All Eyes On Post: The GRM Daily CEO Championing UK Music, Culture, and Black Excellence

Not just an entrepreneur and media mogul, Koby ‘Post’ Hagan, the founder of GRM Daily, is a visionary at heart. As we celebrate the 15th anniversary of GRM Daily, Post’s legacy is one of setting new trends, raising standards, and pioneering a fresh approach to the appreciation of the arts.

Since the platform launch and humble beginnings in 2009, GRM Daily has been dedicated to showcasing the best talent in the Hip Hop, Grime, and Rap industry. Now amassing over 6 billion views on YouTube, GRM Daily pays homage to Black British music, a rich culture that has historically been sidelined and under-appreciated by other major platforms. In 2021, GRM Daily published the most-watched UK music video of the year on its YouTube channel: ‘Body Remix‘ by Russ Millions and Tion Wayne. The track achieved top-ten status and even went platinum.

As Stormzy once said, Koby ‘Post’ Hagan is the genius brainchild behind ‘the holy grail of Black British music,’ embodying the definition of a true trailblazer. GRM Daily continues to be the epicenter for discovering new artists, with the likes of Headie One, Aitch, Central Cee, and D Block Europe all launching their successful careers with the support of the GRM. These breakthroughs underscore Post’s exceptional ability to spot grassroots talent and have laid the groundwork for the industry.

Offline, Post continues his mission of celebrating and championing artists through the annual GRM Gala. The prestigious awards show held each summer honours Black excellence and gathers prominent figures from the entertainment and music industries. Attendees have included names like Little Simz, Stormzy, Ashley Walters, Central Cee, Daniel Kaluuya, and Maya Jama.

In building GRM, Post has been a relentless advocate for British music, helping numerous artists along the way. As one of the first Black British media moguls, his entrepreneurial spirit has united people to create a platform that elevates and celebrates UK music and culture.

We speak to Post about his influence on music culture, career highlights, future innovation and the upcoming GRM Gala awards.

Hi Post, thanks for taking the time to speak with us. So tell us, how did the creation of GRM Daily come about?

I feel like from when Channel AKA was super popular and things moved over to the internet, we as founders recognised the power of the internet very early on and were one of the first users and admirers of YouTube. We just wanted to transfer UK music culture onto the internet, and luckily we did it at a time where there was such a gap in the market that it was received well.

How do you think GRM Daily has impacted the UK music scene, especially in Hip Hop, Grime and Rap?

I feel like it’s just been super pivotal for upcoming artists because it gives people an opportunity to connect with a massive audience that they might not necessarily have, if they step out on their own. It’s a community that is based on eccentric Rap and Grime music lovers, and gives people the opportunity to connect with people that they might not have the opportunity to. It’s had many desired results for a lot of upcoming artists who are now massive established artists, and it’s been a recurring theme for many years.

How has GRM Daily evolved since it began, and what major changes have you seen on the platform?

There’s much more now, I don’t think much has changed. I think the level of content or the quality of stuff that we produce is better. Naturally, the more you do something, the more you get better at it. But the same themes have always applied since our foundation. I mean, since we launched we had Daily Duppy, which is still one of the biggest freestyle shows in the world. Crep Check, all these random little content themes. But they’ve grown. We had interviews before, I used to interview people in the street, now I interview people in a Rolls Royce randomly. So it’s kind of like the same things, but things just look better and are better.

Looking back at 15 years of GRM Daily, what are your proudest moments and key achievements?

I think that meeting people that share the same vision as me and believe in what our platform’s about. The people I work with, the people we work with, the audience that take to our content. I think that’s our proudest achievement, actually doing something or fulfilling a purpose that people care about. That they enjoy and are entertained by, I think is bigger than anything else really.

What inspired you to create the GRM Gala, and why do you think it’s important to celebrate Black excellence in the UK?

I went to the Roc Nation brunch once and three weeks later, it was the first annual Gala. We organised it in three weeks and the reason behind that was when I was there I experienced a level of luxury and hosting, and it just felt like the best day of my life, to be honest. I thought, wow, like I’m lucky enough to be here and I would

love for my peers, people I respect, and people I know to experience something of a similar stature or a similar experience. It’s just a nice way to celebrate people we work with and people who have been the foundation in terms of where we have come from and where we are going. Just to be honest, it’s just an excuse to have a good time. But with people we respect and admire as well, and I wanted them all to feel that experience at one time.

What drives you to invest in other UK businesses like Nala’s Baby, and how do you decide which ventures to support?

For me, I wouldn’t say I’m the biggest investor in the world, but I do invest in things I believe in. I think Krept, as a young man who I’ve known for 15 years, he was a rapper and out of the blue he came out with a whole skin & hair care line. As a young Black man to go through that thought process and create something that he felt was like a necessity which no one has done before, I just found that incredible and amazing. For me, it just felt like a no-brainer because I saw somebody doing something so positive and innovative. I just wanted to support it, to be honest, because it just made so much sense. So that’s more where my investment comes from, from a place of passion and respect as opposed to anything else. Things I believe in.

Looking to the future, what’s next for GRM Daily and what new projects or initiatives are you planning?

We’ve got a few documentaries coming out, a few live events coming out. Obviously, we’ve got the Gala coming up next week. Amazing content, lots of freestyles, lots of interviews, lots of nice, innovative things. If you stay tuned, you might find out.