The Heatwave Chart - May 2009

• By Gabriel_Heatwave | 
• Tuesday 12 May 2009 | 
• 2 comments | 
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This month's number one comes from an unlikely source: reggaeton/drum'n'bass DJ turned funky house producer Sami Sanchez.

I first met Sami when he played at our dancehall/reggaeton night Heatwave vs Mas Fuego a few years ago. Last year he started making funky house and quickly got an arsenal of big tunes under his belt, the biggest of which is undoubtedly Dirty Trumpet.

We linked up late last year with a view to getting some Jamaican vocalists to record on his productions and I've also been playing out my own live blends with dancehall acapellas, to great effect.

In an incredibly sad twist, Sami was recently attacked outside a club he was playing at and is currently in hospital in a critical condition. My most positive thoughts and prayers are with him...

Dirty Trumpet is an energetic, electronic stormer that despite being unreleased and little known, was noticeably one of the biggest tunes I played out in Bristol and London last weekend. The crowds loved it, with the breakdowns, drops and powerful horns ramping up the hype even without the Vybz Kartel vocals I blended over the instrumental.

The rest of my top ten for May is dominated by the fruits of the bashment/UK funky crossover which I wrote about recently. Aidonia's autotuned vocal of Inflation by Crazy Cousinz is paving the way for Jamaican MCs on funky house productions. Meanwhile, Grievous Angel and Ill Blu's remixes of grime/bassline tracks by Riko and Shystie (pictured) respectively are bringing London patois flows to UK funky in an entirely pleasing way.

Lady Chann & Sticky's follow up to the incredible Your Eye Too Fast, Sticky Situation, has more of a garagey swing to it than Sticky's recent productions, while Chann's rhymes give it bashment bounce. Our dancehall remix of Donaeo's Party Hard is still one of the biggest tunes in any dance we play, so it sneaks back into the top ten this month as I've just made it available for download.

Some further UK influence on Jamaican music can be seen in Ward 21's take on dubstep, Bang Bang. On last week's Rinse FM show I featured a bunch of experimental dubstep/electro productions from them along with some classic grimey bashment from this talented crew of producers and MCs (pictured below). You can download the podcast if you missed it.

Straight up dancehall is represented by Sean Paul, Baby Cham and a Beenie Man collaboration with Busta Rhymes. So Fine, produced by Stephen McGregor, is the first single from Sean Paul's new album Imperial Blaze, which is due out this summer. Baby Cham's Recession is a socially and financially conscious vocal on a fairly uptempo but brooding production, while Beenie and Busta get together in style on Black Shadow's minimal Swagg riddim.

1. Sami Sanchez - Dirty Trumpet listen
2. Aidonia & Crazy Cousinz - Bounce (Inflation Riddim) download
3. Shystie & Sub Zero - Pull It/Bad Gal Bass (Ill Blu Remix) listen
4. Riko Dan & Grievous Angel - Ice Rink Refix listen on our Rinse show
5. Lady Chann & Sticky - Sticky Situation listen
6. Baby Cham - Recession listen
7. Ward 21 - Bang Bang listen on our Rinse show
8. Beenie Man & Busta Rhymes - Giggle (Swagg Riddim) listen
9. Sean Paul - So Fine listen
10. Donaeo, Danny English, Rubi Dan, Capleton & Vybz Kartel - Party Harder (The Heatwave Refix) download

• By Gabriel_Heatwave | 
• Tuesday 12 May 2009 | 
• 2 comments | 
•