No 69 jokes, please. Badman arithmetic only goes up to 68-and-I’ll-owe-you-one. Just by pure coincidence though, this edition of Ghetto Palms does happen to be kind of a ladies night special. But that’s only because after a brief summer hibernation, production trio Daseca are back on the set with a vengeance—and when Serani and co. are not working out their Anger Management issues on a Bounty Killer affiliated project, they can kill a lover’s tune like nobody else.
Daseca Plus Blend
Webstar f. Serani, “Tipsy” (Ricky Blaze/Koch)
Serani, “Be With You” (Daseca)
Mavado, “Baby Girl” (R6 riddim/Daseca)
Voicemail, “Moving Forward” (R6 riddim/Daseca)
Voicemail, “Money Pull Up” (Coke Zero riddim/Daseca)
Elephant Man, “Gifted & Black” (Coke Zero riddim/Daseca)
Download: Ghetto Palms Daseca Blend
First up is the Ricky Blaze produced Webstar collabo “Tipsy,” which smells like Koch records’ 808-clap strategy for bussing Serani on crossover radio. It definitely works in a PNG/Ron Browz kinda way but if they were smart they would be looking at the Daseca-built “Be With You” which is more dancehall, more pop, and more genius. Which is to say it’s more Serani being himself, the Ryan Leslie of soundclash.
Then there’s a quick juggling of a few selects from two new riddims—the R6 and the Coke Zero—from Daseca doing what they do best with big chords and spare, epic, arrangements. Over the first, Mavado delivers the most credible and least-creepy love song he’s ever done. Not once does he use the term “cocky” or say anything date-rapish. Which makes me think that either Daseca ghost-wrote it or he found true love and gave up stalking for good. Both beats also make a surprisingly good vehicle for Voicemail, who have graduated from raw bwoy-band to surprisingly sophisticated r&b-hall, if you fuck with that sort of thing.
Then I threw in one more freeload from Serani getting lovey-dovey again on the previously reviewed School Yard/Ting a Ling throwback.
Serani, “When it’s Cold”
Download: Serani, “When it’s Cold
This column would not be complete, however, without pouring out some lighter-fluid in recognition of keyboardist Wycliffe ‘Steely” Johnson who passed away in a New York Hospital yesterday. As one half of the legendary “Steely & Clevie” rhythm section he helped to shape several generations of reggae music. Among countless other accomplishments, Steely & Clevie produced both the Mud Up and the Punaany riddims—for my dollars, the first two modern dancehall rhythms on which the whole ’90s bashment revolution was founded. Beaucoups respect, Steely.
firstly, I properly chuckled, an outburst even, when you surmised the writing behind movado’s less-creepy-than-normal tune. hilarity.
but really, wanted to comment on Steely. I, growing up in Kingston, born 1980, so therefore my coming of age music was that 1991-94 stuff, and then I’m a fast paced dancehall man from then… found it difficult trying to explain to my roomate the news. Now he is a proper musichead, also yardie, and listen to TONS of the oldest of shit. So I’m trying to explain to him the impact these guys had. Failing miserably, I even pointed out the james bond theme remix they did. Yea, he was not impressed. Basically I was like “you like King Jammy? You like this whole riddim building vs playing live music which started to happen when we were kids? Then you like S&C!”. Nary an eyebrow was raised; he had no clue who I was talking about, and my babbling wasn’t helping. For me, I heard about them alot growin up (arif cooper is ma cousin, leftside & the harrisinghs are high school friends), and their influence, and “meeting the boss dem”, etc.
But now, I shall copy and paste that simple sentence you wrote. To me, so poignant, and so straightforward. I don’t know any jamaican who like reggae or dancehall and dont have a place in dem heart for punany riddim, and mud up. So what I spent 10 mins on the other night, you solved with one sentence, that I completely overlooked cuz its so engrained it didn’t even occur to me.
bless