Cold Outside (Prod. by Maniac) - Stutta (2007)

Every year, when the temperature in London returns to near-freezing — like it did today — I return to this dark and wry grime heater to prepare me for hibernation

This is one of the most slept-on grime songs and videos from the late-2000s.

A few years after the genre’s golden era at the start of the new millennium, its hard-working underground cohort of MCs continued to fill radio sets, sell-out raves and create rough-and-ready yet fresh sounding bangers, despite the pull of pending commercial success and electro-pop dilution. The sound arrived at a short-lived sweet spot of still retaining core, purist elements but also experimenting with new styles of video editing and conscious attempts to write catchy singalongs, from sweet boy anthems to hardened head-boppers.

Stutta had made a name for himself via his Channel U classic Konk with Boy Better Know originator Jammer in 2006. Then the following year he dropped Cold Outside, with an accompanying video set in an East London concrete underpass, which later featured on his 2008 mixtape Still Konkin Vol. 2.

It’s a classic case of grime’s wry Britishness in its preoccupation with the weather (extending the famed ‘eskimo’ metaphor of its early sound further). But it uses temperature as a signal of street danger: “it’s cold outside, and it’s getting worse, just wait ‘til the summer arrives, if you’re in the whip, stay inside, turn the heat up don’t come out the ride…it’s cold outside, blitz, it’s freezing cold outside, just a little advice from me to you to not play with your life,” spits Stutta on the hook. His voice punches each syllable as he dissects hood fame, dismissing community gossip and warning envious onlookers about doubting or challenging him, carrying a confidence clearly fine-tuned through pirate radio clashing.

The busy instrumental — which I would love to hear in fully engineered quality on a souped-up car sound system — comes from legendary producer Maniac, who around this time was making futuristic beats for some of the fiercest MCs on the circuit, from Black The Ripper (RIP) to Wiley to Tinchy Stryder.

“The weatherman predicted it,” warns Stutta at the start of the song. “So put on your coats, put on your hats, put on your scarfs, your Thinsulate gloves.”

Every November, when the temperature drops that bit closer to freezing — like it did today — and it becomes that bit more difficult to leave the house, I run this track in preparation for festive hibernation.

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