Woofah Issue 2 - Dancehall Reviews

My dancehall reviews for the second issue of the excellent reggae, grime and dubstep fanzine Woofah, which came out last month. It also features excellent pieces on Ninjaman, Iration Steppas, Durrty Goodz and (the lack of) live grime events in London - buy it here.

Beenie Man - No No
Fambo - Happ'n
Vybz Kartel - Money Fi Spend
Big Ship - Bee Hive Riddim
Though still a teenager, Stephen McGregor (son of the reggae singer Freddie) has already earned the nickname 'Di Genius' thanks to his prodigious talents - he wrote his first song at five and played five instruments by the age of ten. Recently, his futuristic, uptempo productions like Tremor, Power Cut, Red Bull & Guinness and Ghetto Whiskey have been among the biggest riddims in the dancehall world. The Bee Hive riddim retains McGregor's trademark synths but here he changes up his style, looking back to the 90s with a slower-paced foundation ragga beat, ased around grinding, whirring percussion. Dancehall veteran Future Troubles continues his renaissance since renaming himself Fambo while big hitters Beenie Man and Vybz Kartel drop the stand-out vocals on the riddim.

Buju Banton - Flava
Elephant Man - Wife Material
Timberlee & Ward 21 - Bubble Like Soup
Ward 21 - Rae Riddim
The multi-talented and Ward 21 crew produce the goods once again with a hype, staccato rhythm punctuated by exuberant shouts of 'Rae', which also pays more than a cursory debt to 90s styles. Underrated female artist Timberlee teams up with riddim creators Ward 21 for my favourite vocal, though it's hard to choose between the others. Vybz Kartel and Mad Cobra deserve a mention, though ultimately it's got to be about Buju Banton and Elephant Man, their low-slung voices riding the riddim flawlessly in a rapid-fire style. Buju especially is perfectly at home; the cadences of foundation dancehall bring out a style of his that I prefer infinitely to his singing over one-drop reggae.

MP3: Timberlee & Ward 21 - Bubble Like Soup

Chukki Starr - Party Wid Me
Lady Chann - Ease Off
Starrdom - Party Time riddim
Brand new production from English dancehall veteran Chukki Starr, with vocals from himself and Suncycle's Lady Chann aka Baby Chann. The rhythm track isn't outstanding and lacks a certain gloss that the top level Jamaican productions have, but the beat bounces along nicely, propelled by congas and skipping hi-hats. Chukki Starr combines bubbling vocals with a plea to bring no trouble to the party and have a good time, but it's Chann who takes the riddim with her super-tight flow and engaging lyrics. Her clever, self-referential wordplay takes in slackness, tongue-in-cheek badgalisms like, "cap your knees off with my sweet talk" and even a call to revolution while her style and pattern never falters.

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Friday 11 April 2008