20 Years Of Hype
From blogging in the early 2000s to collecting physical media in a digital world. I'm going back to my roots thanks to this beautiful platform.
Twenty years ago, I started a blog called HYPERFRANK.
Not as a wild attempt at building a career or a media brand, but out of a deep love and connection to a scene that was just as young as me. At the time, none of it was popular: grime, UK underground music, or digital media. But there was no question about it, I had to get involved. First as a listener and a fan, and then, once I realised the gaps in support for the scene, I picked up skills on a DIY flex and got active. I helped put on events, book and pay talent, platform creatives and artists, captured live events all over the UK in my cheeky little Peugeot, and took along people I met at shows for our own grime road trips. At first, my blog was a way to share my radio rips, silly photoshops (that now would be called memes) and ridiculous takes on grime.
Back then, I was hyper about grime, hyper about live music, hyper about what was happening in real time. It was raw and unedited (with grammar and spelling that would make your nan cry), built in a moment when very few people were really documenting grime, Black British music and underground music in general. Big salutes to Chantelle Fiddy, the original blog legend, and of course RWD Magazine, Troy Miller, Risky Roadz, Capo & Ratty, Jacqueline Springer, Eddie Otchere, Hattie Collins, Simon Wheatley, Hip-Hop Connection, Big Smoke Magazine and many others who were doing the work way before me, when most people weren’t even paying attention.
Back then, the intention was simple. Once I realised more than my friends on MSN Messenger were viewing my blog, I wanted to elevate the scene, protect the culture, and document what was happening as it lived and breathed. I wanted the world to experience the power of the music and the genuine people behind it.
Over the years, that work has taken many forms. Writing across major mainstream platforms, launching TRENCH Magazine with Joseph “JP” Patterson to support emerging writers, photographers and amplify new and heritage stories, built a personal photography archive through low-budget digital cameras and charity shop point-and-shoot film cameras. Taught myself how to develop and produce documentaries from researcher level all the way to archive producer. Alongside that, in my own time, I’ve been collecting the memorabilia many people were throwing away. Magazines, flyers, wristbands, photography, footage, posters. Basically anything I could store away, I kept.
At first, I didn’t really understand why. Maybe I was just a hoarder. But over time I’ve realised these ‘things’ hold memories far beyond me. Every time I’ve discovered a physical photo, it unlocks a encyclopedia of interconnected stories, people and songs I had completely forgotten about. They hold a version of me too, chaotic, carefree, some one deeply lost in the music, chasing dopamine, and healing grief through sonics, connection and hype. I get flown right back to these early days, when I see a new or emerging MC get one of their first reloads. And while I still feel that excitement deeply, I have realised there has been a shift in my spirit over the years.
When I’ve done some deep inventory and attempted to push through my own personal development, ADHD, the Cozzie Liv and this political climate, I’ve realised that in trying to not miss the moment, I’ve left behind my ‘why’.
Back when I first started I was a teenager and capturing moments never felt like “content”. I was present. I was in it. I was there for the music first, the community and connection came with that. Recently I’ve felt myself turning up to events and spaces, with zero excitement, with my full focus on keeping up with the speed of content rather than showing up for the culture. And let’s be honest, once you lose your excitement and your ‘why’, you’re on a long road to burnout, unhappiness, and being driven by algorithms instead of heart.
By showing up in real life, I’ve been blessed to meet so many people who share that deep connection to the scene. I’ve built close relationships and a tight-knit community through our shared love of UK underground music, collecting, and sharing resources.
This Substack is a return to my roots, my blogging era and back to the energy that brought me here in the first place. Just now, I have twenty years of archive to dig through, hype, experience, stories, access and a whole lot of responsibility behind it. Too bad I didn’t pick up better grammar on my travels, but there’s still time.
This space also allows me also to have some accountability into digging into my personal photography, organising and scanning my negatives and revisiting images that have never been shared before. Sharing the process and skills as I learn to digitalise things from scratch. I’ll also be gradually moving through my collection of UK underground magazines, highlighting key articles, iconic covers, forgotten features and significant print moments. I’m also keen to deliver candid deep dives into my new series Frank Archives, exploring the episodes and the quiet, intimate talks that sit behind them. Creating a space where people’s personal collections are given the room to have their stories told, matters deeply to me.
Photo by Christopher Cargill
These objects aren’t valuable because they can be resold. They’re priceless because they hold joy, memory and a whole life within them. They hold community history and evidence of a moment in time that really happened. They are proof of an energy, and sound and a culture as it was lived, not as it was packaged and retold for consumption.
So much of history disappears quietly. Hard drives fail. Websites collapse. Photos, as well as archive, are lost in moves, floods, fires, mould and a lack of space. Stories fade when they’re not held properly. This work is about slowing down, sitting with things, sitting with people, and letting their stories breathe and be held with care.
I started Frank Archives because so much UK underground culture has been misunderstood, repackaged, or stripped of its original voice for engagement, disconnected from the people that were there in the room, their art and the detailed stories that goes alongside them. Often work is reposted without credit and without care. I say this as someone who too has been guilty of this. This project is about reconnecting with people I’ve met along this journey, diving into their personal music and cultural collections, and hearing the memories tied to their important artefacts.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
I’ve been trying to work out how best to utilise this platform without gatekeeping and putting up barriers to entry, ethically that’s never the vibe. However with full transparency archiving, sourcing and production does add up, so support (if you’re able to) with that is always appreciated. I’m going to make all key posts accessible to all subscribers (both free & paid), however there will be added perks for paid subscribers without taking away from the accessibility.
I’ll be sharing:
Frank Archives Series deep dives.
Each Frank Archives episode scans & collections.
My personal rare & unseen photography from 2006 - 2026 [still shooting].
Scans from my personal music, fashion & culture magazine collection.
Behind-the-scenes thoughts and photos of the process.
Cultural essays and reflections on music and beyond.
Sharing more physical media like vinyl, CDs, DVDs & cassette tapes.
Sharing legendary radio sets, iconic mixtapes, songs, freestyle videos & interviews.
Digging into my past blog & journalism articles.
Audio recordings of my archive talks & music discussions.
AND A WHOLE LOT MORE …
PAID SUBSCRIPTIONS - £5 Monthly / Annual
Everything in the free subscription, plus:
Anyone that chooses to support the preservation and growth of this work, will be helping me continue building the collection, champion and elevate voices. Keeping things FRESH and able to level up.
Expand in the real world. Contributing allows me space to expand, from doing talks and exhibitions to covering the start up costs of putting a DIY zine together of the Frank Archives Series. Paid Subscribers will of course be given priority access.
FOUNDING ARCHIVISTS SUBSCRIPTION - £130 A Year
All the above, plus:
Your name will be featured during each Frank Archives series episode to thank you for your support.
Access to giveaways and competitions to build or add to your own collections. This will include books, zines, posters, stickers, flyers, prints and other items from the last 40 years.
Support with sourcing specific items you’re looking for and amplifying call outs to the community and my connections.
Founding Archivists will be told beforehand which artist, DJ, producer, creative or fan will feature in each episode and have the opportunity to ask questions and add themes.
I’m still hyper about GRIME. Now I’m just as hyper about ARCHIVING.
If documenting the UK music with heart matters to you, this space is for you.
Thank you for all the love and support, today and over the decades.
— Hyperfrank 💜