PRANCEHALL’S BASS ODYSSEY
John McDonnell on grime and bassline.
Prancehall’s Bass Odyssey, Part 46
- story THE FADER
Forgive me FADER.com readers for I have sinned. It’s been a month since my last blog post—and in that time a lot has happened. Firstly, last month saw the sad passing of Slew Dem Crew’s Esco. It seems when a rapper dies they are automatically promoted to legendary status—often regardless of talent—but I can genuinely say Esco was one of my favourite grime MCs. Kiss FM’s Logan Sama recorded a tribute show to the MC, which you can download here. In the mean time, listen below to Esco’s vocal of Skepta’s “DTI” from the CD that accompanied Lord of the Decks 2.
Skepta feat. Esco, “DTI Freestyle”
Prancehall’s Bass Odyssey, Part 45
- story THE FADER
My favourite funky producer right now is a little-known guy from Birmingham called Emvee. His best stuff is so full of melancholy but so tough at the same time. He’s massively underrated.
I was introduced to him by Glasgow’s premier bass-music bon vivant, Jackmaster, who is such a big Emvee fan that he will be putting out a 12″ by him. Below you can listen to the A-side, which will be out soon on Jackmaster’s Wireblock label.
Emvee, “Glitch Dub”
Prancehall’s Bass Odyssey, Part 44
- story THE FADER
Down in flippant London nobody cares about bassline anymore, and neither, to be completely honest, do I really. But now and then I like to casually glance up to northern England to see what’s going on. And right now the main song worth your attention is “Etap Riddim” by Trilla. Before I say anything about it, I suggest feminists look away now. You see, Etap is a European chain of really, really cheap hotels (£17.50 a night) and “Etap Riddim” is an explicit ode to bringing a girl back to one of the rooms and, as all you Americans say constantly, “pounding the poontang”. If Andrea Dworkin heard it she would turn in her grave. If she were actually dead. Oh hang on, she is dead. Then she’ll be doing backflips right now. I like the line where Trilla compares the beautiful act of lovemaking to stabbing someone: “In and out like a knife”. What a delightful mental image. The video above, by the way, is a tribute made by three fans who seem very keen on getting “stabbed” by Mr Trilla.
Prancehall’s Bass Odyssey, Part 43
- story THE FADER
Over here in the UK, we are in the midst of a funky house instructional dance video cataclysm, an apocalyptic deluge of post-Soulja Boy dross inspired by KIG’s “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes“. The road ahead will be long. Our eyes and ears will weep. We may not get beyond this in one year or even by the time the holiday season ends in Napa next summer, but thefader.com, I have never been more hopeful than I am this afternoon (US time) that we will get there. I promise you, we as a people will get there.
By the way, the above is Bigzy & Unkle’s “RingaRoses”, which, as you will probably notice, looks like a curdled remake of the video for Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” by a church youth group.
Prancehall’s Bass Odyssey, Part 42
- story THE FADER
Above is the video for Newham Generals’ latest single, “Head Get Mangled”, which uses the Holy Trinity of UK urban music video themes: bravado, torture and soft porn.
I’m yet to see a positive review of the single so I’m saying I like it just to spite everyone. Actually, I do quite like it – it’s impossible for a song featuring D Double E to sound bad. It’s just a shame they decided to add a horrible filter to the vocals, making what D Double says pretty much incomprehensible.
Newham Generals showed up at the NME Awards with their label boss Dizzee Rascal last week. Below, you can find the full transcribe of Newham Generals-themed text messages sent to me by Friendly Fires‘ drummer, Jack, who was sat on the same table as Dizzee, D Double E and Footsie all night.
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posted on Mar 2, 2009 in PRANCEHALL’S BASS ODYSSEY tags Dizzee Rascal, Friendly Fires, grime, Newham Generals, Prancehall's Bass Odyssey
Prancehall’s Bass Odyssey, Part 41
- story THE FADER
It seems MIA isn’t the only one who has been putting on the pounds recently. I accidentally saw her protégé Afrikan Boy live last weekend and, by the looks of him, he’s been busy scoffing creatine supplements but hasn’t been doing the weights. I couldn’t tell you a thing about his performance – I spent the entire time with my hands over my ears because his DJ insisted on turning up every knob on the mixer until the speakers were farting out almost deafening distortion. Judging by his Auto-Tuned monstrosity of a new single, “Lagos Town”, I definitely didn’t miss much.
Prancehall’s Bass Odyssey, Part 40
- story THE FADER
Move over, Wiley, T-Pain, Timbaland, Dr Dre, Herbie Hancock, Rick Rubin, Butch Vig, Phil Spector, Philip Glass and Pierre Schaeffer. I have just produced a song that is set to redefine and revolutionise music as we know it. No question. Period. End of.
As promised last time, I have made a funky house remix of “Panty, Bras, Coke and Cameras”. It’s kind of a classic but modern funky house track. I’ve only put up a clip so you don’t get to hear this, but half way through I add a Fake Blood-esque fidget bassline before it goes into a half-step section with a wobbly dubstep bassline where the vocal gets some Auto-Tune treatment. Oh, and Wale drops a verse right at the end too. Anyway, you have to buy the song if you want to hear it. As you’d expect, I’ve already had a lot of label interest so expect the single release very soon. (Note to anyone who has made an offer so far: you need to add three more zeros to that before I’ll even think about calling you back.)
Durrty Goodz, “Panty, Bras, Coke and Cameras” (Prancehall remix)
Prancehall’s Bass Odyssey, Part 39
- story THE FADER
Here’s the lowdown: Wiley and Durrty Goodz are currently “at war”. As you’d expect, this doesn’t compare to Mavado and Vybz Kartel’s recent squabbles in terms of hype and worldwide interest, but as far as insults go, it makes the dancehall pair’s disagreement sound like two grannies bickering over the last scone at Waitrose.
Prancehall’s Bass Odyssey, Part 38
- story THE FADER
Said her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in her 2008 Christmas speech to her nation: “Over the years those who have seemed to me to be the most happy, contented and fulfilled have always been the people who have lived the most outgoing and unselfish lives; the kind of people who are generous with their talents or their time.”
Yes, that’s right, here I am, back once again unselfishly giving my time and exuding my talent (musical knowledge) for you eager beavers.
OK, enough chit-chat – let’s, as they say, keep it movin’.
Let’s start by very briefly looking at the above recent grime video by Ghetto (who seems to have semi-changed his name to Ghetts) and Griminal. Although it appears to be a half-finished idea – both in terms of the song (how many times is the chorus and that line at the end repeated!?) and the video (what the hell is that Fonejacker-esque intro all about?) – I still really like it.
Prancehall’s Bass Oddysey, Part 37
- story THE FADER
OK, the moment you’ve been waiting for all year has finally arrived. It’s time for the Prancehall’s Bass Odyssey list of the best, worst and most indifferent stuff that happened in 2008. If it’s not on this list, it didn’t happen – or it did, but it may as well not have done. Basically, this is the only list you need to look at to find out what went down in 2008 (well, apart from FADER’s imminent Listmania 2008, obviously). This is all you will need for full UK urban-centric enlightenment. Enjoy. (Btw, some points have a back story or a related video, which can be found by clicking the embedded links hidden in the numbers.)
