RL Grime has spent over a decade quietly becoming one of the most essential architects of modern electronic music. Whether you discovered him through a festival set, a late-night playlist, or a friend who wouldn’t stop playing VOID, Henry Steinway’s project remains one of the few in the bass music world that feels genuinely cinematic. These aren’t just club tracks — they’re emotional landscapes wrapped in sub-bass and atmosphere. This list of the 20 best songs of RL Grime pulls from his entire catalog, from early trap experiments to his most recent PLAY series releases, giving you a genuine guide to the music that made him a legend. If you want to experience these tracks the way they’re meant to be heard, check out our headphone comparison guide — RL Grime’s low-end deserves proper equipment.
Core
Released on VOID in 2014, “Core” is the kind of track that earns its placement as an album opener through sheer weight and intention. The production moves with deliberate restraint at first — layered synths building tension before the drop hits with a gravity that feels almost physical. What makes “Core” so enduring isn’t just the engineering; it’s how Steinway establishes his sonic identity in under four minutes. The atmospheric pads, the compressed percussion, the sense of something enormous held just barely in check — it’s a mission statement disguised as a banger.
UCLA
“UCLA” from Nova (2018) hits differently depending on where you are in life. Lyrically minimal, emotionally enormous, the track captures something about longing and displacement that few electronic tracks manage without vocals doing the heavy lifting. The production is warm but melancholic — a nostalgic quality baked into the chord progressions and the way the mix breathes around the drums. On headphones, the stereo field on this one feels genuinely immersive.
I Wanna Know
Nova gave us a lot of RL Grime’s finest work, and “I Wanna Know” is among its most emotionally resonant tracks. The vocal chops are used as texture rather than melody, threading through the mix without ever overpowering the production’s architecture. There’s a cinematic quality to the tension-and-release structure here that rewards close listening — this is music that builds slowly before delivering something that feels genuinely earned.
Formula
The standalone Formula EP (2019) showed RL Grime expanding his sound vocabulary in real time. The title track is relentless in its forward momentum, with a rhythmic structure that borrows from trap but executes with a precision more common in techno. The layering on “Formula” is extraordinary — elements drop in and out of the mix with surgical timing, creating a sense of dynamic control that separates great electronic production from merely competent work.
Valhalla
“Valhalla” from VOID (2014) became a defining track of the mid-2010s festival circuit for very good reason. The drop is one of the most satisfying in bass music history — not because it’s the most complex, but because everything before it earns that release so completely. The Norse mythology undertones in the sound design give the track an epic quality that still holds up a decade later. If you’re exploring the best of this era, our roundup of top songs across genres offers excellent context for where RL Grime fit in the landscape.
Stay For It
“Stay For It” (2016) is RL Grime operating at his most emotionally direct. The production softens without losing its edge — there’s a tenderness in the mix here that feels rare for the genre. The vocal treatment is gorgeous, processed just enough to feel otherworldly while remaining distinctly human. It’s the track you’d play for someone who thinks they don’t like electronic music and watch them change their mind.
Undo
From Nova (2018), “Undo” showcases RL Grime’s ability to build atmosphere through texture rather than melody. The mid-range elements have a tactile quality — you can almost feel the production’s surface. The drums sit deep in the mix, creating a sense of weight that makes the track feel grounded even when the synth work gets abstract. It’s meticulous studio craftsmanship dressed up as club music.
Pressure
“Pressure” from Nova earns its title through production philosophy rather than concept alone. The track applies constant sonic tension — elements competing for space in a mix that somehow never collapses into chaos. The mastering on Nova as an album is exceptional, and “Pressure” might be the clearest showcase of what Steinway and his engineers achieved in that studio period. For this kind of dynamic range, a quality pair of earbuds makes a real difference — our earbud comparison guide is worth checking before your next listening session.
Take It Away
“Take It Away” from Nova (2018) is RL Grime at his most kinetic. The production never fully settles — there’s always something in motion, always a new element entering the frame. Rather than a traditional drop structure, this track feels more like a continuous escalation, building energy that compounds rather than releases. It’s the kind of track that makes a long drive feel electric.
Feel Free
“Feel Free” from Nova carries the emotional peak of the album. There’s a genuine euphoria in the production here — not the manufactured uplift of commercial EDM, but something more complex and harder to name. The chord work underneath the surface percussion is particularly beautiful, giving the track a harmonic richness that reveals itself fully only on repeated listens. This is music that rewards investment.
SMACK TALK
Released on 4EVR in 2024, “SMACK TALK” signals RL Grime firmly in a new creative chapter. The production is sharper and more aggressive than his Nova work, with a confidence that comes from an artist who’s stopped trying to prove himself and started enjoying the space he’s earned. The track is direct, punchy, and built for maximum impact in large venues — a reminder that Steinway can still deliver pure adrenaline when he chooses.
Light Me Up
“Light Me Up” from Nova (2018) balances tension and release with the precision of a Swiss watch. The title is somewhat ironic — this is a dark track with luminous elements threaded through it, and that contrast is exactly what makes it compelling. The production creates a sense of scale that feels genuinely cinematic, like a film score that’s been taken to the club.
Infinite Daps
Released in 2013 on its own EP, “Infinite Daps” is essential catalog for understanding RL Grime’s trajectory. The track is rawer and more trap-forward than his later work, showing the foundation he was building from. There’s a scrappy energy here that his more polished work inevitably smoothed out — not a loss, but a trade-off worth acknowledging. Revisiting it now feels like finding old photos of someone who went on to do extraordinary things.
Reims
“Reims” from Nova does something unusual for electronic music — it evokes a specific physical place without relying on obvious sonic clichés. The production is spacious and slightly melancholic, with a European quality in its harmonic choices that fits the city’s historic weight. It’s a deeply atmospheric piece that rewards listening with eyes closed and nowhere to be.
Atoms
“Atoms” from Nova (2018) works on two scales simultaneously — it feels both intimate and enormous. The sound design explores the space between notes as much as the notes themselves, creating a track that’s as much about silence and restraint as it is about the elements that fill the mix. It’s one of the album’s most intellectually interesting moments.
Shrine
“Shrine” from Nova is appropriately named. The production carries a ceremonial quality — deliberate, weighty, and deeply serious without being inaccessible. The bass frequencies here are particularly impressive; they move air in a way that headphones can approximate but a proper sound system delivers completely. If you’ve only heard this track through laptop speakers, you owe yourself a proper listen.
Outta Here
Released on Sable Valley Summer Vol. 1 (2020), “Outta Here” came at a time when RL Grime was also establishing his Sable Valley label as a genuine creative ecosystem. The track has a summery looseness that contrasts with the tighter Nova material, showing range and comfort with different emotional registers. It’s optimistic electronic music made by someone who knows exactly what they’re doing.
I Am The Ocean
From PLAY: GRID (2023), “I Am The Ocean” showcases RL Grime’s most recent creative direction. The PLAY series marked a deliberate expansion into new territory, and this track captures something genuinely emotional without sacrificing production intensity. The title’s grandeur is earned — this is music that feels as expansive as its name suggests.
Because of U
Released in 2013, “Because of U” predates VOID and offers a glimpse at the emotional instincts that would define Steinway’s best work. The track is more vulnerable than his later productions, less armored by elaborate sound design. That directness is its strength — it’s RL Grime with fewer layers between the feeling and the listener.
The Fire
Closing this list with “The Fire” (2013), one of the earliest tracks that showed RL Grime’s instinct for building music that feels genuinely primal. The energy here is raw and forward-leaning, all momentum and impact. It’s the kind of track that reminds you why bass music connected with so many people in the first place — not because it’s complicated, but because it’s honest.
Frequently Asked Questions
What genre does RL Grime make?
RL Grime primarily works in trap and bass music, with significant influences from hip-hop, cinematic scoring, and ambient electronic music. His sound has evolved from pure trap production in the early 2010s toward a more hybrid style that incorporates elements of atmospheric house and orchestral composition, particularly on the Nova album and the PLAY series.
What is RL Grime’s best album?
Most fans and critics point to Nova (2018) as his finest full-length work. The album is remarkably cohesive for a bass music project, functioning as a continuous listening experience rather than a collection of singles. Tracks like UCLA, Shrine, Feel Free, and Reims work together to create something genuinely album-sized in ambition.
Who is RL Grime in real life?
RL Grime is the stage name of Henry Steinway, an American DJ and producer born in Los Angeles. He co-founded the Sable Valley record label, which has become an important home for emerging bass music artists. He studied at the University of Southern California before pursuing music full time.
What is RL Grime’s most streamed song?
Valhalla and Stay For It consistently rank among his most-played tracks across streaming platforms, with Nova tracks like UCLA also accumulating significant numbers. SMACK TALK from the 2024 4EVR release has been tracking strongly since its release.
Is RL Grime still making music?
Yes — RL Grime has remained active with the PLAY series releases including PLAY: GRID and PLAY: APEX in 2023, and the 4EVR project in 2024. He continues to tour internationally and release material through Sable Valley.
What makes RL Grime’s production style unique?
His production is distinguished by the cinematic scale of his arrangements, his willingness to use silence and restraint rather than filling every frequency at every moment, and his ability to create emotional depth within a genre often accused of emotional shallowness. The dynamic range in his mixes is exceptional, and his instinct for tension-and-release structure is closer to film scoring than typical club music.