper, which could be seen as a good or bad thing - depending on your viewpoint. Although he undoubtedly benefited from this, it also led to people underestimating him and not taking him as a serious artist.
Anyway, around this time, the underground UK music scene wasn't anywhere nearly as commercially viable as it is today. The result is that like so many talented rappers at the time, Big Narstie failed to make a real living whilst doing music...that was until he found Youtube and this platform changed his life forever. Interestingly, his venture into the video-sharing platform wasn't to do with music either, instead, it was about giving advice.
At this point, Narstie was still in his 20's, and he joined forces with the channel Grime Report. The result felt like an overnight success, with Narstie's personality shining through the online platform. This time his role didn't involve music, instead, it was through the bizarre role of an online agony aunt. In a unique format, viewers could message the channel their problems and Big Narstie would give his opinion on how to improve their situation. Typical scenarios involved affairs, financial problems, and life choices. Although these topics were often light-hearted, there was always a degree of intelligence in his responses.
It was the perfect platform for Narstie to show his personality, and the online public embraced him with open arms. Now, inadvertently, he had become famous. Not only this but his music career flourished too, finally cracking the UK top 10 with a collaboration with the legendary Craig David. His witty remarks and catchphrases had shown the world just how likable he was, which was not possible before the growth of Youtube.
The result of his newfound popularity catapulted him onto bigger and better things. The Channel 4 network came knocking, which lead to his own chat show. During this time, he became good friends with Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber. However, Big Narstie didn't stop there and went from strength to strength. You could say this was quite literal, as he started training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The significance of this can't be dismissed, as his name suggests, he was previously a physically 'Big' character. This was further proof of his personal growth and constant self-improvement.
However, it would be wrong to label Big Narstie as just a comedic figure, he is far from one-dimensional, and never has been for that matter. This led him to make Brixton: Flames On The Frontline which showed his serious side. Here, he documented the infamous Brixton riots, that centered around police brutality against the black community.
With this said, the rise and rise of Big Narstie has been one to warm the heart. From the obscure underground music scene to being a well-respected journalist with genuine charisma, this should light the way for similar ethnic minorities in the future. Perhaps Big Narstie didn't know it himself, but his rise to stardom changed the challenged stereotypes and changed the culture for the better.