For the majority of those outside the city, the story of Birmingham’s – and to a more general extent, the Midlands’ – close-knit relationship with grime music remains largely untold, aside from the occasional watershed moment: Devilman & Skepta’s mic clash on Lord Of The Mics Vol.2 and Sox & Kozzie’s clash on Lord Of The Mics Vol. 3 years later being the two most obvious.

Thanks to crews like Invasion and Stay Fresh, the crew with whom Preditah first earned his producer and DJ Stripes, as well as the growth of independent YouTube media channels like P110, the relationship between London and Birmingham has gradually started to shift.

At the heart of it all are Invasion Alert – a crew further united by the tragic death of brilliant young MC Depzman in 2013 – who have never failed to impress. Just a brief glimpse at our recent session including the 10-man strong team and seasoned vets, Ghetto and Kano, was testament to their talent and unbridled energy.

Boiler Room travelled to Birmingham before the event to meet up with the Invasion contingent and experience the coach journey down to London with them. Between bouts of banter and a repeating Logan Sama mix CD, the crew started sparring back and forth over a beat by Faze Miyake. The result was a feisty warm up with exclusive content from Sox, JayKae and co.