Hip-Hop News

Lights-out dancehall voodoo from Dominick Fernow (Prurient) and Low Jack as Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement, following up ‘Red Ants Genesis’ with a potent new 7” - the 1st RSE release outside of Hospital Productions!

After stumping one of 2018’s biggest surprises with their dread-filled collaboration, ‘Red Ants Genesis’, Dominick Fernow and Phillippe Hallais (Low Jack) come to bury the dance in two parts with ‘Venus Flytrap Exotica’.

On the A-side’s noxiously swampy ‘Bridgetown Dub’ they underline mesmerising chants and skeletal drums with enormously powerful electro-dub subs - brought to life in-the-mix by Paul Corley - while lightning and thunder threaten collapsing skies.

The B-side ‘Price To Pay’ follows in bassy suit, but almost shorn of drums and licked with currents of tropical warm air chords.

Powerful spells, strongly recommend to fans of Demdike Stare, Equiknoxx, Shackleton, Burial.

Low Jack and Clara! seal a killer first year for the mutant dancehall series 'Les Disques De La Bretagnes' with this necessary doublepack including their long sold out instalments
for the series, Launched earlier in the year as a sublabel of Editions Gravats, Les Disques De Las Bretagnes has become a go-to home for ruffneck, forward new spins on the Black
Atlantic links between dancehall, reggaeton and electronic music. Now, following Iueke's sold out 'Champion' 12' - as played by Aphex Twin - the label extend a very handy catch up of Low Jack and Clara! y Maoupa's 12's packaged as a 2LP with new sleeve art, Of Honduran heritage and based in France, Low Jack brings a unique sidespin on dancehall templates with his 'Riddims du lieu-dit' LP. Originally one side of a split tape with Equiknoxx for Bokeh Versions, its edits of Industrial obscurities and classic
dancehall made for a rude, refreshing take on '80s and '90s digi-dub and dancehall that sold out within a week. Likewise, Clara! y Maoupa treated reggaeton with a mix of reverence and daring, twisting classic '90s ragga with bumping dembow while also introducing the Spanish artist as a deadly vocalist. Her Ruge is without question one of the deadliest tracks of the year - so good!!!!
100% deadly.















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For half a decade, Doncaster deejay Parly B has been a fixture of the UK and international sound system scene. His first album on Glasgow's Scotch Bonnet Records, Lyrics Spree, builds on 2016's EP 'This Is Digital'. Blessed with a voice as deep as Bounty Killer's, a crowing gimmick reminiscent of the great Dennis Alcapone and a bottomless bag of verbosity, Parly is the complete microphone talker. He rides a shopping trolley load of digital rhythms by likeminded producers - including Danny T & Tradesman, Stalawa, Interrupt and Mungo's Hi Fi - ranging from upbeat celebratory skanks to sweltering body winds. Tracks include the exuberant 80s vibes of the title tune, the brass-driven UK sound of You Mi A Look featuring fellow Mungo's mic man Charlie P, and the moody reality chant Skylark. Lyrics Spree is infectious, verbally dexterous dancehall, spraying lyricism in your direction

2nd EP of the tenebrous parisian boy named Beige, this 5th Global Warming EP goes deeper into our vision of post-apocalyptic club music. It opens with an arid psychedelic jam, lynchesque journey into a never-ending space hole; that comes with a loud dub and primitive remix from Berlin based mate Don't DJ. Then night falls down and strobes starts to flash on a slow hammer tune, blended with ethnic drums and Belgian beat; even weighted down and orientalised by the greats Acid Arab fellas. Not recommended for epileptics.

"The torchbearer for dancehall.' - Billboard.

"One of the great musical wonders of the world.' - The Fader.

'The platonic ideal of a summer party album." - Rolling Stone.

Jamaican superstar Popcaan returns with his long awaited sophomore album, Forever. Popcaan's journey has taken him from a promising young star to the leader of a generation of Jamaican and diaspora artists, a generation that feels their influence reverberate in pop's continuing interest in the sonic signifiers of dancehall. Forever finds Popcaan grappling with his role as an icon of his generation, and finding his place in a pop landscape that he helped shape.

Jamaican superstar Popcaan returns with his long awaited sophomore album, Forever. Popcaan's journey has taken him from a promising young star to the leader of a generation of Jamaican and diaspora artists, a generation that feels their influence reverberate in pop's continuing interest in the sonic signifiers of dancehall. Forever finds Popcaan grappling with his role as an icon

Reggae star, Alborosie's classic album Soul Pirate has been remastered and released as a Deluxe Digipack Edition with bonus tracks, and foldout poster. The Soul Pirate album was the result of Alborosie's 6 years at

Geejam studios in Jamaica and in partnership with local artists. The bonus tracks included are Call Up Jah, Slambam, Streets and Jamaica. Soul Pirate features Alborosie's most well-known tracks, Kingston Town, Herbalist,

Still Blazin' and Rastafari Anthem.

Alborosie is a dynamic talent on the contemporary reggae scene, a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and engineer. Unbreakable' is his ninth album for the Greensleeves label. His choice of players and vocal features on the album have resulted in a product that amplifies his multiple talents on a new level, delivering strong reggae songs that are solidly commercial. Unbreakable features performances from Aston 'Family Man' Barrett, Tyrone Downie and Junior Marvin of the famed Bob Marley backing band, now called The Wailers United. Plus, vocal features from Beres Hammond, Chronixx, Jah Cure and J Boog

Repress

London's Ghost Writerz are back with a banger! Following a slew of releases on Tru Thoughts and a recent mixtape "Welcome To Ghost Town" heating up the streets, Jimmy Screech and Sleepy Time Ghost return with a big splash on NICE UP! Records. Based around a familiar reggae riddim, the track tells the tale of Jimmy's foundation in soundsystem culture, starting in the 80s and name-checking legends such as Shabba Ranks, Yellowman, Smiley Culture along the way. As the riddim flips we shift forward a generation, 90s dancehall and rap dominate, giving props to hip hop royalty such as Busta Rhymes and 2Pac, then finally firing off a huge jungle climax, dripping in enough amen breaks to set the dancefloor alight whilst giving a little history of the musical heritage behind Ghost Writerz.

"phantom Dancehall" Is The Exploration Of The Greensleeves / Vp Records Catalogue By Dj Spooky Aka Paul Miller. The Musical Tapestry Is Built On Samples From Familiar (and Not So Familiar) Reggae Tracks Over Electronic Beats And Melodies Produced By Miller And Protégé Stephen Levitin (stage Name Apple Juice Kid). Selected Tracks Include The Keyboard Work Of Alex Thompson Aka Fourth Shift. Guest Vocals From Walshy Fire (major Lazer) And Dancehall Newcomer Sanjay Added To Vocal Samples Of Busy Signal, Lady Saw And Garnett Silk Give The Project An Eclectic, Modern Dancehall Flavor!

Paul Miller, Better Known By His Stage Name Dj Spooky Is A Music Producer, Arranger, Dj, Author And Performance Artist. His Unique Brand Of Experimental Hip-hop, Dubbed 'illbient' Has Resulted In Collaborations With A Diverse Range Of Artists Including Ryuichi Sakamoto, Kronos Quartet, Lee "scratch" Perry And Killa Priest. With Remix Projects For Trojan Records, Manifold Records And Six Degrees Among Others To His Credit, Miller Created "phantom Dancehall" For His Exploration Of The Greensleeves/ Vp Records Reggae Catalogue.

For Fans Of: Major Lazer, Dj Shadow, Kevin Yost

Hot On The Heels Of The First New Album From The Last Poets In Over 20 Years, The Title Track "understand What Black Is" Gets The Remix Treatment From Digital Mystikz, Dmz And Deep Medi Legend "mala" And Uk Dance Music Innovators And Legends "dego And Kaidi Tatham".

Soul Jazz Records are releasing this new 10th anniversary 2017 edition of their classic album 'Dancehall - The Rise of Jamaican Dancehall Culture'. This long-out-of-print collection is now available as a triple-vinyl edition and double CD pack.

The album is a lightning-flash collection of all-time classic and definitive dancehall classics as well as a stellar selection of more obscure tracks. Featuring Yellowman, Tenor Saw, Sister Nancy, Ini Kamoze, Chaka Demus & Pliers, Michigan & Smiley, Super Cat, Cutty Ranks, Eek-A-Mouse, Gregory Isaacs and more, this album features non-stop floor-filling party tune rockers throughout!

Dancehall is released to coincide with the new 2017 edition of the stunning 400+ photos deluxe coffee table book 'Dancehall - The Rise of Jamaican Dancehall Culture', featuring Beth Lesser's amazing Dancehall photography (also newly published by Soul Jazz Records). This book has become the definitive cultural reference book for Jamaican dancehall and features hundreds of killer photographs, extensive text and interviews with many of the artists.

'A vibrant anthology of all that mattered: the sound systems, studios, producers, singers and deejays.' The Guardian

Creeping Out Of Torino's Longest Dark Winter Nights, Isolated And Shrouded In Mystery Just Like The Cities' Deep Connection To Black Magic, Here Comes Sabasaba, The Newest Addition To The Maple Death Family. Western Esotericism Converting Pagan Mystic's One By One!

The Trio Of Tommaso Bonfilio (tape Loops, Drum Machine, Organ), Andrea Marini (electronics, Flute, Guitar, Bells) And Gabriele Maggiorotto (drums, Percussion, Effects) Is A Rare Beast, Night Phantoms Embarking On A Digital Dust Adventure Set In A World Punctuated By Ballard's Dreams And William Gibson's Visions. Sabasaba's Self-titled Debut Is An Industrial Cinematic Dub Scorcher That Is Not Afraid To Mix Dark Isolationist Off-kilter Machines, Tape Recorders And The Earthy Beat Of Primordial Dancehall Dub Productions (king Tubby, Horace Andy). Album Opener Bells Sets The Tone Right Away, A Pulsating Horror Tempo And Crowley Cadence Symbolically Uniting The Disques Ocora Catalogue And The Ambient Droning Of Nurse With Wound. Magma Is A Witch March Advancing Slowly Into Kosmische Lands, Drops Is An Opium Induced Hyper Dub Ballad Where African Head Charge's Sun Is Eclipsed By Coil's Black Moon. Peradam Inspired By René Daumal's 'mount Analogue' Ascends And Weaves Ideally Upstream Across The Po River While Red Nights Sees Italian Occult Legends And Co-conspirators Father Murphy Spreading Their Cathartic Chanting. Eden - Olympia Is The Perfect Closer, A Calming Distant Tribe Of Percolating Bells Awakening The Spirit.

This Is Not Wishy-washy Psychedelic Music, This Is The Real Deal, A Voyage Into Mind Alteration Through Sound, A Chariot Proceeding East, West And Everywhere In Between, Hands Turning Digital Knobs, Feet Raising Dust And Grain While The Heart Beats Analog To The Pulse Of Mother Earth.

In this opus, KID has gathered its favourite MCs: Troy Berkley (Be), Demolition Man (UK), Jamalski (US), Senior Wilson (ES), Echo Minott (Ja) and Eva Lazarus (UK) - as well as the musicians Dubamix (Fr), Dubmatix (Can) and Crew Fogata Sound.

By the 1970's Studio One and Clement 'Sir Coxsone' Dodd had already proved himself to be the defining force in Reggae for almost two decades. From running the Downbeat sound system on the lawns and yards of Kingston in the late 1950's to opening Studio One at 13 Brentford Road at the start of the 1960's, ushering in Ska and Rocksteady and establishing the careers of most of Jamaica's artists - everyone from Bob Marley and The Wailers, Ken Boothe, Toots and The Maytals, The Skatalites, Jackie Mittoo and more - Clement Dodd had until this point dominated the Jamaican musical world.

And yet, incredibly, Clement Dodd was barely half way through his musical path, maintaining Studio One's number one position in the Jamaican music scene throughout the 1970's with a combination of musical and creative innovation and an endless capacity to adapt and create new musical fashions. By the end of the 1970's Dancehall had become the defining sound on the island. Dancehall was essentially a tribute by other Jamaican producers and artists to the classic music of Studio One created in the 1960's as young artists across the island created new songs, while musicians recreated these original classic foundation Studio One rhythms. As on other occasions, Clement Dodd rose to this new musical challenge by producing a whole new era of classics for Studio One.

The roots of Dancehall begin with the DJs of the early 1970s, who were the first to sing new material over earlier classic rhythms. Early DJ pioneers such as Dillinger and Prince Jazzbo both feature here toasting over classic songs - The Mad Lad's Ten to One and The Eternals' Queen of the Minstrel. But it is the new wave of artists who arrived at Studio One at the onset of Dancehall which enabled Studio One to maintain it's number one status as the whole of Kingston's rival music producers - Channel One, Joe Gibbs and many others - attempted to challenge this position.

Sugar Minott, Michigan and Smiley, Willie Williams, Lone Ranger had all grown up listening to the classic Studio One music of the 1960s and were able to pay the greatest compliment to the label by creating the defining new music of this new era with songs that combined all the musical and technological developments of the 1970's - dub, deejaying, discomixes, syndrums, synthesizers and more - into the sound of the future: Dancehall.

Throughout this era Clement Dodd also continued to work with a number of original and returning artists - such as Alton Ellis, Horace Andy, Freddie McGregor, Johnny Osbourne - updating old rhythms and creating new ones while employing the in-house band variously known as The Brentford All-Stars/Rockers/Disco Set to update these sounds in order to maintain Studio One's number one position as the defining force in Reggae.

This is Soul Jazz Records' latest new collection of classic and rare Studio One recordings and is released on triple LP (+ download code), deluxe CD and digital album.

Deadly styles we've got many, deadly vibes we've got plenty...
45 Live is proud to welcome the new record 'Ready', a masterclass to mash up yer dance from club dub doyens The Nextmen, featuring badass Bristol babe Eva Lazarus (Mungo's HiFi/Gentlemen's Dub Club), the goddess with the golden pipes.
'Ready' is a sweet slice of dancehall that feels tightly sprung, with songbird Eva Lazarus rolling on the rhythms' rise from sweaty and soulful to saucy, priapic pop. You will want to wiggle. This joint feels infectious.
Much loved music makers The Nextmen have been busy twiddling knobs and working wires purely for people's pleasure over two decades deep, having worked with everyone from Public Enemy, Wilkinson, The Pharcyde, Ms Dynamite, Groove Armada, Plan B, Chali 2na, Tippa Irie, Cutty Ranks and a million more.
Good. Grooves.
Crate diggers quickly quickly, make it snappy to make Daddy happy, this limited edition 45 release is exclusively vinyl only.
Pressed loud on 45.
'Ready'. The whole room knows it's on...

Pure Singeli fiyah from Tanzania's febrile Dar Es Salaam underground, showcasing the punkish sounds of the Sisso Records studio with a belter volley of hi-velocity missiles for Kampala, Uganda's Nyege Nyege Tapes. Hitting frenetic levels of velocity comparable with full on Soca or Shangaan Electro styles as much as Northern British takes on happy hardcore and Makina, trust there's no messing about with this one.
For us, like many others, we'd imagine, this is a bracing first introduction to the Singeli sound, whose collision of souped up rhythmic energy and breathless bars should immediately translate far beyond its east African base. Across the 14 tracks of Sounds Of Sisso we're familiarised with the sound's core producers - Bwax, Sisso, Tampa Pana and Yung Keyz Morento - and its amazing fast chat MCs - Dogo Niga and Makavelli - with a totally uncompromising style that can't help but make most other dance musics sound a bit pale and limp by comparison.
No matter where you're from, this is patently music for raving to, combining punkish, satirical lyrics about the challenges of Tanzania's youth - from police corruption to dating when you're broke - with productions that scream get mad get mad in a way that's maybe best associated with hedonistic noise or gabber. However, this is from Dar Es Slaam, and they've got some heavy style down there.
From the near cheek-pulling G-force of Bwax and S Kide's Baba Aminata Natafuta Kiki to the mental, cut-up intro and rapido attack of TMK by Suma, nobody lets the pressure gauge tick below f**king off it, pal, taking in the chipmunked Bollywood chorus and speecore pace of Dogo Niga's Polisi and the Shangaan/Soca-like hybrid Mshamba wa Kideo from Mzee + Bwax or the Nu Monkey-on-tour styles of Kimbau Mbau along with the Nkisi-esque jag of Maseke, Pasopa and Mako_Roho's Inauma. But, there are also some sweeter and hip hop styled freaks, too; check for the warped hip hop knock of Nammiliki from Makavelli, or the sugar-rush of Csso's Shobo and the hyper colourful soundsystem FX of Ndugulawama.Unmissable!

The special edition 7' release of Protoje's hit single 'Blood Money' features the original track, an exclusive Gregory Morris' dub mix, and is pressed on blood red vinyl.
The song lyrics provide hard-hitting, raw and unapologetic commentary on the current state of Jamaica, touching on several
recent grievances and social injustices that have afflicted Jamaican society.
Protoje masterfully describes the air of discrimination, classism, and oppression prevalent in the Jamaican political landscape, calling out corrupt practices, and conveys the meaningful message to his audience of awareness, activism and the need to call for change and accountability.
This message has been championed across the world, with 'Blood Money' becoming a firm favourite with both reggae fans, as well as those outside of the scene. 

A bit of an emotional moment for us - this much needed repress of one of our very favourite slabs of vinyl that have passed through these doors over the years. Exploring the very outer limits of dancehall and techy D&B, both sides writhe and snarl at 90bpm, beating you over the head with pressure cooked kick drums, drop forged snares and, those ugly, ugly mentasms. Upon it's original release, it was a challenging and very rewarding record - one that had DJs scratching their heads, dancers demanding wheelups and, more recently - more than a few emails from people asking if there were any copies left stashed away. Both side's disregard for genres and conventions mean this plate sounds just as fresh now as it did upon it's original release date - arguably it's better stationed for tactical deployment now than it was back in 2013 - The current crop of stripped back dancehall (and halftime D&B that has been undoubtedly informed by it) are in rude health and prime for disruption with this record. That said, regardless of which styles you play - this is one of those wildcard riddims that can be used at peak time to wreak havoc on any dancefloor. Blacklabel, sticker sealed pressure, with a yellow paper insert of the original artwork. One of those records you'll pull off the shelf in years to come, no doubt about it. Edition of 300, with insert and stickered centre labels.

NoCorner and Stone King proudly presents the first official collaboration between Ossia and Andy Mac. Both are fresh off a series of high-profile releases and projects - Ossia with recent releases on Berceuse Heroique and Blackest Ever Black, and Andy with his new Deep Street label and the 2nd Diving Bird 12 that just came through on Idle Hands.

Featuring three tracks written & recorded between 2015 and 2017, the record sees Andy & Ossia's mutual love for Jamaican and African rhythms, dusty records and a tape-saturated approach to guide a fresh, dubwise production process involving a battered old Roland Sampler and Ossia's infamous half-broken analogue Trident Mixing desk.

A Side Soup Riddim serves itself up as a hybrid slab of dancehall, dub and perhaps even the looser stylings of house - a fresh twist with an eternally-universal emphasis on space, and the movement within it. On the flip, Cado leans even further into negative space, allowing a gorgeous piece of samplism to drive the rhythm all the way to its conclusion in the blink of an eye, with the soft insistence of the percussion playing with the listener's sense of time. This feeling intensifies in the final track, Linguine Loop. A shapeshifting low-frequency hum underpins a hypnotic melodic loop that develops, delays and distorts into a dizzying crescendo of feedback and noise. The final minutes serve as a final reflection on what came before as the melody slowly re-filters into the mix as a ghostly, half-there form of itself, drawing the reductive conclusion to this EP, a triple version excursion of far-away sounds.

Edition of 300, six times (at least) hand-stamped, in kraft sleeve.
Mastered and cut by Lewis at Stardelta.

The famous Joseph Cotton and the DJ / producer Atili Bandalero present their first collab "Nightlife". This opus counts 10 titles, with as a thread the still sharpened flow of Jamaican veteran DJ Joseph Cotton, who has lost none of his communicative energy. Atili Bandalero is at the helm to offer you colorful riddims of digital reggae and ska, which transport us directly to Jamaica!

Happy (from Despicable Me 2)
5000 Copies pressed for UK Only.

Digital and massive dancehall booster

Excellent good feeling style of an digital dub ina Dancehall style