New Jammer: Party Animal

I'm sure you are all still lamenting the terminal decline of the Grime genre, I know here at Shimmy Shimmy we are.. in fact we're feeling it harder than most.

I feel distressed with the fact that the 'safer', more mainstream artists such as Tinchy Stryder and Kano are making headway in the charts with insipid cod-American synth-rap tunes while the talented MCs such as Skepta and Frisco are still on the independent route.

There does though seem to be a stable home for the elder statesmen of the genre however, thankfully. I'm speaking of course of Wiley and Jammer, who are now both signed to Big Dada Records.

Big Dada seem to be on a mission to rise grime from the ashes, signing Wiley last year and now before the ink has even dried on his new contract the Murkle Man himself Jammer is back with his first track for the label.

Jammer's first release on the label is the infectious Party Animal. This banger is produced by the Steel City's very own wunderkid Toddla T, and it echoes the carnival funk vibe of his previous release 'The Message Is Love' with Silverlink and Badness, albeit with a more Hip Hop vibe. It sounds distinctly like Mantronix on speed to me, a very good thing in my humble opinion.

It seems that Grime's inception into the mainstream was always going to have casualties, because as we already know talent is no signifier of success. At least we have labels like Big Dada moving things forward.




Jammer - Party Animal

PS. Shimmy Shimmy will be your selectors at Hot Wuk, London's premier Bashment shakedown at the Big Chill House, King's Cross tomorrow. Bring it come!

Gully Christmas

Just when you thought it couldn't get any sillier, or more commercial, here come the Gaza Gully warriors with a festive tune, already.

Mavado & Flexx started the whole thing off with 'Gully Christmas', taking a pop at Vybz's santa history and complaining how Santa doesn't deliver to the Gully (do you blame the man?). Yellowman (above, looking completely void of Christmas cheer) did that whole bag already with his track 'Santa Claus never comes to the ghetto' off the astonishing Very Very Yellow Christmas album.

Anywaaaay, Mavado takes it a step further, grinching the shit out of the festivities - he's gonna rob Santa (aka Vybz):

"Mi see Santa scare, wid him red nose reindeer,
see mi long rifle, wid di red light there
shot it inna di square Santa Claus get tear!"

Oh yeah Mavado also says he's getting a llama for Christmas. If only he meant the pack animal...I imagine Vybz's stocking is full of these, these and probably some sunglasses.

Vybz Kartel & Rhyno had to get in on the action and released their comeback this month. Vybz takes the music further than the Gully God & Stephen McGregor, who limit their backing track to a bit of jingle bell punctuation. Vybz goes straight in for the 12 days of Christmas melody:

"First day a Christmas somebody play 3,
Walk pon di Gully pappy bring the KG
Me carry one pon a shot, K me clap dat,
Fling di grinch inna di Christmas tree
Then Rhyno Gaza man done kill Santa Claus
Pa ra pa pam pam, ra pa pam pam"

Yeah durrr Mavado what you talking about, Vybz murdered St. Nick way back in '03, get with the crimbo program (that's probably why he ain't delivering to the Gully no more). Now he's using his sleigh for drive-bys.

All I have to say is: way to ruin Christmas guys.

PS - anyone else think there's some room here for Ding Dong to get merrily on high, reset the christmas balance...?

Gaza Christmas vs Gully Christmas

House Cleaning

Mavado takes a second away from the Gaza Gully war to focus on the important stuff in life, house cleaning.

“Yuh mus be dreaming
How gal have badman a do house cleaning
How gal fi have man a clean from floor to ceiling?”

I imagine it's a tale of some disobedient girl who asked him if he could wipe down the kitchen surfaces after he'd dropped his ackee all over it or something, and this was his inspirational response. Maybe if he'd had the above pack of Bounty he'd have gladly wiped the Warlord's face all over his dirty surfaces. But in the meantime, this is an international hit, for sure (or at least in Saudi Arabia it'd probably go down pretty well). I think my favourite part of the song is the very beginning when he just moans 'no way', and then says 'gangster'. Don't be silly, bitch. Now I know why he has the ladies chasing him down the street. Or maybe it's cos he's the face of the Gully pad....



Don't worry, it's not real. Although, speaking of making products out of dancehall conflicts, I'm pretty shocked at how they've started commodifying the Gaza Gully war so hard now: the t-shirts are everywhere. So it looks like it's here to stay but at least it's fashionable eh.

Mavado - House cleaning

Shimmy Shimmy Live this Friday!

What are you doing this Friday? Cancel, because Shimmy Shimmy are throwing a party. That's right folks, SS will be gracing the decks with special guest Beatloaf at the Old Shoreditch Station (directions here) from 9-3 this Friday the 13th (uh oh).

Mad props go to the very talented Mr. Joe Kessler who designed the poster for the night. It's excellent don't you agree?

In other news, the Clipse have put back the release date of 'Til the Casket Drops AGAIN! It's now supposedly out on the 8th of December.. boo.

But to tide us all over, a massive remix of I'm Good featuring The Bawse Ricky Ross has been put out there to quell any Clipse release date related riots. Here's the new vid.



As an added extra, check out this spesh remix of said track by my good friend Taxi Ranks.

Clipse vs. Bounty Killer - I'm Good Man (Taxi Ranks Highly Def Remix)

Clipse ft. Pharrell & Rick Ross - I'm Good (Remix)

Techniques' museum

After last month's alleged arson attack on Winston Riley's studio, he's decided to dip deep into his pocket and fund a $50 million new studio and museum on Orange St, Kingston. Orange Street is like the Tottenham Court Road of music studios, what with Studio One, Rockers International and Joe Gibbs all calling it home. Unfortunately most of this has disappeared, but the new museum will act as a kind of memorial and long-standing testament to the road that rocked the island (and our island) for decades.

Winston Riley set up the band the Techniques in 62, turning it into a label just 6 years later, breaking with the success of 'Double Barrel'. He was then responsible for putting out some of the 80s best, like Tenor Saw's 'Ring the Alarm' on Riley's Stalag riddim, which was basically a bid to rival Jammy's digital revolution of 'Sleng Teng'. Buju Banton and Cutty Ranks would pretty much be nowhere without Winston. If that's nothing to say thank you for, then I don't know what is.

The museum will supposedly be opening before the end of the year. It should be like nothing else; it's really quite surprising that JA doesn't house anything like it yet, let's just hope it doesn't turn all Disneyworld eh.

Here's a couple of my favourites from Riley's back catalogue.

Red Dragon - Hol a fresh (Kuff riddim)

Gregory Isaacs & Tiger - Hic up (a rework of Night Nurse)

Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you

Thanks for that nugget of wisdom there Crowded House, let's hope I don't have to resort to referencing your band ever again on this site (or anywhere, for that matter).

So, it's officially winter again. I don't go in for this whole 'autumn' thing, when it gets cold and dark early it's winter, period.

Although Dancehall is summery by nature (pun intended) I still enjoy wining it up in the winter months, although it's more of a mulled wine..

Junior Reid has the right idea, he doesn't let a little blizzard stop him from ripping it up on Bounty Killer's '96 hit 'Change Like the Weather'. Also keep an eye out for a young Busta Rhymes in what appears to be a yellow leather bra and a comically massive leather train drivers hat. This only serves to strengthen my suspicion that Bus' stylist is a twelve year old girl..check this out:


Do Louis Vuitton actually make coats like that?! Sorry, enough Busta bashing. Here's the video.



My personal favourite wintry Reggae song, or of any genre for that matter is the mighty Lee Perry's 'Cold Weather'. Perry proves his mastery of sound effects on this 1973 track, it almost makes me wish for rain (almost).

Keep warm everyone, unless you live in the South Hemisphere in that case fuck off you lucky bastards.

Lee Perry - Cold Weather

Bounty Killer ft. Busta Rhymes & Junior Reid - Change Like the Weather

Dancehalloween

If only Weddy Weddy had a halloween party, there'd be some serious costume competition. Who'd be there? Probably Elephant Man as a pirate of the caribbean (above). Or maybe Ninjaman as, um, whatever this costume is. Or, if the oldies got invited, Eek A Mouse as a Mexican. Or Lee Perry in his Flavour Flav meets garden gnome costume.

Of course, halloween is duppy time. They're everywhere - Bob conquered them, Yellowman tried to work out if it was a ghost or a gunman, Demarco had em covered too. And that ain't all, there's Devon Irons' vampire or more recently, Major Lazer's Kentucky zombie also out to 'eat your brains'. (Is that not the shitest video/shitest lyrics of recent times...).

Got a duppy you can't get rid of? Who you gonna call?

Pampidoo - Ghost Busters (via Distinctly Jamaican Sounds)