Video: Natalie Storm, “God Bless Me”
We knew Kingston dancehall princess Natalie Storm was awesome (see: talent, starpower, charisma, ill riddim possibly named after snacks), but we had no clue she could also levitate. In her long-awaited video for “God Bless Me” she also proves herself to be the latex queen of the Matrix, stomping out some serious ninja ass and taking over multilingual billboards, too. Big ups to the TNT ladies! (via the Heatwave)
Ghetto Palms 77: Mavado + Natalie Storm / Sizzla + De Tropix / Exclusive Refixes
- story Eddie "Stats" Houghton
- photo Guy Martin (F58 outtake)
I cannot tell a lie, y’all. It was not a particularly good week for dancehall. My ears got so sick of trance synths, auto-tune and trap drums they almost walked off the set before I had anything to palmcast. (sidebar: seriously, music dudes of the world—change it up. I have defended auto-tune and I am not on some DOA type purism but please, pick your spots. Rotate your stock. Let that field lie fallow for a season. Give the next piece of gear a bligh.) There would be no joy in ghettopalmsland at all if not for some fresh remixes injecting new shoots into the landscape. Natalie Storm jumped on some tambarzao drums, De Tropix and Shredah whupped some UK biz on Vybz and Sizzla and coupe decale and kuduro are apparently crossing the streams in France of all places. Before I knew it I had a Ghetto Palms Allstar part 2. Which just underscores the philosophy behind this column—a little cross-pollination is good for the soil.
Gabriel Heatwave’s UK Funky Bashment Mixtape MP3
It was only a matter of time before the hottest dance music in London, with its African influences and syncopated jangling, began drifting into reggae territory. On Gabriel Heatwave’s mix for XLR8R, he shows exactly how made for each other UK funky house and bashment are with a vast selection of Jamaica’s hottest deejays (i.e. our girl Natalie Storm, above) and Britain’s most solid emerging funky scions. Not to go heavy on the “heatwave” references but this mix is extra hot fire, let’s face it, you always wanted to hear “Ramping Shop” interpolated with DJ Shredda’s garage-esque synth stabs. Tracklist after the jump.
Download: Gabriel Heatwave’s UK Funky Bashment Mixtape (via The Heatwave)
-
posted on Oct 9, 2009 in MP3 / STREAMS tags Assassin, bashment, Buju Banton, Busy Signal, caribbean, Crazy Cousinz, Gabriel Heatwave, Lady Chann, Mavado, Ms Dynamite, Natalie Storm, Sean Paul, Shystie, uk funky, Vybz Kartel
Ghetto Palms 67: Busy Signal vs. Poirier / Natalie Storm / Lots of Women
- story Eddie "Stats" Houghton
- photo Andrew Dosunmu
This blend started out with the Natalie Storm 45 “God Bless Me” on the Cheez Trix riddim—which, if you’ve been reading the FADER blog you know was produced by Nats herself. A move out of the deejay booth and behind the boards seems like a natural step for her since the whole Badda Badda Gals modus toppa-randi is about the daughters doing it for themselves. It also just happens to be one of the nicest dancehall beats I’ve heard in a while, capturing the polyrhythmic crack of ’90s dancehall without actually being a thief-ed and recycled version of a ’90s classic. Nat’s version might be the best (I might be biased) but like any good riddim, the Cheez Trix invites a ton of strong versions, not surprisingly showcasing some of the top non-badda badda affiliated female DJs, ie Macka Diamond and newcomer Tiki.
Natalie Storm, “God Bless Me”
Kicky Natalie Storm keeps killing it down in JA with her impeccable flow and sweet/tough voice, but for this track she actually made the riddim, awesomely titled the Cheez Trix riddim, which is making us hungry for Cheetohs, Combos, Chex Mix, Soy Chips or some other snack with good syntax. It’s not just the title, the riddim sounds like Natalie sampled herself crushing all of the previously mentioned crispy shit in a bag, which is to say, it is awesome. Apparently two other chicks have already jumped on this shit, Macka Diamond and Tiki, but Natalie’s is the best because frankly she is a rising star of dancehall—talented and young and sounding very modern, always.
Download: Natalie Storm, “God Bless Me” (via Heatwave)
Ghetto Palms: GP All-Stars/Exclusive Esau Mwamwaya Refix
- story Eddie "Stats" Houghton
- photo Liz Johnson Artur
In the past week almost every damn artist I would consider a signature Ghetto Palms poster-child has represented with crushing new tunes or refixes in a similar vibe (Busy Signal and Erup have both been putting enough overtime lately to be excused from this session.) The common ground is a 120 bpm neighborhood situated somewhere between synth pop and ragga soca, a tempo I have given up trying to name and will simply call the “sweet spot.” Hence, the Ghetto Palms All-Stars blend.
-
posted on Jul 1, 2009 in BLOGS, GHETTO PALMS tags Aidonia, caribbean, De Tropix, Di Genius, Esau Mwamwaya, Laden, Leftside, Mavado, Natalie Storm
Video Premiere: Tifa, “Spell it Out”
- story THE FADER
Kingston’s Badda Badda Gals aka TNT aka Timberlee, Natalie Storm and Tifa have been blasting on the FADER megahorn since they individually released tracks on Ward 21’s Dem Gal Sittin riddim. As much as we love them as a trio, we are happy to see them breaking out individually because, do the math, that equals triple the awesome kicky dancehall. This video for Tifa’s “Spell it Out” expresses her badness: tough chatter, playful lyrics, everything pops. However, we must note that the guy with the necktie headband is the clear runner-up for star of this video.
-
posted on May 8, 2009 in MUSIC VIDEO tags Badda Badda Gals, caribbean, Natalie Storm, Tifa, Timberlee, TNT, video premiere
