Terror Danjah, pioneering grime producer, dies

Legendary grime producer Terror Danjah has died. 

News of the influential East London artist born Rodney Pryce’s death was first shared by scene peer D Power Diesle via X on Monday, 10th February. “Sad sad news”, he wrote. “Terror Danjah has unfortunately passed away. God bless all his family, I will let you know when I know more.” No cause of death has been disclosed at the time of writing.

Pryce had faced serious health issues in recent years, including a period of critical illness in 2019 which left him in a coma for some time. Pryce’s family is yet to publicly confirm the news of his passing, but tributes have been paid from numerous collaborators and affiliates in the scene to the pioneering artist.

Terror Danjah is regarded as one of, if not the, best grime producers of all time, with his 2009 ‘Frontline’ instrumental remix often being said to be his most crucial release. An active member of the scene since grime’s early days in the early 2000s, he collaborated with N.A.S.T.Y. Crew, working with the likes of Wiley, Kano, Jammer, D Double E and more, as well as key labels Aftershock and Butterz.

Pryce is credited with pioneering the sub-genre Rhythm & Grime (R&G), which meshes the sounds of R&B with grime, alongside DaVinChe and Scratcha DVA. His ‘So Sure‘ track with Kano and Sadie Ama was deemed one of grime’s true breakout singles. Terror Danjah told Pitchfork in 2017 that after the release of ‘So Sure’: “Crazy Titch said to me, ‘Stop doing the girl tunes and get back to making them hard riddims.’ Roughly six months later, he was like: ‘Oi, Terror! I need a ladies’ tune.’ [Laughs] At least Titch was honest, but everyone eventually embraced the sound.”

Terror Danjah’s debut solo LP was the ‘Gremlinz (The Instrumentals 2003-2009)’ for Planet Mu, which was followed by full-lengths for Hyperdub and his own Hardive Records. Among his many collaborations, he teamed up with Four Tet for the 2014 single ‘Killer / Nasty‘. His last LP was 2019’s ‘Invasion’ for Tru Thoughts. His public output halted after his 2019 illness. 

Tributes to Terror Danjah have been pouring in on Reddit and social media from fans, artists and industry figures alike. Read some below, and revisit some of his discography on Bandcamp.