Acclaimed British grime producer Terror Danjah has died
Among those paying tribute was Kevin Martin, AKA producer the Bug, who wrote: 'A fantastic producer, big hearted person and criminally underrated outside of grime circles … a positive force, sorely missed.'
Terror Danjah was born Rodney Price in Forest Gate, the son of Jamaican parents, whose soundsystem house parties left a big impression on the young music fan. He cited Public Enemy, Timbaland and soundsystem culture as influences on his musical sensibility. He formed Reckless Crew in 1998, a collective that garnered attention from its sets on Rinse FM, and said that his love of jungle inspired him to start producing his own material.
Price made an impact in the early 2000s as a producer for Nasty Crew, working alongside MCs such as Kano and Hitman Hyper. He was among a clutch of producers who pioneered the short-lived R&G (rhythm and grime) movement. His 2005 collaboration with Sadie Ama, So Sure, introduced a softer side of grime, inspired by what Price described to the Quietus as his background in reggae, R&B and soul.
He formed his own label, Hardrive records, in 2007, and released solo material through Butterz and Planet Mu. The latter released Price's debut collection Gremlinz in 2009, which 'rewrote the twin narratives of grime and dubstep with Danjah placed firmly at the centre, making him instantly relevant' according to dance music publication XLR8R.
He was also considered a key voice in the current sound of grime, noted for what his label Tru Thoughts called his 'trademark heavy basslines, intricate programming and kinetic productions, with a sonic output that is brash, neon-bright and hyperactive', along with his trademark 'gremlin' cackle audio stamp. He collaborated with acts including Wiley, Dizzee Rascal, Kano and Tinie Tempah, and released a split 12-inch with Four Tet, Killer/Nasty, in 2014.
Price became seriously unwell in August 2019 after suffering a stroke, and his family released a statement at the time to confirm that he was in a critical condition. Price made a number of records for the dance label Hyperdub, which stated that he was in a coma at the time, but he later recovered. His most recent releases date to that year: the album Invasion, and the EP Red Flag.
Other peers from the grime and rap scenes have paid tribute, including rapper and TV presenter Big Zuu who called Price 'a very kind soul who always had time for the mandem and just wanted to see us win. Sending prayers and blessings to your family.'
Producer and DJ Plastician wrote: 'Such a talented producer and a great human being to boot. He's never left my crates. Never will.' Rapper Trillary Banks wrote: 'Heaven gained not just an angel but a UK legend', while another MC, Manga Saint Hilare, wrote: 'What you've created & taught so many will live forever.'
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'You had the fat acceptance movement, and while there's still issues, you would never go, 'Well, how much do you weigh?' But it's perfectly acceptable for people to go, 'How tall are you'?'' But also recently in the Guardian – or the Good News Gazette, as I think of it – there was a fat girl having a moan about models being thin, so it's basically any poor-me in a storm. 'Live and let live' used to be a popular liberal tenet before liberals decided that telling everyone else what they should be doing and thinking was a lot more fun. I'd bring it back and add a new one; like and let like, or even love and let love. Don't try to push your way into dating groups that don't fancy you; go and find a dating group that's keen on your kind. It's going to save a lot of aggro and hurt feelings all around. Just as some people are going to be better runners – or writers – than others, some people are going to be more physically attractive. Babies smile at photographs of conventionally attractive people more; are we going to start re-educating them about beauty before they can count to two? Besides, very few apparent gifts are free in this life; with beauty comes the curse of witnessing its loss, either by natural decay or unnatural injections of plastic which invariably rob the most fantastic face of what made it special in the first place. Before I was in a wheelchair, I was 5'9. I loved being tall. It suited me; I was a swaggering, swashbuckling show-off. Sometimes I used to actually pat my shorter friends on the head. I'm about four feet tall now; it's weird seeing life from a child's point of view. But I'll have to grin (and occasionally) grizzle and bear it. I don't believe for a moment that anyone should have to find people in wheelchairs as attractive as those striding along on their long healthy legs. I don't see many public figures in wheelchairs – but I don't believe for a moment that if I did, it would make being in a wheelchair any less annoying. In my opinion, the phrase 'If you can't see it, you can't be it' is one of the silliest of modern sayings. Rosa Parks never saw someone do what she did; neither did Barack Obama. Looking to others for approval (unless it comes in the obvious shape of getting paid) is one of the surest ways to court under-underachievement, self-loathing and mediocrity. But if 'Sir' Tony really does 'need' to see an example of a rich, successful shorter man date/bang/marry a taller woman, there are many to choose from. The tall young starlet with the short mega-millionaire is a long-standing cliche, from Bernie Eccleston to Rod Stewart, who far preferred girls who towered over him. As he gamely chortled in 'Blondes Have More Fun': 'You can keep your red heads/ You can keep your brunettes too/I wanna girl that's semi-intelligent/Gimme a blonde that's six feet two.' The blonde he finally settled for, the ex-model Penny Lancaster, has been vice president of the Royal National Institute of Blind People and a fully-qualified Special Constable with the City of London police. She's the catch, as much as him; when you can't tell the difference, I guess they call it love. So contrary to what Dr Prichard says – 'We need more voices like Tony Robinson coming out and saying it, to show this is not all woke nonsense, [to] just sort of sit down and listen to what they have to say and go, OK, these are their lived experiences' – we need, in the sexual arena, more people who don't feel outraged at not being found attractive by those more attractive, and taller, than they are.
