Back in June, I wrote a piece on grime’s struggle to gain a foothold in the US. In 2015, the music press predicted that grime would start making waves in the US – that it would be the banner year in which grime finally crossed the pond and stayed put. The press’ reasoning wasn’t unfounded – after all, Kanye stormed the stage with Section Boyz at the Brits.

But in 2015, none of those predictions came true.

The media changed its tune on the eve of 2016. Withe the slow but steady success of Skepta in the US, combined with Drake signing to Boy Better Know, it seemed that now North America was ready for grime – for real this time.

That didn’t happen.

2016 was a great year for Skepta and grime in general, evidenced by his Mercury Prize win and excellent releases by some of grime’s newcomers and vanguard. Despite receiving critical acclaim in the US, no grime artist has ever won an American award for their music. The press was wrong yet again.

Now that the Coachella and Governors Ball lineups are out, and as more festival bill announcements will continue throughout the coming weeks, the British press will likely say that 2017 is really the year that grime becomes more than a novelty to Americans.

Culture Devourer takes the opposite stance. 2017 will not be the year that grime takes the US by storm. This isn’t a pessimistic observation – I’d love nothing more for Americans to become as enraptured by grime as I have – but history has shown that US audiences have a brief crush on grime only to become entranced by something else. American listeners will react to grime as they always have – a tepid love affair followed by selective memory loss.

However, it’s a pretty big deal that both Stormzy and Skepta are playing major festivals in the US this year. It might not mean that grime is finally taking hold here in the States, but it does mean that bookers, who influence audiences, are paying closer attention to grime. This signifies that this year, the amount of people listening to grime will likely increase.

The press has a tendency to get ahead of themselves, and while this is certainly an interesting development for the future of the distinctly British style of music, it’s important that we look at this realistically and with a critical eye.

I do admit that Skepta playing SXSW for the past two years was an improvement for grime’s status in America. But we haven’t seen any more tangible signs that he’s made strides in the US – and in all honesty, he probably doesn’t need to. He’s enjoyed huge success in the UK and seems content to remain in their spotlight. Skepta’s British and proud of it – he’s never afraid to let his roots show.

We should also recognize that even if Skepta and Stormzy do end up advancing the genre in the US, it’s because they worked for it – relentlessly honing their craft and talents to cut excellent records that remain true to who they are.

In addition, we need to remember that there’s more to grime than these two MCs. While I don’t doubt their importance in the slightest, if America is going to get serious about grime, we need to understand that it’s a genre that encompasses a diversity of artists and styles. We need to listen to Dizzee and Wiley; Sir Spyro and P Money; Mz. Dynamite and Lady Leshurr.

There’s no doubt that grime is once again on an upward trajectory in the US, but as good critics, we must carefully consider and fully analyze what this means for the London genre’s future.