FILM: Ghetts – ‘War of the Minds’

This new documentary about the East London grime artist Ghetts takes an avant-garde approach to its subject, and is told from the perspective of his three personalities: Ghetto, Ghetts and Justin. Throughout War of the Minds it’s clear that this has never been an easy journey for the man born Justin Clarke, with numerous challenges to overcome, not least the conflicting voices in his head.

Produced by Sudden Black Productions in collaboration with Disrupt Ltd, the 30 minute film combines interviews with live footage from Ghetts’ performance at the Macbeth in Hoxton last year – a show that was part of Jack Daniel’s ‘Jack Rocks’ campaign (who also helped to fund the film). The performance reveals a completely new and developed form of grime; hearing one of its pioneers push the genre’s boundaries by playing with a live band suggests some intriguing possibilities.

Guest appearances from fellow artists such as Devlin reveal what it’s like to work with the various sides of Ghetts, while family members say that they are only ever introduced to one – Justin. Since the birth of his daughter, Justin has had to adapt to being a father and at times subdue the Ghetto side of his personality in order to avoid confrontation. During a Q&A after the film he spoke about grime as a “very competitive sport”, and one that Ghetto will always win, though he feels at times he is “cheating on fans” by being these three different people.

War of the Minds is a clever film and succeeds in connecting the viewer with its subject’s three personalities and sympathising with the frustration of having to work with such a fractured creative mine, both for Ghetts and those working with him.

Christina John-Rockett
@CJohnRockett