An England Story (Mix)

An official compilation version of this mix was released in March 2008 by Soul Jazz Records on double CD and quadruple vinyl. The mix itself was originally recorded for the Blogariddims podcast series.

We've always had an interest in local talent and from when we started buying records in the '90s we were drawn to rappers like Blak Twang, Rodney P and Roots Manuva, whose lyrics described life in urban Britain and made reference to the peculiarities of British culture. The received wisdom then was that MCing could only be done well by Americans and at the time many UK rappers seemed compelled to adopt mid-Atlantic accents. We felt, and still feel, that one of the best ways in which British MCs can really and fashion their own identity was and is to draw on the unique relationship that the UK has with the Caribbean.

Many of the artists featured here have Jamaican or other Caribbean roots, and even those without (e.g. Apache Indian or YT) invariably adopt some Jamaican linguistic and musical stylings, reflecting the dominance of Jamaican-derived slang and music in urban Britain. (Nearly all of the artists here are from London, Bristol or Birmingham). Of course, the profusion of Caribbean styles also reflects our own personal tastes and the fact that we play more dancehall than anything else. We wanted to show in this mix that MCs in the UK have consistently excelled over the past three decades and produced a wealth of brilliant and often groundbreaking music.

While MC-based music in Britain is no longer in the rude health it enjoyed in the '80s, when a hit British reggae record could sell tens of thousands of copies, the likes of YT, Suncycle and Tubby T are still getting recognition for their UK-based take on Jamaican sounds. The reggae/dancehall influence is also strong in UK hip hop, grime and jungle and the original dancehall format remains remarkably unchanged. Young men doing battle by spitting bars at each other over sparse, grimey beats is exactly what was happening back at the height of the soundclash era. Featuring MCs spitting over reggae, dancehall, hip hop, trip hop, grime, jungle and even breaks, An England Story offers a lineage of British artists that leads from Papa Levi and Smiley Culture to Dizzee Rascal and Wiley.

An England Story is our personal take on the history of MCing in England, and this mix by no means purports to be a definitive or chronological account of the past 20+ years. But it has ended up including tracks from most years since 1984 and as far as possible we've tried to represent all the big players. For reasons of space and also of not having material on vinyl, we've had to exclude tracks from the likes of of Deman Rockers, Asher Senator, Roots Manuva and London Posse - there's more than enough material for several other mixes, and a volume two is definitely in the pipeline...

Tracklist

  1. YT - England Story, Sleng Teng remix (Sativa Records, 2006)
  2. Kenny Knots - Watch How The People Dancing (Unity Sounds, 1986)
  3. Ackie - Call Me Rambo (Heavyweight, 1986)
  4. Rodney P - Riddim Killa (Low Life, 2002)
  5. Estelle & Joni Rewind - Uptown Top Rankin' (Ill Flava, 2002)
  6. Blak Twang - Red Letters (Blakjam, 1998)
  7. Top Cat - Love Me Ses (Dance Vibes, 1988)
  8. Glamma Kid - Fashion Magazine (Mafia & Fluxy, 1995)
  9. General Levy - The Wig (Fashion, 1992)
  10. Tubby T - Ready She Ready (Big League, 2003)
  11. LD aka Da Riddla - Peace Ah Dat (Freedom Sounds, 2004)
  12. Apache Indian - Chok There, Bombay remix (Island, 1993)
  13. Jay Sean, Juggy D & Rishi Rich - Dance With You, Diwali remix (Relentless, 2003)
  14. Dynamite MC & Emptyheads - Shake, Jstar remix (Surface2air, 2006)
  15. Troublesome - More Girls, R'n'B mix (Mafia & Fluxy, 2000)
  16. Yungun - Push (Heatwave special, 2005)
  17. Shizzle - Rotate Dem (Kray Twinz, 2006)
  18. Roll Deep - When I'm 'Ere (Relentless, 2005)
  19. Slew Dem feat Jammer, G Man, Shorty Smalls, Ears, Chronik, Kraze & Knuckles - Joy Ride (Slew Dem, 2006)
  20. Rossi B & Luca - Run 4 Cover (white label, 2005)
  21. Klashnekoff - Jamrock Freestyle (white label, 2005)
  22. Tippa Irie - Complain Neighbour (UK Bubblers, 1985)
  23. Papa Levi - My God My King (Taxi, 1984) - watch video
  24. Tenor Fly - Bump & Grind (9 Lives, 1994)
  25. Massive Attack - Daydreaming (Wild Bunch, 1990)
  26. Skibadee - Tika Toc (Ahead Of The Game, 2006)
  27. Lady Sovereign & Riko - Random, Menta remix (Casual, 2004)
  28. Dizzee Rascal - I Luv U (XL Recordings, 2003)
  29. Lady Stush - Dollar Sign (Social Circles, 2002)
  30. Warrior Queen & Sunship - Almighty Father (Casual, 2004)
  31. Tricky - Hell Is Round The Corner (Fourth & Broadway, 1995)
  32. Suncycle - Somebody (Jamdown, 2004)
  33. Blackout JA & Marley - Hot Show (Ball A Fire Muzik, 2004)
  34. Navigator & Freestylers - Ruffneck (Freskanova, 1998)
  35. General Levy & M-Beat - Incredible (Renk, 1994)
  36. UK Apachi & Shy FX - Original Nuttah, Bhangra Jungle remix (SOUR, 1994)
  37. Top Cat, Shy FX & T Power - Everyday (Digital Soundboy, 2006)
  38. Jakes & TC - Deep (DSR, 2006)
  39. Smiley Culture - Police Officer (Fashion, 1984)
  40. Jah Screechy - Walk & Skank (Blacker Dread, 1984)

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An England Story (Mix)

The Heatwave

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November 2006 | 75 mins
Blogariddims podcast #10
Mastered at Dub Studio

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An England Story (Mix) 01